One word to sum up WWE’s new deal with SiriusXM? Acceptance. | Opinion
The deal announced Thursday between WWE and SiriusXM to create WWE Radio this Monday makes too much sense, but it doesn’t mean everyone is going to like it, me among them.
However, I have come to accept this is just the way of things now. I give up, kind of. The era of media standing on its own without bias is nearly extinct and this is the latest comet hurtling toward that version of how things used to be.
Some thoughts on each of the big players involved:
WWE is the big winner
it’s another checked box for how their hardcore fans can get WWE audio content and a partnership with one of the biggest players in the space that is about as well known as it gets in all of what is now considered radio.
It also allows WWE to try something new (again) by expanding into radio only play-by-play which they haven’t attempted in decades. This might be my favorite part of the whole thing. I think it’s worth a shot as not everyone is by a TV or device of their choice during a PLE. I’m intrigued, even if it’s just an early experiment at offering alternate commentary.
This deal also puts WWE Radio alongside MLB Radio, NBA Radio, NFL Radio and even other branded channels that aren’t just sports. It’s the audio version of Fanatics Fest and why the nostalgia factor is such a key arrow in WWE’s quiver. If you don’t care about wrestling, it’s hard not to know what WWE is.
It’s also rare to find a car that isn’t enabled with SiriusXM these days (except the Mazda we bought, apparently). Anyone with a subscription will now have access to WWE Radio driving around whenever they want and will see it in lineups, flipping through stations, etc.
They are 100% a winner in this whole thing without a doubt. There is zero downside.
A no-lose situation for SiriusXM
They get to align with another big brand in their constantly shifting search to both keep and gain subscribers. There’s nothing more that subscription companies like than potential subscribers who are used to paying for content already. Enter wrestling, MMA and boxing fans. Nick Khan said WWE fans “travel” when it comes to subscription services so grab your suitcase and credit card, please.
If WWE offers enough exclusives to make SiriusXM worth the price for fans, that’s a win for both sides and worth the gamble. WWE has to hold up their end of the bargain in order to do that, though.
SiriusXM also gets to keep their 24/7 wrestling station going 13 months after making the switch, but with a stronger brand name — a trade I’m sure they were happy to make. I’m curious who made the first overtures to do this as it makes a lot of sense from a business perspective. I’m surprised they didn’t work an angle to make it TKO Radio and also bring in UFC and Zuffa Boxing talk as well, but perhaps that’s for another day.
And what of Busted Open Radio?
Part of the discourse Thursday was that now, Busted Open and other shows don’t have to hide their WWE bias anymore. Jim Ross went off on this earlier this week, saying Busted Open was like listening to WWE informercials while admitting he was biased since he works for AEW. I guess he knew something, huh?
I think getting anyone to believe that discussion about AEW, NJPW or other non-WWE partners is going to be plentiful and meaningful on any WWE Radio show, to the extent it ever was, is probably in for a rude awakening. There might be a status quo nothing changes approach at the beginning, but we all know how this is going to go: slowly, adeptly and then, poof.
Their primary programming on BOR and other shows features Bully Ray, Natalya, Mark Henry, Sam Roberts and Peter Rosenberg — all affiliated with and/or paid by WWE in some form. Dave LaGreca isn’t dumb and will do whatever it takes to keep the train moving and given the state of radio, I can’t blame him. Unless they want to lose their job, why would anyone challenge any of this? As of this writing, I don’t think anyone has resigned in protest and I’d be shocked if they did.
SiriusXM is going to want to keep their new partner happy and it’s hard to believe doing a substantial deep dive on AEW Redemption this Monday on the first day of the WWE Radio changeover is going to make that partner happy. Maybe it gets some run, but it won’t be for long.
Does any of this really matter?
I’m 48 and lived through an era when AM/FM radio was a huge part of life, but it’s 2026 and I might as well be talking about the era of print newspapers to high school kids. Radio still exists but is hanging on by a thread due to music channels with no DJs and sports talk in big markets. (Oh, wait. SiriusXM just took that too.) The kids have moved on and most of us have, too.
Give or take, there’s roughly 5,430,602 podcasts and YouTube shows about wrestling out there. Like with anything, fans that want to find opinions and topics that align with theirs can do so at no cost and as much as they want. We’re in the echo chamber era, dissenting opinions be damned.
Why this stings for uncs like myself (did I do that right, Joe Currier?) is this is yet another blow to independent media and the potential of holding powerful institutions to any sense of accountability or to have an honest discourse about what we’re seeing. We used to have that and it was great. Like icebergs, that time has nearly all melted away and we’re flooded with (shudders) influencers instead.
Say Vince McMahon returns to WWE this fall. Will that be discussed honestly on WWE Radio or with a very positive brush? What about another scandal or terrible creative choice? WWE isn’t going to want their content discussed negatively, so why would SiriusXM not go along if it’s not what both WWE hardcore fans and WWE wants?
In the end, WWE has cornered another media market. The question now is what they will go after next. Who knows? Maybe they can bring back print media next. What’s Vic Venom doing these days, anyway?
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.