An integral part of the 1990s was WWE wrestling, which over the decades had its ups and downs and many popular names aged or left the scene. The Rock is happy to be Dwayne Johnson from Hollywood. The Undertaker is missed since he retired in 2020. What can WWE do to reconnect with a new set of viewers globally?
The change…
Endeavor has bought a controlling stake in World Wrestling Entertainment and plans to combine WWE and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) into one publicly-traded company. Vince McMahon, who is synonymous with WWE, is a man who usually doesn’t like to share power. Yet, a few days ago he signed a deal with Endeavor, the holding company of former Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, for $9.3 billion to merge. For perspective, this is more than Disney paid for Marvel and Lucasfilm combined. If the merger goes through the new company will be controlled by Endeavor and Emanuel will be McMahon’s boss.
The move is unthinkable because for almost 40 years, Vince has been the face of WWE, which was founded by his father, Vincent James McMahon. Vince gradually bought the company — earlier known as WWF — from his father. And then he started the expansion of the company and, according to the Washington Post, he bought promoter Mike LeBell’s Los Angeles-based wrestling territory, and he bought Stu Hart’s Canadian territory.
Endeavor boss Ari Emanuel with his wife Sarah Staudinger
What happens now?
Vince retired as chairman and CEO of WWE last July after the discovery that he had used corporate funds to settle sexual harassment claims and had non-disclosure agreements. Yet, he remained the controlling shareholder and returned to the company in January as some board members were forced out and replaced. His move led to a spike in the stock price. Meanwhile, Endeavor too has become bigger, thanks to the controlling share it bought of UFC in 2016 and then bought the rest of the company in 2021.
After the potential merger, Paul “Triple H” Levesque remains in charge of creative direction, according to Post Wrestling. But once the merger goes through, the McMahons will have to work with Ari Emanuel.
WWE is expected to have a better reach and more advertisers may jump in. McMahon too has nothing to lose. His estimated net worth is more than $3 billion. He is a man who likes money as well as power. And he is now 77 years old, meaning it’s time for him to take it easy.
According to CNBC, Emanuel will act as chief executive of both Endeavor and the new company while McMahon will be executive chairman, and Endeavor president and COO Mark Shapiro will also work in the same roles at the new company. Dana White will remain president of UFC, and WWE CEO Nick Khan will stay on as president of the wrestling business. The board will feature 11 people, six appointed by Endeavor and five by WWE. The merged company’s name will be announced at a later time.
UFC champion Conor McGregor is happy with the potential merger. “Incredible. What a powerhouse!” he said in a tweet, following up with another tweet with an image of him showing the UFC and WWE championship belts.
Vince has told CNBC: “I’ve made mistakes both personally and professionally” and he won’t be “in the weeds” with WWE’s creative decisions when the companies merge. That’s just Vince talking. Will he able to stay away from the action?