Recent reports have confirmed WWE holds a contractual option to purchase TNA Wrestling. The agreement also grants WWE the right of first refusal, allowing it to match any competing acquisition offers for the promotion. This development follows an increasingly close on-screen relationship between the two companies, which has included TNA championships appearing on WWE’s NXT programming.
Matt Hardy, a current TNA World Tag Team Champion, addressed the situation on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast.
He stated WWE’s immediate objective appears to be collaboration, not acquisition. “I feel like right now, WWE wants TNA to be a partner, someone that’s on its own, that is doing its own business in some capacity, that they can use as a partner that can be there to be elevated as a strong promotion, maybe to one day compete with AEW.”
Hardy elaborated on the perceived strategy from WWE’s viewpoint. “’We want to build these people. So it’s another organization that we are friends with, that we have a say with, that we can work together, we can have a partnership, and they can help us remain as the top number one promotion in the world.’”
While acknowledging a future purchase is always possible, Hardy does not believe a deal is imminent. “Will they buy them in the future? That’s always a possibility,” he said. “WWE, buying anything is always a possibility, but as of right now, I don’t see it. I don’t see it happening anytime in the immediate future.”
The existence of the purchase option was first reported in mid-August by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The clause is part of a wider multi-year partnership agreement the companies formally announced in January 2025, which established a framework for talent crossovers.
Meltzer’s reporting also suggested a key strategic motivation for WWE is to weaken All Elite Wrestling. The partnership could elevate TNA, potentially hurting AEW’s market position and leverage ahead of its own television rights negotiations in 2027. This aligns with rumors of TNA Impact moving its broadcast to directly compete with AEW Dynamite.
WWE’s acquisition of Mexico’s AAA promotion earlier in 2025 serves as a recent precedent for its strategy of absorbing other wrestling companies.