For months now a potential WWE sale has been a hot topic ever since Vince McMahon returned to the company back in January. Today it was officially confirmed that WWE has been sold to Endeavor and that WWE will merge with UFC to form a new publicly traded company.
PWInsider is reporting that while there were a lot of bidders, Vince McMahon has known Ari Emanuel for over 22 years which played a major factor when it came to Endeavor acquiring WWE.
There’s said to be a great level of familiarity with Vince McMahon and Ari Emanuel, and it was described as a “devil you know” situation where both sides have an understanding of what the other brings to the table. With WWE selling to Endeavor they don’t have to start from scratch with a company that might not know the product or might try to “reshape the wheel.”
Over the last week the two sides really began to click when it came to the terms of the sale, and late last week Endeavor shot ahead of the pack as plans were locked in. The feeling on WWE’s side is that Endeavor would likely be able to supercharge WWE and its intellectual property due to the success they’ve had with growing UFC.
Endeavor is a major force in Hollywood and the company also has a lot of resources, clout, and power that could help WWE grow their overall footprint. Vince McMahon felt that Endeavor could do what it did for UFC and make the company stronger. The feeling is that Endeavor can help to grow WWE and lift the company up as opposed to handing WWE off to a larger company where it could become just another asset.
The belief is that the WWE creative team, production team, etc. will remain in place and operate mostly the same as they did before without interference. The WWE product is not expected to change and will exist as it always has. WWE’s side is presenting it as business as usual with the corporate side presenting the sale as a major victory.
