WWE back talking with WBD, CM Punk may have ‘opened a shut door’

WWE Raw could still end up on TNT or TBS. 

Negotiations between WWE and Warner Bros Discovery were thought to be dead but our own Dave Meltzer is reporting that CM Punk has potentially “opened up what may have been a shut door.” 

Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio:

They would like to get close to $400 million, I don’t think they’re going to get $400 million for it but they’re shopping it around and WBD obviously being one of them and WBD seemed to be dead and it’s not dead. That’s the basic thing. With Punk there and everything like that, it’s not dead.

It’s not like people should go ‘oh my god’ this and that with AEW. There’s no way of knowing anything more than they did have a meeting and it’s not dead.

WWE as far as the Raw deal, the belief is they’re finalizing pretty soon. 

Punk’s segment with Seth Rollins on Raw this week was by far the most watched quarter of the show, according to Brandon Thurston. It averaged 1.88 million viewers and a 0.62 in the 18-49 demographic, with the rest of the show averaging 1.47 million viewers and a 0.46 rating. 

Meltzer continued: 

Punk opened up what may have been a shut door. How open that door is or what’s going to transpire, I don’t know but Punk, he’s a significant player and that’s one of the reasons he’s going to be at the house show in Los Angeles this week. Everyone’s headquarters is in LA and I’m sure they are going to invite everyone they are courting there. 

Punk has been announced for WWE house shows on December 26 at Madison Square Garden in New York and December 30 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. He’s advertised to wrestle Dominik Mysterio on both shows. 

Meltzer went on to say the current WWE regime is not as concerned with exclusivity in its TV rights deals. He noted that the deal for WWE NXT programming allows for the CW Network to air other wrestling content as well. 

I don’t think that WWE would demand exclusivity and I don’t know that WBD would let them demand exclusivity. At the same time, does that mean they would want two different wrestling products? This is all wait and see. 

A lot of this depends on how much they have to pay for the NBA, which is a key part of this whole equation. 

The full show is available for subscribers here.