WWE News: The WWE Could Go Bankrupt If They Buy TNA Wrestling

The latest bit of WWE news surrounds a potential business transaction that could bankrupt the company, if indeed it goes through: Vince McMahon is looking to buy TNA Wrestling and incorporate it into part of the WWE brand!

According to The Christian Post, who was the first to report the latest bit of WWE news about the potential acquisition of the struggling TNA brand, one of the biggest mistakes that TNA has made over the years is the fact that they let their “good” talent — most notably, AJ Styles — seek greener pastures in the WWE.

While TNA Wrestling has always struggled with viewership, especially when compared to the millions of people per week that WWE brings in each week with their combined Raw and SmackDown brands, TNA Wrestling — as evidenced by the aforementioned AJ Styles — has been able to churn out consistently successful wrestlers. But a wrestler with technical know-how in the ring is not enough to bring in the viewership, and that’s why many TNA wrestlers who defect to the WWE have to go through the company’s NXT program, which is for developing wrestlers and “rising stars.”

And though the rumors of former Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan wanting to acquire a majority share in TNA temporarily raised the profile of TNA Wrestling, it proves to be all for naught in terms of long-term gains for the company.

But according to Justin LaBar of Tribune Live, this latest WWE news surrounding the potential purchase of TNA Wrestling can’t lead to anything good for the company. In fact, LaBar predicts that if WWE were to go through with the purchase of the struggling company, it could mean bankruptcy for the WWE brand.

For one thing, LaBar says, wrestling viewership numbers are slowly dwindling, especially with the different ways that people can watch wrestling now – streaming media, DVRs, and various software being just a few of the many ways that customers are taking viewership away from the TV audience. Second, unlike the WCW — which was a viable threat to the WWE back when they acquired it in 2001 — TNA Wrestling was never a threat to the viewership of the WWE, because they appealed to two very different audiences. Finally, the addition of the TNA roster to the already-bloated WWE roster could mean dwindling profit margins for the company.

And WrestleZone agrees with LaBar’s statement about this latest bit of WWE news about the financial state of the company being compromised with the bid for TNA Wrestling. In fact, they put it best when they said that it was “redundant” programming.

“Number 1, you already do TNA better than TNA does TNA. Did you follow that? You have NXT. NXT has become a thriving third brand under the WWE umbrella. It’s already what TNA tires to be. Small, intimated audience. Several weekly tapings filmed at once. Puts emphasis on wrestling and wrestling moves and less of the entertainment that WWE’s main brands have moved towards. If WWE acquired TNA, it would be redundant programming. NXT is your answer.”

And these claims are further substantiated by the success of the newly-introduced Cruiserweight fighters that are invigorating the Raw brand and the increased excitement of potential trades between the Raw and SmackDown brands. With such a favorable lineup of heels and heroes between the different aspects of the company, the rousing success of the Pay-Per-View events, and the live events at arenas that consistently sell out across the country — not to mention the newfound international WWE audience — is it really necessary to have a TNA Wrestling roster that, if nothing else, will prove to be a financial burden to the brand… especially since TNA wrestlers don’t become “superstars” unless they’re recruited to the WWE?

What do you think of this latest bit of WWE news about the potential acquisition of the TNA brand? Leave your thoughts about the latest WWE news in the comments below.

[Featured Image via AP Photo/Jessica Hill]