If you talk about WWE’s best period, many fans, without any hesitation, will name the “Attitude Era”. With its edgier content, the company not only crushed the TV ratings, but also overpowered its rival promotions. During that time, Vince McMahon also collaborated with an American men’s lifestyle and entertainment magazine called Playboy. In fact, WWE Divas like Sable, Torrie Wilson, Chyna, and more were featured on its cover during the late 90s and 2000s.
Well, a lot of you might be unaware that at one point, Vince McMahon was interested in buying Playboy. As a matter of fact, both parties had talked about a potential purchase. During a recent edition of the “Something to Wrestle” podcast, WWE Executive Bruce Prichard opened up about the matter.
Bruce Prichard confirms there were negotiations between Vince McMahon and Playboy
Speaking on his show, the WWE Executive discussed how being on newsstands via Playboy was a big deal for them. He believes it made a WWE star look like a “huge celebrity” whether people brought the publication or not.
Bruce also admitted that Vince McMahon was interested and, in fact, approached Hugh Hefner for a purchase. As WWE shifted towards a more PG-Themed product, there were negotiations between Vince and the publication owner.
“We were winding down the Playboy association… We were transitioning to a more PG-themed product. But there was a point in time where we were negotiating to actually purchase Playboy. That was an interesting time as well.” the WWE Executive stated.
Bruce Prichard is not the only person who has made such claims. In 2020, Eric Bischoff also confirmed Vince McMahon wanted to buy Playboy.
Speaking on his 83 weeks podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer claimed he connected Linda McMahon and Joe Francis (the founder of Girls Gone Wild) for a meeting in the early 2000s. Bischoff stated that both parties were interested in purchasing the publication.
The former WWE CEO now wants to sell WWE and is asking for around $9 billion
Gone are those times when Vince McMahon used to turn every stone possible to keep WWE under his grip. Right Now, his sole motive for return is to sell the company.
According to recent reports, the 77-year-old is asking for a whopping $9 billion from the sale of WWE. However, the investors still feel the asking price is slightly lower than their expectations.
Nevertheless, if WWE had not gone PG and purchased Playboy, one can only imagine how the product would have been today. Obviously, the deal never came to a proper conclusion, as both are currently two separate companies.
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