On a huge day for the company, representatives from WWE were in New York City on Tuesday to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.
It was announced on Tuesday morning that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been appointed to the board of directors for TKO Group Holdings (WWE’s parent company). Soon after, WWE made the announcement that it has agreed to a 10-year deal to bring Raw to Netflix starting in January 2025.
TKO Group celebrated the news with Johnson ringing the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. He was joined by Vince McMahon, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Nick Khan, Endeavor/TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, and more.
After ringing the bell, Johnson and Emanuel were interviewed on CNBC together. Here are notes from their appearance.
Ari Emanuel:
When asked about the increase for Raw’s rights, Emanuel said the financial terms of the Netflix deal are “in line” with the stock market’s expectations. Emanuel thinks Netflix is a global leader and the best company for sports entertainment, which they’ve proven with Formula 1 and the Tour de France.
Emanuel thinks this is an important step for Netflix. Live programming is important for Netflix.
TKO stock is currently up nearly 20 percent after today’s news. Emanuel stressed that the word “Netflix” is a big part in that. The relationship with Netflix strengthens WWE’s brand on a global basis.
Emanuel doesn’t think linear TV or cable is going away, but there is a push to streaming. WWE has a linear play with SmackDown and NXT, and Raw is their streaming play. Emanuel thinks it’s a great deal for Netflix.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson:
Joining the TKO board of directors is an “unprecedented” move. His grandfather Peter Maivia and father Rocky Johnson would have never thought that something like this would happen.
There’s no CEO in the world like Ari Emanuel. Game-changing deals are a testament to who Emanuel is. Johnson is excited for the WWE-Netflix deal.
Johnson has secured full ownership of his “The Rock” name in addition to joining the TKO board of directors. Johnson said there’s a business and economic side of getting the name, but it goes much deeper than that for him. Johnson owes The Rock name everything. There would be no wrestling or Hollywood career without it. The name is a derivative of his father. Emanuel had a million reasons to say no, but he found the reason to say yes. The name is something that Johnson has earned and Emanuel thinks belongs to Johnson.
This is Johnson’s first time on the board of directors for a public company. He’s been asked to join other boards in the past, but the family connection makes this important. Johnson is excited about it and always looking to grow. Johnson is a builder of things and enjoys building. He loves and admires Emanuel and loves building with him.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is taking on a new role within WWE.
It was announced on Tuesday morning that Johnson has been appointed to the board of directors for TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE. TKO was formed last September when Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE was made official. It’s a merged company consisting of both WWE and the UFC, though the two promotions operate independently from each other.
A press release stated that Johnson “has significant experience identifying and cultivating revenue generating media rights, live events, sponsorship, licensing, and social media opportunities,” and his appointment to the board of directors “reflects TKO’s commitment to delivering long-term value and strong performance for shareholders through strategic growth initiatives across both UFC and WWE.”
In addition to his appointment to the board, WWE and Johnson have entered into an agreement that gives Johnson full ownership of “The Rock” name.
WWE has also entered into a services and merchandising agreement with Johnson that provides for his promotional, licensing, and other services, and an intellectual property assignment agreement pursuant to which Johnson has secured ownership of the trademarked name, ‘The Rock.’ The name is derived from his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, who was the first Black champion in WWE history (alongside partner Tony Atlas). Johnson’s grandfather, Peter Maivia, a Samoan-American professional wrestler, was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
Johnson returned to WWE programming with a surprise appearance on the Day 1 edition of Raw earlier this month. During the appearance, he teased a future match against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. WWE hasn’t confirmed when or if that match will be taking place.
Johnson made a social media post after that appearance stating that he was going to make history, raise the bar, and do things that have never been done before in WWE.
Tuesday morning’s press release included quotes from Johnson, Vince McMahon, and Endeavor/TKO CEO Ari Emanuel.
Johnson said:
My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, and my dad, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson, would’ve never thought this day would come. Which is why I’m very humbled to have a seat at the table that has decades of history and family legacy for me. A table that my family helped to build. Being on the TKO Board of Directors, and taking full ownership of my name, ‘The Rock,’ is not only unprecedented, but incredibly inspiring as my crazy life is coming full circle. At my core, I’m a builder who builds for and serves the people, and Ari is building something truly game changing. I’m very motivated to help continue to globally expand our TKO, WWE, and UFC businesses as the worldwide leaders in sports and entertainment — while proudly representing so many phenomenal athletes and performers who show up every day putting in the hard work with their own two hands to make their dreams come true and deliver for our audiences. I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them.
McMahon said:
Very few people on the planet understand the convergence of sports, entertainment, media, and business like Rock. We are proud to have him join the TKO board to help take our company to new heights.
Emanuel said:
I am thrilled to partner with Dwayne and welcome his immense talent to TKO’s Board. Dwayne brings an incredible track record of creating content and building globally recognized consumer brands, and he will play a key role in realizing our ambitions for TKO.
It was also announced that Brad Keywell, the founder of Uptake Technologies, has joined TKO’s board of directors. The board now consists of 13 members: McMahon, Emanuel, Mark Shapiro, Nick Khan, Peter Bynoe, Egon Durban, Steven Koonin, Jonathan Kraft, Sonya Medina, Nancy Tellem, Carrie Wheeler, Johnson, and Keywell.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque is excited about WWE’s future under the Endeavor umbrella.
The WWE-Endeavor deal was officially completed this September. With the deal being finalized, WWE and the UFC have been merged into one publicly traded company named TKO Group Holdings.
Levesque, Dana White, and Nick Khan sat together ringside as they attended the Callum Walsh vs. Ismael Villarreal boxing match in New York City on Thursday night. While there, Levesque spoke to Sports Illustrated about WWE now being part of Endeavor.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am,” Levesque said. “Working with Endeavor, it’s next level. The flywheel for all the things they touch–if you were trying to build that on your own, it’s taking you a decade. For us, now, it fast tracks everything we’re doing.
“Endeavor, UFC, they’re the best in the business at what they do. They put things on a different level of professionalism, and we fit right into that. The future is so bright because of the opportunities Endeavor is going to provide for us and the synergies that are there. We’re going to take this to a whole new level.”
Levesque has the job title of Chief Content Officer in WWE. Following the merger, Levesque is the person making all of the key decisions in WWE creative. Endeavor/TKO CEO Ari Emanuel is the person responsible for Levesque’s increase in power.
Vince McMahon intends to sell 8.4 million shares of TKO Group Holdings stock, roughly 30 percent of his stake in the company.
According to a press release and documents that TKO filed with the SEC, McMahon intends to sell 8.4 million shares of the company’s Class A common stock, which as of close of the stock market on Thursday was worth just over $713 million.
In after-hours trading on Thursday, the TKO stock price was down roughly 5.3 percent with the news of McMahon’s sale.
The SEC filing notes that TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO COO Mark Shapiro intend to buy $1 million of the stock McMahon is putting up for sale, with other company directors set to purchase $850,000 worth of the stock.
TKO Group Holdings will repurchase approximately $100 million worth of the stock.
McMahon remains the executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings. The company was created by a merger between WWE & UFC that was finalized in September.
The stock sale comes after a mixed bag of results from Q3 of 2023 for TKO and an SEC filing from the company stating that McMahon’s “membership on our Board could have adverse financial and operational impacts on our business.”
The new issue of the Observer is up on the site right now covering these stories:
Match and performer of the week
Preview of Crown Jewel, favorites and directions
Preview of Full Gear, directions, business and more
Update on perhaps the most important business story this year and its ramifications as the Cung Le lawsuit against UFC is headed for trial next year. We talk about the trial, what it means to UFC, WWE and the MLW lawsuit against WWE. We also have notes from discovery on the actual pay that Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, CM Punk, Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones got for their biggest career fights.
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, the story behind coming one round short of one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. We look at what happened, how this fight was a prelude of the change of the business of major events and why, how the PPV did and why it doesn’t really matter, the celebrities and what happens next.
We preview the 2023 Hall of Fame with research on the wrestlers with the best matches throughout their careers, best tag matches, annual MVP, Most Outstanding, Best Draws and best tag team votes involving candidates on the ballot or in the Hall of Fame and who comes across well in this.
A look at the Vladimir the Superfan documentary
The most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week, numbers, competition, gains and losses over the last year, placings and segment-by-segment.
Women’s Grand Prix show draws big crowd
Injuries plaguing Stardom
Stardom PPV and tag tourney coverage
Big match this weekend in All Japan
A tag match this past week that you should see
Nakajima’s NOAH farewell
New Japan U.S. house show notes
Update on a women’s dream match that was planned but now is uncertain and why
New Japan Super Juniors tag team tournament news
Ronda Rousey working indies against AEW stars
Talks of two pro wrestlers and fights with Jake Paul
CM Punk talks unionization of wrestlers
New documentary coming out in two weeks
Jon Moxley returns from concussion
Jon Moxley talks concussion protocols
Impact signs two U.K. wrestlers
Impact U.K tour
Bryan Danielson injury details
Notes on Ric Flair’s two new deals with AEW
Talks on Omega vs. MJF
More on the CMLL/AEW deal
Ticket advances for WWE & AEW shows
International TV ratings and top streaming numbers
Merch sales
Derrick Lewis arrest
UFC pay
This weekend’s UFC show
Why FOX didn’t bid to keep Smackdown
Raw’s live show growth
Fastlane actual gate numbers
What record did WWE claim that doesn’t look to be accurate
Lots of injury updates
Reviews of al the major WWE house shows
WWE signs a three-time national college wrestling women’s champion
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Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw television negotiations, Raw, Most Outstanding Wrestler of 2023, Giulia, NWA, Power Struggle and the rest of the latest wrestling and MMA news. We have our Hall of Fame show up on the site with several voters talking about their picks, surprisingly similar which is interesting. People have heavily praised that show to us. People have noted that there has been more Hall of Fame research done in the last year and I think a lot of voters that have studied have come to more clear consensus.
The TKO earnings call covering WWE and UFC will be tomorrow at 5 p.m. Eastern. It will cover business from July through September. They will likely talk about advance sales for the Royal Rumble.
J.P. Morgan did a major analysis of the WWE & UFC business. They believe the stock is undervalued and should be trading at $100. It is undervalued. They estimated a 42 percent increase in the Raw rights fee to $375 million, felt that stock drop over concerns that Saudi Arabia will back the PFL to be real competition for UFC as being overblown, especially when UFC made its own deal with Saudi Arabia. Plus they expect cost savings from WWE & UFC working together. They pointed out WWE Raw costs 97 cents per viewer hour, barely one-third of the NFL and less than half of baseball. Smackdown’s new deal puts them at $1.35, but that’s misleading and will be far higher because Smackdown viewership will drop greatly with the move to USA. AEW’s TV deal is ridiculously low compared to these other entities. They list potential bidders for Raw as Disney (FX), Amazon, WBD (TBS and/or TNT) and USA. They also mentioned Apple and Netflix. They talked about a unique deal where the first two hours would air on FX and the third hour would move to Hulu. They listed WBD as a longshot due to AEW, but also felt Fox may bid for AEW after losing WWE.
I’ve got a Sports Illustrated article regarding the battle for Will Ospreay as well as the battle for the main event spot at WrestleMania.
Raw tonight is from Wilkes-Barre, PA with Miz (babyface) vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ricochet vs. Ivar with the winner getting an IC title shot at Gunther, a women’s Battle Royal for a title shot at Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest & Finn Balor vs. New Day in what I believe will be a non-title match plus Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Akira Tozawa. One would think they’ll be setting up directions for War Games in three weeks in Chicago. The show had 7,200 tickets out as of earlier today. We’re looking for live reports from the show with Main Event results or any things not on the live television show to [email protected]
We’re looking for your thoughts on both Crown Jewel and NJPW Power Struggle, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Jorge Masvidal plead guilty to misdemeanor battery charges and in exchange his two felony charges were dropped from the March 2022 incident where he allegedly punched Colby Covington as Covington was coming out of a restaurant. If you think that closes the chapter, you’re wrong. As soon as it was closed, Masvidal wrote on social media, “It’s going to be a f***ing movie now. All these orders, all these restraining orders been lifted off. It’s going to be a f***ing movie.” Masvidal then went on Ariel Helwani’s show and all he talked about is what he would do if he saw Covington on the street. I can’t even imagine what the prosecution in the case would be thinking now.
Dana White announced new UFC title fights with Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title on 1/20 in Toronto, Alexander Volkanovski defending the featherweight title against Ilio Topuria in February and Sean O’Malley defending the bantamweight title against Marlon Chito Vera in March.
A story about the new “Iron Claw” movie about the Von Erich family in Entertainment Weekly. There will be a red carpet preview of the movie tomorrow night in Dallas.
As we noted in yesterday’s update, and was confirmed today by the promotion, the 11/18 Tam Nakano vs. Suzu Suzuki match for the World of Stardom title is off the Osaka show due to Nakano’s left knee injury. As of right now, no decision has been made regarding the title. There is hope of doing the match on the 12/2 Big Winter PPV show in Nagoya, but that is not a definite at this point because it’s not clear if Nakano will be ready. (thanks to Jose Gonzalez, Mori Ono and Aoi Ito)
This is Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite so far: MJF vs. Daniel Garcia for the AEW title, Samoa Joe vs. Keith Lee for the ROH TV title, Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe, Penta vs. Swerve Strickland, Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet
NXT tomorrow has :Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley in an Iron Survivor qualifying match, Dijak vs. Tyler Bate in an Iron Survivor qualifying match, Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner, Noam Dar vs. Akira Tozawa for the Heritage Cup
Ric Flair was brought to Schembechler Hall today to speak to the University of Michigan football team. Flair is friends with Jim Harbaugh, the coach of the team, who he knew from the late 80s when Harbaugh was quarterback for the Chicago Bears.
AEW will be doing an event on 11/16 at the Inglewood High School Gym. Paul Wight and Matt Menard will be the announcers as AEW wrestlers and fans compete in three point shooting, free throw shooting and a dunking contest. R.J. City and Lexy Nair will host a pre-show event. The event will benefit the Brotherhood Crusade, which is an organization helping to improve the quality of life for low-income, underserved and under-represented disenfranchised people.
Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili was teased by both fighters on social media.
Wipeout with John Cena debuts its new season on TBS tomorrow at 9 p.m., head-to-head with NXT.
MLW has added a ladder match with Rickey Shane Page & Akira vs. 1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice for its 11/18 FITE+ special from Philadelphia.
The Grizzled Young Veterans appear for House of Glory Wrestling On 12/1 at the NYC Arena in New York. The Mane Event tag team of Midas Black & Jay Lyon defend their tag titles against Zack Gibson & James Drake, the former Dyad from NXT. Matt Cardona vs. Mike Santana for the HOG title is the main event, plus Swerve Strickland vs. Mike Bailey which on paper looks like a tremendous matchup is also on the show.
Impact will be doing a Throwdown Thursday comedy show on Saturday night in Mississauaga, ONT at the Dan Kolov Arena. It’s a comedy show where Impact talent will play characters out of a 1970s low-rent regional promotion.
The return of WaleMania will be 4/4 in Philadelphia at the Franklin Music Hall.
Results from yesterday’s Samurai TV 27th Anniversary Fan Appreciation Festival: Sakura Hirota & Ayako Sato b Humko Hoshi b Ibuki Hoshi & Arisa Shinose & Tsukasa Fujimoto, Aja Kong & Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ryo Mizunami b Yuuri & Yukari Hosokawa & Kaede Mtsushita, Arisa Nakaima & Saki & Haruka Umesaki b Maya Yukihi & Ungai Sayaka & Riko Kaiju,Abdullah Kobayashi & Batten x Burabura & Kankuro Hoshino b Danshoku Dino & Gorgeous Matsuno & Makoto Oishi, Yuya Aoki & Musashi & Shoki Kitamura & Takuya Nomura b Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazunai Murakami & Yuji Hino. They also had talk segments with Keiji Muto and Kaito Kiyomiya, where Muto talked about his WCW days and knocked wrestlers doing dangerous things. Shota Umino also had a talk segment with Masahiro Chono, talking about New Japan, Will Ospreay and Chono’s five G-1 tournament wins. (thanks to Wrestling Nutshell)
Endeavor Group Holdings could be positioning itself for a sale.
Company CEO Ari Emanuel was quoted in an Endeavor press release on Wednesday announcing the initiation of a formal review to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company.
“Given the continued dislocation between Endeavor’s public market value and the intrinsic value of Endeavor’s underlying assets, we believe an evaluation of strategic alternatives is a prudent approach to ensure we are maximizing value for our shareholders,” Emanuel said.
The strategic alternatives could potentially include the company being sold. However, today’s press release specifically mentioned Endeavor will not consider selling its interest in TKO Group Holdings, the company created via the WWE and UFC merger earlier this year. Endeavor holds a 51% stake in the company.
“As part of this review of strategic alternatives, the Company will not consider the sale or disposition of the Company’s interest in TKO Group Holdings, Inc.”
“Endeavor has not set a deadline or definitive timetable for the completion of the strategic alternatives review process, and there can be no assurance that this process will result in any particular outcome. The Company does not intend to comment further regarding the review of strategic alternatives until it determines disclosure is necessary or advisable.”
Brandon Thurston posted an email sent to Endeavor staff regarding the news.
The email reads:
Today, Endeavor announced that it has begun a formal review of strategic alternatives.No other company has a global portfolio like Endeavor — across sports, entertainment, fashion, live events, and premium experiences. Still, Endeavor believes there is a disconnect between its public market value and the intrinsic value of its underlying assets.Given that, Endeavor has decided to evaluate strategic alternatives to ensure it is maximizing value for EDR shareholders. As part of this review, Endeavor will not consider the sales or disposition of its interest in TKO.Endeavor has not set a deadline or definitive timetable for the completion of the process and there’s no guarantee of any specific outcome.We do not anticipate any changes to your day-to-day, and we will share more information when the need arises.
Email to staff from Endeavor & TKO CEO Ari Emanuel about Endeavor pursuing "strategic alternatives": ———— Today, Endeavor announced that it has begun a formal review of strategic alternatives.
No other company has a global portfolio like Endeavor — across sports,…
Dana White prefers working with Vince McMahon over competing against him.
The UFC CEO spoke with Sports Illustrated recently and mentioned that his relationship with McMahon has changed considerably since their two companies merged.
“My history with Vince isn’t a good one,” said White. “He tried to f— me so many times for no reason whatsoever except just to f— me. But that’s in the past. Now that Vince and I are allies, no one’s been a better partner than Vince.”
“Since day one of the deal, it’s like I’m dealing with a different guy,” White continued. “It goes to show that when you oppose him, or he thinks you are opposing him, the guy comes after you blindly. Once you are aligned, Vince is an incredible partner.”
“We’ve probably spoken on the phone 20 times since the deal. It’s all added-value conversation–with Vince doing work and raising the bar for both companies.”
White continued to say that even though he and Vince haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, he’s always had a good relationship with Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon.
“Triple H and Stephanie have always been great to work with,” said White. “I’ve always had a great relationship with them, always, even when we weren’t aligned back in the day. But the most amazing story is the relationship with Vince McMahon.”
“Vince McMahon, man, he’s an absolute savage,” White continued. “Even with the stuff that went down with us in the past, I respect it. I love killers. He’s definitely a killer. He’s the Michael Jordan of the business world.”
Dana White on Vince McMahon:
“My history with Vince isn’t a good one. He tried to f— me so many times for no reason whatsoever except just to f— me. But that’s in the past. Now that Vince and I are allies, no one’s been a better partner than Vince.”https://t.co/lELeov9PWg
While McMahon remains the executive chairman of WWE, Levesque is now the person responsible for making key creative decisions for the company. A Sports Illustrated article earlier this month confirmed that Ari Emanuel was the one behind the change. Our own Dave Meltzer addressed the situation recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Vincent Kennedy McMahon was the guy making all the decisions, and now, Vince was in fact overruled, even though when he merged the company he was told that this would not happen. It did happen. And it’s a really interesting thing. And that statement when Ari Emanuel was talking about the reasons the stock is down and he mentioned Vince’s name. So it is very interesting I think what is going to happen,” Meltzer said.
“Vince’s power is clearly marginalized. There’s no way around that.”
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer gave an update on Vince McMahon being out of WWE’s creative process.
Meltzer reported last week that Paul “Triple H” Levesque is the person making all of the key decisions in creative right now. Meltzer noted that McMahon is out of the process at the moment.
Meltzer stated on WOR that the decision was made by Endeavor/TKO Group Holdings CEO Ari Emanuel.
“Vincent Kennedy McMahon was the guy making all the decisions, and now, Vince was in fact overruled, even though when he merged the company he was told that this would not happen. It did happen. And it’s a really interesting thing. And that statement when Ari Emanuel was talking about the reasons the stock is down and he mentioned Vince’s name. So it is very interesting I think what is going to happen,” Meltzer said.
“Vince’s power is clearly marginalized. There’s no way around that.”
Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated also reported last Friday that Emanuel was behind the change.
“Multiple contacts within the WWE and UFC have confirmed that Ari Emanuel, who wields power as the Endeavor CEO, is behind the change,” Barrasso wrote. “Emanuel has long been a firm believer that, in order for an organization to be as effective as possible, people need to do the job they are assigned. In this case, that approach has empowered Levesque to exert his full influence in the company’s creative sphere.”
Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE became official last month. WWE and the UFC have been merged into one publicly traded company named TKO Group Holdings.
McMahon has the job title of executive chairman of the board in TKO. Levesque is WWE’s chief content officer.
Endeavor and TKO Group Holdings CEO Ari Emanuel spoke about the state of WWE TV rights negotiations during an interview with Bloomberg Live.
TKO announced a deal for WWE SmackDown to return to the USA Network last month. While the deal is a 40 percent increase from the previous one, TKO’s stock price fell significantly after it was announced.
When speaking about a potential rights fee for Raw, Emanuel noted that WWE’s flexible schedule gives them an advantage over sports leagues such as the NBA.
“We got a 40 percent increase for SmackDown. We have Raw, which is the number one package available. There’s three rights coming available to market, three big rights: WWE Raw, UFC, NBA. We are involved in two of them. There’s six buyers. Plus, I would say, WWE Network, which is up in 2026,” he said.
“You cannot undervalue the WWE and UFC for the following reasons: 1) We do not have a season,” Emanuel continued.
“We’re 52 weeks a year and we’re flexible. You want us Thursday night? You want us Tuesday? I don’t have any of those scheduling issues. And that churn issue, because we’re the full year, is so much different from any other sport because then people turn out. That’s one of the issues with sports.”
“Our fans are loyal. They stick around and they stay with and they move.”
Emanuel continued to say that he does not feel an NBA rights deal will need to be finalized before one for WWE Raw can be.
“I would say to you, there’s plenty of interest in Raw right now,” Emanuel continued. “I know people are like ‘Well, NBC is out of the mix’ and that’s why (the stock) went down.”
On September 20, TKO Group Holdings stock was valued at $105.71 per share. When the stock closed on September 21, the day the TV rights deal for SmackDown was announced, the stock was down to $96.16 per share. As of this writing, the stock is now at $80.09 per share.
Emanuel explained why he believes the stock price has fallen in recent weeks.
“I think there’s three things that happened. 1) The reason the stock is down is what (the market) thought, that Raw was the best package. I thought a 40 percent increase, which was in line with expectation, was good. 2) The PFL situation. 3) Vince, in our deal, wanted to be able to put, at any point in time, his stock.”
A “put-option” allows a stock holder to sell a specified amount of stock at a predetermined price within a specified time frame.
Regarding the PFL situation Emanuel mentioned, the promotion sold a minority stake to the Saudi-backed SRJ Sports Investments last month. The value of the deal was reported by the Financial Times to be worth $100 million.
“WWE makes over $100 million from the Saudis for a five year deal for two events. It came from that group that does events in Saudi,” Emanuel said.
“It was announced actually today, I don’t know if you saw, we’re doing an event with the UFC in Saudi. And they said there’s no exclusivity, which is an indication that that was for events. We were bringing them an event. And so I think that will calm some nerves. And so now we have two big things to go out to market with.”
Emanuel was asked about Endeavor working with the Saudi government after returning a $400 million investment from them in 2019 in the wake of the Jamal Khashoggi murder.
“I didn’t want them, at the time, in our – we weren’t public at the time – in our investor stack,” Emanuel said.
“I didn’t say that we would never do business. I just didn’t want them in the financial stack of our investors. We distribute there now, soccer league through IMG. Because of WWE, we’re in business with them for at least five years. Two events a year. Great. They just bought an event from us for the UFC. Great price we’re doing. The event will be an unbelievable card.”
“So I just, at the time, didn’t feel comfortable for many reasons, which has been stated. But we’re in business with them now.”
UFC is scheduled to hold its first-ever show in Saudi Arabia.
It was announced today that the UFC will make its Saudi Arabia debut with a Fight Night event on March 2, 2024. The show, which is in partnership with the Saudi General Sports Authority, will be part of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season festival.
“As part of its thrilling activities, Riyadh Season will host a UFC Fight Night in collaboration with UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization on Saturday, March 2, 2024,” a press release announcing the show said.
“The event will feature a variety of UFC’s most successful and internationally known fighters. UFC CEO Dana White will announce participating athletes in the coming months.”
In 2018, Endeavor — UFC’s parent company — ended its business relationship with the Saudi government. The decision was due to the Saudi government’s role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Endeavor finalized its acquisition of WWE last month. With the deal, WWE and the UFC have been merged into one publicly traded company named TKO Group Holdings.
WWE has regularly held major events in Saudi Arabia since 2018. The shows are part of a long-term deal between WWE and the Saudi government.
Next month, WWE Crown Jewel is being held in Saudi Arabia during Riyadh Season. A boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou is also set for the festival. Fury vs. Ngannou is happening on October 28. Crown Jewel will then take place on November 4.
Another WWE executive is departing the company soon.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reported today that Suzette Ramirez-Carr will be leaving WWE next month. Nick Khan sent an email to WWE staff informing them of the news.
Ramirez-Carr was WWE’s chief human resources officer. Her last day with the company will be November 3.
“WWE’s EVP of Human Resources, Suzette Ramirez-Carr will be leaving the company on November 3, according to an all staff email from WWE President Nick Khan,” Thurston wrote. “HR was probably one of the more obvious areas for overlap with Endeavor’s services following the TKO merger.”
Ramirez-Carr formerly worked for United Talent Agency, Beautycounter, and Oaktree Capital Management. She joined WWE in May 2022. Her areas of oversight included talent acquisition, employee experience, development and engagement, and HR operations and training.
Executives Jamie Horowitz, Catherine Newman, and Andrew Levine were among those laid off by WWE last month. The layoffs were made after Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE became official. With the acquisition, WWE and the UFC have been merged into one publicly traded company named TKO Group Holdings.
WWE also made a round of roster cuts in September.
PWInsider reports that Andrew Levine was let go in Friday’s layoffs. Levine, who was with WWE for more than five years, was the company’s vice president of international and platform strategy.
WWE’s marketing, live events, podcasting, and WWE Network divisions were among those affected by the layoffs, according to PWInsider.
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Multiple WWE executives have been let go following Endeavor’s acquisition of the company.
The post-merger layoffs began on Friday with PWInsider reporting that Jamie Horowitz (EVP of development and digital) and Catherine Newman (EVP and head of marketing) have been laid off by the company.
Horowitz was hired by WWE in June 2021. He previously worked for ESPN, Fox Sports, and DAZN. In 2017, Horowitz was fired from his position as president of Fox Sports National amid a sexual harassment investigation.
Newman was the chief marketing officer for Manchester United Media prior to joining WWE in June 2022.
PWInsider adds that Amanda Bloom, who worked as director of enterprise master data and governance, has also been laid off by WWE. Bloom was with the company for nearly eight years, originally working as a metadata specialist.
It was announced on September 12 that the WWE-Endeavor deal had been completed. With the acquisition, WWE and the UFC have been merged into the publicly traded company TKO Group Holdings. Endeavor holds a controlling interest of 51 percent in TKO and WWE shareholders hold a 49 percent interest.
WWE informed employees on Thursday that it was “evaluating our existing operations and systems to identify potential synergies across the business.” WWE stated that would include workforce reductions, which would take place on Friday.
It was revealed on September 13 that WWE chief financial officer Frank Riddick, who received a $5 million bonus with the WWE-Endeavor deal closing, is departing the company at the end of this month.
A member of WWE’s executive leadership team is departing the company at the end of this month.
WWE president Nick Khan sent an email to employees on Wednesday announcing that Frank A. Riddick III will be leaving WWE at the end of September. Post Wrestling’s John Pollock shared a portion of the email:
Frank is a highly respected colleague, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside him. We are grateful for his counsel, support, and dedicated years of service and wish him only continued success moving forward.
Riddick had been WWE’s chief financial officer since 2021. In his role, Riddick oversaw WWE’s financial planning & analysis, strategy, controllership, investor relations, tax, data analytics, technology, event travel, and facilities departments.
Riddick also served as WWE’s interim chief financial officer for a period of time in 2020.
Riddick was a member of WWE’s board of directors for more than a decade.
The announcement of Riddick’s departure comes one day after Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE was made official. With the deal, WWE and the UFC have been merged into the publicly traded company TKO Group Holdings. Endeavor holds a controlling interest of 51 percent in TKO, with WWE shareholders holding a 49 percent interest.
The WWE-Endeavor deal could potentially offer crossover opportunities to some UFC fighters.
WWE and UFC were officially merged into one company today as TKO Group Holdings. Though they will continue to operate independently, Nick Khan told ESPN that the merger could offer some fighters the ability to extend their careers with TKO. Khan said fighters with big personalities could potentially crossover from UFC to WWE.
“UFC fighters are gonna stay focused on the UFC and WWE superstars obviously do something different in our ring,” Khan said. “… but you also see in the UFC people with big personalities who, once their UFC run is done, once the UFC and the fighter says, ‘Hey, maybe now’s the time to call it a day,’ could those people have a longer life at WWE, an extended life with TKO? We think so.”
Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey are among those who have been stars for both WWE and UFC.
UFC senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein also spoke to ESPN about the merger.
“Where we want to get is where every UFC fan is a WWE fan and every WWE fan is a UFC fan,” Epstein said.
ESPN wrote that there are no plans for WWE or UFC to undergo massive changes. Epstein said one thing that could happen in the future is UFC and WWE holding major events on the same weekend in one city and selling that as a package to tourism authorities:
There are no plans for ‘massive changes’ to the respective products, [Khan and Epstein] said. Epstein said White will still run the day-to-day operations of the UFC and Levesque will remain the head of creative for WWE. What could happen, Epstein said, is the UFC and WWE holding major events on the same weekend in one city and the two promotions going to tourism authorities and selling them on paying for the UFC and WWE as a package deal coming to their jurisdiction.
Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro have given an update on WWE’s talks for a new media rights deal.
Five months after originally being announced, Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE became official today. TKO Group Holdings, a merged company with WWE and the UFC, is now trading on the stock market. Endeavor holds a controlling interest of 51 percent in the new company, while WWE shareholders hold a 49 percent interest.
WWE’s media rights deals for Raw and SmackDown will be up in October 2024. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shapiro said they’re having “very encouraging conversations with several players and platforms” regarding new rights deals.
“We’re having very encouraging conversations with several players and platforms at the moment on WWE Raw and SmackDown,” Shapiro said. “We’re cautiously optimistic, we’re, in many ways, being valued as a unicorn because we’re a year-round. WWE is a full calendar, sports and entertainment platform with significant engagement, strong reach and attractive demos. And that bodes well for these conversations and I believe that we’ll have results that are in line with market expectations.”
Shapiro stated on CNBC that they’re in discussions with both linear and digital platforms.
Emanuel added that they feel very good about where they’re at with the negotiations. He thinks the new rights deals will be line with what the market thinks will happen.
During New York Fashion Week recently, Emanuel and Paul “Triple H” Levesque were spotted sitting next to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Amazon has been rumored as a potential landing spot for SmackDown.
SmackDown currently airs on Fox. Raw and NXT both air on USA Network.
Emanuel is the CEO of both Endeavor and TKO Group Holdings. Shapiro is the president and chief operating officer of both companies.
Representatives from Endeavor, WWE, and UFC were at the New York Stock Exchange this morning to ring the opening bell. On social media, Levesque wrote that this is the most exciting time that he’s ever been a part of in the industry.
