Merger of WWE and UFC: Economics of the deal and what the future holds
Wrestlemania 39 was not the only blockbuster news concerning WWE in the past week. On April 3, 2023, Endeavor Group Holdings and World Wrestling Entertainment jointly announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to form a new, publicly listed company. The agreement has combined sports and entertainment giants, WWE and UFC, to create a single entity valued at a whopping $21 billion.
For the uninformed, the deal is much like how Universal Champion Roman Reigns unified the two top titles at WrestleMania 38. But what does this deal mean for the future of the two merging companies? Will it change the viewing experience? Will the change be for good, or the contrary? These are the sort of questions that must be running through the minds of fans that follow either or both companies.
The curious case of Vince McMahon's return to the WWE
The biggest question following this massive deal is what role will Vince McMahon, the unarguable godfather of sports entertainment, play post the merger between WWE and UFC? The former has announced that McMahon will continue as the Executive Chairman of the Board and lead the merged entity alongside Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, and Mark Shapiro, who will be President and Chief Operating Officer of both Endeavor and the new company.
However, according to media reports, McMahon will no longer have majority voting control over WWE or other entities within the new company. He will reportedly hold 18% of all shares post the merger. The deal, however, comes at a very interesting point, especially considering where WWE currently stands. Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over as the Chief Content Officer last September and for the most part, has been unanimously loved in his job.
The big question remains whether McMahon will return to heading the content creative post the merger, especially since a large (and socially vocal) section of fans have voiced their displeasure over the alleged falling quality of the product.
The break from the monotonous and somewhat predictable yet unpopular booking by McMahon has made Levesque a fan favorite. Using trending hashtags like #FireVince on Twitter post the merger announcement, the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) has clearly voiced its displeasure against the possibility of McMahon returning to the helm. The question also remains significant due to the nature of McMahon's retirement from his role in the organization last year.
Vince McMahon announced in June 2022 that he is stepping down and retiring completely after decades of heading the sports entertainment company. The announcement came on the back of allegations of sexual misconduct and paying hush money worth millions to multiple former female employees of the company. However, he didn't stay apart from his multi-billion dollar creation for long.
In a move that has not pleased many people, McMahon returned to the board of WWE in January 2023, several months after he retired from the sports entertainment company. With a much larger ethical decision looming, what step the two merging companies take regarding McMahon in this new era will be intriguing, to say the least.
Moving beyond just how the deal will impact the fans, there are much larger implications for the people who are actually working for the merging companies. The world economy has been going through a rough patch for the last few months. Big tech giants and small firms have all announced layoffs, creating all sorts of doubts and questions in the minds of the global working population.
Now, considering there are several overlapping positions, layoffs are not uncommon after mergers, but given the delicate condition of the economy, the magnitude of it all could cause a stir.
In a recent interview, WWE CEO Nick Khan commented on the subject of layoffs by saying:
“We’re not sure…an integration team is going to be put into place between both companies in short order, and we'll know — we'll have a lot more in the next week or two."
So to sum it up, the mega $21 billion merger is bringing about a seismic shift in the landscape of sports and entertainment. The questions arising are endless, but the answers are hidden only in the future.
Of course, there are positives and negatives to every event, but the newly merged entity will be keen to generate some trust among its age-old fanbase while also attracting fans from WWE and UFC to each other’s sides. Paul "Triple H" Levesque appeared on WWE programming last week to say:
“I am here to assure you: We ain’t going nowhere. The same WWE that you love, the superstars, the action, the drama, all of it – we are going nowhere.”
Other promotions like AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling will also keep a keen eye on how things unfold and be ready for a slip-up. Fans will certainly hope to see their favorite stars from WWE and UFC crossover in the meantime and produce the variety and unpredictability that the product sorely needs. Ultimately, only time will reveal what this implies, both onscreen and off, but theorizing is part of the fun.