New Reports Dispute Story About WWE Being Sold To Saudi Arabia

Two reports that came out last night claiming WWE is being sold to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund are now under assault, as multiple sources have come forward this morning to dispute the claim.

Late Tuesday evening, Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net and Steve Muehlhausen of DAZN reported that WWE sold to the Saudis, with the intent for the company to go private again instead of being publicly-trade. Muehlhausen's tweet has since been deleted, and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful was unable to confirm the rumors. Additionally, several reporters now claim there is no truth to the story, most notably Ariel Helwani of BT Sport.

"Contrary to reports stating otherwise last night, there is no deal in place at this precise moment for WWE to be sold to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund or any entity, sources say," Helwani tweeted. "The organization is still exploring all options, I'm told. Developing."

"I asked someone at WWE, who would know, who said the story that took hold of Twitter last night, about WWE and Saudi Arabia being near a deal to take the company private, is untrue," wrote Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston. Thurston was himself responding to a tweet by Richard Greenfield of the media research firm Lightshed Partners, who called out Muehlhausen's deleted tweet as "100% false." Sportscaster Jon Alba, who co-hosts several prominent wrestling podcasts, also said this morning that a "high-ranking WWE source with knowledge of the situation" called the reports "completely false."

The speculation started swirling not long after Stephanie McMahon announced her resignation as Co-CEO of WWE, and the company is certainly feeling the winds of change with Vince McMahon making his return as the executive chairman of the board. That said, it appears that as of this writing, no sale, to the Saudis or anyone else, has taken place.