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>Dave Meltzer discussed the situation on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. Fox wanted to ink a deal to broadcast Raw. USA had the first right of refusal to match any offer Fox made. When they made an offer for Raw, USA matched it. The rest is history.
>“It was a unique situation because it was multiple bidders. The deal was Fox wanted Raw, not SmackDown. USA had the right to match any offer, and so they matched the offer that Fox bid for Raw. Fox, at that point, wanted SmackDown.
>And at that point, USA had spent so much money on Raw, it was just kind of like, ‘We’re not going to match you for SmackDown,’ but that’s how the numbers went way up.”
>“It was a unique situation because it was multiple bidders. The deal was Fox wanted Raw, not SmackDown. USA had the right to match any offer, and so they matched the offer that Fox bid for Raw. Fox, at that point, wanted SmackDown.
>And at that point, USA had spent so much money on Raw, it was just kind of like, ‘We’re not going to match you for SmackDown,’ but that’s how the numbers went way up.”
