Five Big Changes That Might Result From Merger

Published on April 5th, 2023 3:07 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Earlier this week, Endeavor, the parent company of the UFC, announced that the UFC and WWE would be merging into their own company.

According to Endeavor, the merged company will benefit from various synergies.

Dana White, Vince McMahon and others will both be staying on, while White remaining as the President of the UFC, and Vince McMahon serving as the Executive Chairman of the Board for the newly formed company.

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As a result of the merger, here are five things that will likely happen in the future:

1. Strong TV Deals for Both Companies.

Ari Emanuel has a tremendous amount of power and clout, and there is no doubt that he will be negotiating some big-time TV deals for the newly formed company.

This will be especially noticeable for fans of the WWE, as you shouldn't be surprised to see the company's TV programming on a very prominent channel when their TV deals are up.

2. Cross Promotion.

This will make some fans cringe, though it will absolutely happen.

Conor McGregor showing up at Wrestlemania?

Retiring MMA stars moving to the WWE?

It'll happen.

3. Vince McMahon Returns.

After "retiring", McMahon forced himself back into the company and is now as prominent and important as ever.

Don't be surprised at all if McMahon returns to be the main decision-maker when it comes to WWE creative.

4. WWE PPVs Return.

The UFC has a TV/PPV model, while the WWE has a TV/Streaming model.

I would expect that you will see the WWE transition back to PPVs for events such as Wrestlemania and Summerslam, while driving interest in these PPVs through their TV deals.

The WWE took a big leap a decade ago when they launched their streaming product, though I would expect Ari Emanuel to switch back to a TV/PPV model for the company.

5. WWE Stars Will Receive Less Money.

The UFC is very profitable, largely due to the fact that they are able to keep fighter expenses so low.

I think that a natural result of the WWE/UFC merger is that members of the WWE roster will likely find themselves making less money, especially when compared to the overall revenues of the company.