Newcastle United were almost taken over by Vince McMahon in 2014, as the Magpies nearly became a part of the WWE.
Back in 2014, the club were not in the best state. Newcastle finished sixteenth in the Premier League with Alan Pardew at the helm. He was not the most popular manager and all of the goodwill from his 5th place finish one year earlier had quickly evaporated.
The club were looking towards another midtable finish in the 2013/14 season under the Englishman. The unpopular Joe Kinnear was appointed as Director of Football, while the sales of Yohan Cabaye and Shola Ameobi were unpopular with The Toon.
Owner Mike Ashley continued his penny-pinching and refused to build on Pardew’s success a few years earlier.
He spent only £350,000 in the transfer market, refusing to invest the Cabaye money as Newcastle struggled to fill the gap in midfield in that season. This lack of investment would lead them to relegation just two years later in one of the darkest periods in club history.
However, it could have been worse. Much, much worse.
Mike Ashley could have sold the club to a worse owner, one with much worse crimes to his name and one who is a stain on the history of the professional wrestling business.
That man is Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Vince McMahon Almost Bought Newcastle United In 2014
In February 2014 after a poor transfer window from Newcastle United, there were reports that Vince McMahon was set to complete a takeover of the North England football club.
Winnersport.co.uk reported that a Newcastle United insider claimed that WWE boss Vince McMahon was ready to make a bid to buy the club from Mike Ashley and become the new owner of The Magpies.
There was even a suggestion of WWE events being held at St. James Park. The UK has always been a big market for wrestling, especially given the history of the likes of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks in this country.
“Vince McMahon has been sniffing around the club and seems keen on pursuing his interest.” They wrote. “He sees England as an untapped market for his wrestling empire. He has even indicated he could put on wrestling bouts at St James’s Park
“Obviously it is very early days but there is hope the fans may get what they want with Ashley leaving. Buying a club like Newcastle would throw him into the spotlight in England which is just what he is looking to do.”
Buying a club to bring wrestling to the UK seems like an odd choice. Vince McMahon didn’t own any football team when he brought Summerslam 1992 to Wembley Stadium, nor when Clash at the Castle 2022 was hosted in Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium.
McMahon has never been shy about stepping into the world of legitimate sport, although his record in American Football should have been a warning sign to Newcastle fans.
Launching the XFL in 2001 almost bankrupted him and the reboot in 2020 was sadly killed by COVID. Now, a Premier League team is almost a license to print money, although given how badly he mismanaged the WWE in his last years in charge, Vince McMahon likely would have not done too well with Newcastle United.
Luckily, this report was never followed up on and the deal never went ahead. The former WWE Champion never commented on the rumours, indicating that the deal fell through or it was just a false rumour all along.
Vince McMahon buying Newcastle United would have ignited the war with AEW years before the latter company was even created. Shahid Khan bought Fulham in 2013, one year before McMahon was said to buying his own club.
Shahid’s son Tony Khan works at Fulham and is the Vice Chairman and Director of Football Operations. He would also go on to form All Elite Wrestling in 2019, becoming the WWE’s biggest competition since WCW was closed in 2001.
So, Vince McMahon did not end up buying Newcastle United. All sources indicate that it was merely a rumour and one that nobody should have taken seriously. It would have been incredible to see WWE vs AEW play out inside a football boardroom but sadly it is not to be.
