Tag: Wwe Sale

Wrestling Observer Live: WWE sale, Becky wins NXT title, football kills RAW, more

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including a bunch of notes and comments from the WWE sale, Nick Khan talks CM Punk, Dana White talks all UFC fans becoming WWE fans and vice versa, Becky wins the NXT Title, your full NXT TV report, RAW gets killed versus football and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Wrestling Observer Live: WWE sold, RAW report, ratings, AEW ticket sales, more

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive airs the day that the McMahon family no longer owns WWE. We’ll tell you all the latest, all the cool buzzwords being spouted, plus the news, the RAW report and so much more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Wrestling Weekly: Vince McMahon is a zombie that can’t be killed

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Vince. Is. Back. 

What does the Executive Chairman’s true return to power mean for WWE TV and does that do AEW & Tony Khan a favor?

We discuss that and whether WWE missed the moment this past Sunday at WrestleMania 39 with Cody Rhodes not defeating Roman Reigns.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click Here To Listen

Dana White says Endeavor can take WWE to another level

Posted on by Ian Carey

Dana White says Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel helped UFC get to another level and he can do the same for WWE. 

Endeavor purchased UFC in 2016 for $4.02 billion. According to a CNBC report earlier this month, the company now has enterprise value of $12 billion. 

White, who owned 9% of the company at the time of sale, remained on as UFC president and says he only has “positive, incredible things” to say about working with Endeavor. 

White appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday and was asked about the WWE and UFC merger. 

White said:

That’s one of the great things about Ari [Emanuel] and why he’s such a great partner and why he’s so good to work with. He came in and he bought the UFC, they asked me to stay and Ari’s one of those guys that lets you run your business, he lets you do what you do. 

He also revealed that he met with the McMahons and told them what working with Emanuel is like. 

White continued: 

I actually met with the McMahons the last time I was in New York. They wanted to know what it was like to be in business with him and everything else and, obviously, I couldn’t say anything but incredible, positive things about it.

Emanuel will serve as the chief executive of the new company created through the WWE and UFC merger. White doesn’t believe the merger will impact the UFC at all but will be very beneficial for WWE. 

White said:

How this is going to affect our company, it won’t at all, we’re going to keep doing what we do. How it affects WWE is I think there is a lot of value that Ari can add on the business side whether it’s licensing, sponsorship, and the list goes on and on, he’ll help grow those different areas of their business. They’re valued at $9 billion, watch and see what they are in five years. 

We always knew there was room for growth and what we wanted to do, and the Fertittas were really good about this, just like Bob Meyrowitz who sold it to us, Bob Meyrowitz felt like we were guys that could take it to another level and the same thing happened when we sold to Ari. You want to sell to a guy who can help grow the business and take it to another level and that’s exactly what Vince has done too. 

Fight Game: Will Cody Rhodes’ redemption story work?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back with a brand new Fight Game Podcast.

We kicked off the show with our thumbs up/thumbs down segment that led into a long discussion around the booking of Cody Rhodes at both WWE WrestleMania 39 & Raw. 

We also discussed Vince McMahon and the sale/merger with Endeavor.

Then, we took a look at Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite from a big picture perspective.

Some of the topics discussed:

  • Tony Khan’s announcement of not only AEW’s debut in London but at Wembley Stadium
  • Jay White’s AEW re-debut and bad camera work
  • The continued saga around the “four pillars” and why they should probably pivot
  • Bryan Danielson’s reason for his heel turn and the Blackpool Combat Club destruction of Adam Page
  • FTR beating the Gunns for the AEW Tag Team titles and keeping thier AEW careers

You can subscribe to The Fight Game Podcast on Apple Podcasts and follow us on Spotify or click below to listen.

Click Here To Listen for free

Wrestling Observer Live: AEW to Wembley Stadium, Jay White Dynamite debut, WWE sale timeline

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Tony Khan’s big announcement about Wembley Stadium, what we know and don’t know about the time and date, AEW Dynamite with the debut of Jay White and more, when the WWE sale came to be, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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First Endeavor bid for WWE made in mid-March, Liberty Media was ‘stiff competition’

Posted on by Ian Carey

The deal for Endeavor to purchase WWE came together in just a few weeks.  

Endeavor president Mark Shapiro spoke with Puck recently and said he did not know the deal was going through until Saturday. Shapiro says Endeavor put in a bid to purchase a majority share of WWE just three weeks prior. 

The all-stock deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. 

Endeavor’s first bid was reportedly made in mid-March at a meeting with Shapiro, Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, and Vince McMahon at the Raine Group offices in New York. Shapiro and Emanuel then made a second and “more emotional” pitch the following week at WWE headquarters. 

From Puck:

The pair outlined their proposal during a meeting with WWE chairman Vince McMahon and C.E.O. Nick Khan at Raine Group offices, in New York, in mid-March, sources involved with the deal told me, and made a more emotional pitch one week later at WWE headquarters in Stamford.

Liberty Media, owners of F1, the Atlanta Braves, and SeriusXM were also in the running to purchase the company up until Endeavor and WWE signed a term sheet on Saturday evening. 

The report continues:

Still, they faced stiff competition from at least one rival bidder—John Malone’s Liberty Media, the owner of Formula One—until the very end

“It was nip and tuck all the way,” Shapiro said about the process. 

Shapiro also said he feels the merger puts WWE in a better position to negotiate television rights fees later this year. 

He said:

“There’s no question that when Nick goes in to renew his domestic deals, having us at the table, with our relationships and our portfolio of assets, will be helpful in the process.” 

Due to the merger, staffing layoffs are potentially a cost-saving opportunity for the newly created company. Shapiro believes they can save up to $100 million by combining WWE and UFC into one company. 

“Anything from H.R. to finance to legal to communications production to distribution and marketing,” Shapiro said. “Across every area, you’re going to find cost synergies; you’re going to integrate and ultimately highlight and appoint the best and brightest teams.”

Daily Update: WWE sale notes, new NXT match, Impact Against All Odds

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

Latest Free YouTube Video:

Join us in Las Vegas for our annual F4W Convention

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

Highlights include:

  • Records that will be set during WrestleMania weekend
  • Match by match previews, odds, and what are the goals of the matches
  • Ticket sales for the six major shows in Los Angeles this week
  • Notes on NXT and AEW doing major shows on the same day on 5/28 and background of that story
  • A look at the career of Tim White, going into the Hall of Fame
  • Stand & Deliver and Supercard of Honor previews
  • Secondary market interest in all of the shows
  • Update on WWE sale
  • Update on Vince McMahon as it pertains to WrestleMania and the sale
  • A look at the careers of Anderson Silva and Donald Cerrone as they go into the UFC Hall of Fame
  • Full coverage of this past week’s UFC show, business notes, problems that seem to always be there in Texas and why
  • Notes on the first AAA TripleMania show of 2023 and the AEW relationship, the tag team tournament that will lead to a mask or hair being cut, another mask match, a celebrity match that has gotten mainstream news in Mexico and a funny story behind it, and more.
  • How many homes are the major stations that carry wrestling and MMA in as compared to the peak
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for the past week’s shows, competition, quarter hours, the weekly standings and more
  • 80th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of the major arenas in the world coming up this weekend
  • Wrestler whose matches are now not being put up new on YouTube and why
  • Kairi talks AEW & WWE talent she’d like to work with
  • Stardom Cinderella tournament news and new major matches
  • Lots of injuries to major stars being talked about
  • Konosuke Takeshita returns to Japan this past week to team with former WWE star
  • Mark Hitchock Memorial show with top matches
  • XPW returns
  • RevPro York Hall big show notes
  • Bloodsport notes including the first match back of Kota Ibushi
  • Impact dealing with key injuries and crowning one or two new champions
  • Impact star competing in a bodybuilding contest this week
  • Impact uses former NHL star who has been doing indie shows
  • Tons of AEW news including Jon Moxley’s podcast interview, C.M. Punk’s potential return, next PPV show
  • Don Callis injury update
  • Notes on timing of a major return
  • Tony Khan’s view of ROH compared to AEW and who ROH is aimed for
  • Honor Club update
  • AEW All Access first episode looked at
  • AEW’s top merchandise sellers
  • Tony Khan on MJF as a babyface
  • Vickie Guerrero talks leaving AEW
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • New UFC main events
  • Fighter attempts to win title in third weight class
  • Benavidez vs. Plant boxing numbers and what percentage of AEW & WWE big show buyers purchased that PPV
  • MMA stars in major boxing event this week
  • Promotion with its own unique audience with 91 percent of TV viewers not watching any rival promotion on TV
  • Nick Khan talks TV rights
  • What Nick Khan says are the most important things to WWE
  • Rey Mysterio’s future and how long he wants to wrestle
  • Update on Dominik Mysterio
  • Interesting note on Rey Mysterio’s career
  • Ronda Rousey talks creative and not in flattering way
  • A look at new WWE recruits

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

Ordering Info:

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Tuesday Update

WWE

AEW

  • This week’s AEW Road To, focusing on FTR vs. The Gunns in a title vs. AEW career match.
  • In an interview with TVLine, Heels star Stephen Amell said that CM Punk will be “more involved” in the upcoming second season of the TV show.
  • This week’s Sammy Guevara vlog.
  • MJF has announced rules for Wednesday’s “MJF Day”.

Other Wrestling

  • Impact announced that Against All Odds will take place on June 10 in Columbus, Ohio.
  • Former WWE star Eva Marie has signed a new fitness deal with TYR Sport.
  • Sam Adonis has replaced real1 (Enzo Amore) in the upcoming MLW War Chamber match.
  • On a recent episode of The Wise Men, Kevin Kiley Jr. (Alex Riley) said his recent eye surgery was a success.

Triple H assures fans ‘the WWE that you love is going nowhere’

Posted on by Ethan Renner

On the day Endeavor announced its impending acquisition of a controlling stake in WWE, Triple H assured fans “The WWE you love is going nowhere.”

WWE’s chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque opened the Raw after WrestleMania with a promo thanking the company’s performers, staff, and fans, and assured those fans that the company would continue to deliver the product that the fans love. 

“The day after WrestleMania, when we are water cooler talk, when we are all anybody wants to talk about, well then WWE comes along and makes an announcement that is all anybody wants to talk about, but I am here to assure you, we ain’t going nowhere,” Triple H said. 

“The same WWE that you love, the same WWE that put 161,000 people to the rafters in SoFi Stadium, is going nowhere,” Triple H continued. 

“The same WWE that you love, the superstars, the action, the drama, all of it. We are going nowhere.”

“We will be here week in and week out, event after event, sold out arena after sold out arena, packed stadium after packed stadium, because we are the WWE.”

“And just like it says in the beginning — Then, Now, Forever, Together.”

Full details on the Endeavor transaction can be found here. 

Video of Triple H’s promo can be seen below. 

Dana White issues statement on WWE and UFC merger

Posted on by Ian Carey

Dana White has commented on the merger of WWE and UFC. 

As part of the agreement, White will remain president of UFC, while Nick Khan will act in the same role for the wrestling side of the business. Vince McMahon will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board for the new company. 

White’s comment reads:

This company has been on fire for the last seven years and now that we will be adding WWE to the portfolio, I am excited to take this to another level. Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then add what we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next five years. 

Zuffa LLC sold a controlling share of UFC to Endeavor for $4 billion in 2016. Endeavor then purchased the remainder of the company in 2021. 

Vince McMahon stated that he was excited to work with Ari Emanuel, Endeavor, and the UFC teams in a press release on Monday.

McMahon said: 

I, along with the current WWE management team, look forward to working closely with Ari and the Endeavor and UFC teams to take the businesses to the next level.”

WWE and UFC could pursue combined streaming deal

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE and UFC may choose to seek a combined streaming deal after current agreements expire.

Nick Khan told Axios on Monday that the newly created company will seek separate TV rights deals for both its wrestling and MMA properties. However, he wouldn’t rule out the idea of a combined streaming deal in the future.

WWE’s current streaming deal with NBCUniversal’s Peacock expires in 2026 while UFC’s deal with ESPN+ expires in 2025. 

When asked about a potential combined streaming deal, Khan only responded, “the good folks at NBCU have been tremendous partners to us. So let’s see what they have to say.”

Khan also wouldn’t rule out the potential of layoffs and staffing changes coming out of the WWE/UFC merger.

“We’re not sure,” Khan said. “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.”

Khan also noted that WWE will be continuing its relationship with The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

“[O]ur relationship with The Kingdom is a terrific partnership for which we’re appreciative of, and you know, nothing in terms of anyone else’s prior experience will affect that.”

“We think that we’ve delivered the product in the way that the Kingdom wanted it delivered. We have a multiple year agreement with them in place. We’re excited to do a show — we’ll be back there May 27 for a big premium live event.“

The premium live event Khan is referring to is The King and Queen of the Ring event scheduled to take place in the Jeddah Super Dome next month. 

Vince McMahon: I will remain involved in WWE creative at a ‘higher level’

Posted on by Josh Nason

In an exclusive interview with CNBC taped Sunday, both Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon went into deep detail about the big Monday news that WWE will be acquired and merge with UFC into a new combat sports powerhouse.

A jubilant McMahon, sporting his new look, was asked about whether he would remain in creative going forward. He said “yes and no” and that he would remain at a higher level, but not “in the weeds” as he said he has loved to be in the past.

McMahon said the merger is “the biggest thing Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon have ever done. Combining forces like this, there’s never been anything like this. People will be talking about this for a long time.”

Following regulatory approval that could come within the next 4-6 months, the yet-to-be named company will combine the two combat sports brands in a way that excites Emanuel.

“It’s very rare to get iconic brands like the UFC and WWE together. Individually, they are incredible assets. Together, with the flywheel of Endeavor, I believe it makes them unicorns,” he said, later saying they are working on the new name of this property.

Emanuel said he has known McMahon for 23 years as he first represented them as a young agent. He put McMahon over as a visionary that saw the explosion of cable, pay-per-view, taking the company public, and going direct to consumer before others in his space did. 

“Just look out,” he said.

The scandal and legacy

Asked by Scott Wapner about whether last summer’s hush money scandal helped pushed a sale along quicker than he would have liked, McMahon said it didn’t “in and of itself” and the sale would have happened anyway.

McMahon was asked about his legacy with the sale, the last year of controversy, and everything else.

“I have made mistakes, obviously, personally and professionally throughout my 50 year career. I have owned up to every single one of them and then moved on. I’m not sure on legacy stuff, I’m not going to write it,” he said, adding he has had an extraordinary amount of fun, a great passion for what he has done, and “did the biggest deal (Emanuel) has ever done in his life.”

Emanuel joked he would have bodyslammed McMahon if he thought was going to leave following a sale, answering “Oh my god, yes” when asked if he wanted him to stick around.

“Him being able to utilize what we have built in our flywheel, I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” he explained, saying that between McMahon, UFC president Dana White and what Endeavor has built, “That’s pretty unstoppable.”

When it comes to being talked into staying, McMahon said “not that much” as the company is his passion and he’s loved building WWE all his life and now with the opportunity to grow the company further.

“I wasn’t going to let him (walk away),” Emanuel said, adding that it’s an honor to him to have McMahon stay “because of what his vision for what the business is and where it’s going.”

With McMahon reporting to Emanuel, what happens if there’s a disagreement?

“If we disagree on something that we want to do, we’re not doing it,” Emanuel said, saying the same relationship will apply as it does with Dana White and Silver Lake where Endeavor has nothing to do with the creative process and focus on all the “back stuff.”

“That’s called a relationship. We will work it out,” he explained.

Both men downplayed McMahon gaining the full rights to his likeness and story with Emanuel saying, “It’s fair. It’s his legacy. He is the one that should control his legacy.”

“This is going to be UFC 2.0”

McMahon said the company needed to evolve and the synergies Endeavor brings are “totally different than everyone else. 

“It’s the right time to do the right thing and the next evolution of WWE. I could probably do what Ari is with the UFC, but it would probably take me ten years. When I got to that ten years, Ari would be ten years ahead so it makes all the sense in the world for all the synergies and so we can extract all the value we can from the marketplace,” he said.

Emanuel felt neither WWE or Endeavor weren’t getting the pure value out of what they offer, saying that, “Combined, it’s rarified air.”

Emanuel said they paid a fair price and paid a little bit for control premium. He feels that with Endeavor’s cost cuts, WWE’s new deals coming up, and cost savings, they are in a great position going forward. 

He said people criticized them for buying IMG and UFC, but, “This is going to be UFC 2.0 as it relates to all the things in the flywheel,” and the “unbelievably attractive economics” in doing so.

What did Wall Street miss in not seeing the deal? “Everything,” according to Emanuel.

When asked about the possibility of TV rights increases, Emanuel touted Raw and SmackDown’s rating increases, the key demos it appeals to, and how their rate card is “way below market by a significant amount.” He feels that with content being king and everything that WWE brings to the table, “I think they’re going to get a proper price” with the next round of rights negotiations.

Vince McMahon: WWE/Endeavor deal ‘the best outcome for our shareholders’

Posted on by Josh Nason

With the news made official Monday morning that Endeavor will acquire WWE and merge them with UFC to create a new publicly traded combat sports company, Vince McMahon has spoken.

The WWE Executive Chairman, who will hold the same title in the new company, was quoted in WWE’s press release announcing the deal, saying it was “the best outcome for our shareholders and other stakeholders.”

“Given the incredible work that Ari and Endeavor have done to grow the UFC brand – nearly doubling its revenue over the past seven years – and the immense success we’ve already had in partnering with their team on a number of ventures, I believe that this is without a doubt the best outcome for our shareholders and other stakeholders.

“Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity. The new company will be well positioned to maximize the value of our combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster our strong stable of brands. I, along with the current WWE management team, look forward to working closely with Ari and the Endeavor and UFC teams to take the businesses to the next level.”

“Ari” is Ari Emanuel, the Hollywood power broker who is the CEO of Endeavor.

The deal still has to clear regulatory hurdles, but could be closed by year’s end if it does. Endeavor will own 51% of the unnamed company (trading under the TKO stock symbol) with the other 49% to be owned by WWE shareholders.

The $21 billion number is the combined announced valuation of WWE ($9.3 billion) and UFC ($12.1 billion) with the market to determine what the company is truly worth.

McMahon announced the news to employees and there will be a 4 PM Eastern all-hands call regarding the transaction (via Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston):

“I’m excited to announce that WWE has entered into a partnership with Endeavor to create a one-of-a-kind company that will bring together two global sports and entertainment powerhouses: WWE and UFC.

“The historic alliance of these two formidable institutions has the potential to unlock vast growth opportunities for both organizations and generate an optimal outcome for our employees, shareholders, fans, and other stakeholders

“We are huge admirers of the work Endeavor has done to grow the UFC brand, and they will be the perfect partner to help supercharge our growth at WWE.”

Nick Khan will remain on as president of WWE under the new company as will UFC president Dana White.

McMahon and Khan signed new employment agreements last week.

WWE first became a publicly traded company in October 19, 1999, selling 11.5 million shares at $17.00/share. As of 8:30 AM Eastern, pre-market trading had shares down to $85.26, down 6.5% from Friday’s closing price of $91.26.

Daily Update: WWE sale, Randy Orton, WrestleMania 39

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

Latest Free YouTube Video:

Join us in Las Vegas for our annual F4W Convention

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

Highlights include:

  • Records that will be set during WrestleMania weekend
  • Match by match previews, odds, and what are the goals of the matches
  • Ticket sales for the six major shows in Los Angeles this week
  • Notes on NXT and AEW doing major shows on the same day on 5/28 and background of that story
  • A look at the career of Tim White, going into the Hall of Fame
  • Stand & Deliver and Supercard of Honor previews
  • Secondary market interest in all of the shows
  • Update on WWE sale
  • Update on Vince McMahon as it pertains to WrestleMania and the sale
  • A look at the careers of Anderson Silva and Donald Cerrone as they go into the UFC Hall of Fame
  • Full coverage of this past week’s UFC show, business notes, problems that seem to always be there in Texas and why
  • Notes on the first AAA TripleMania show of 2023 and the AEW relationship, the tag team tournament that will lead to a mask or hair being cut, another mask match, a celebrity match that has gotten mainstream news in Mexico and a funny story behind it, and more.
  • How many homes are the major stations that carry wrestling and MMA in as compared to the peak
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for the past week’s shows, competition, quarter hours, the weekly standings and more
  • 80th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of the major arenas in the world coming up this weekend
  • Wrestler whose matches are now not being put up new on YouTube and why
  • Kairi talks AEW & WWE talent she’d like to work with
  • Stardom Cinderella tournament news and new major matches
  • Lots of injuries to major stars being talked about
  • Konosuke Takeshita returns to Japan this past week to team with former WWE star
  • Mark Hitchock Memorial show with top matches
  • XPW returns
  • RevPro York Hall big show notes
  • Bloodsport notes including the first match back of Kota Ibushi
  • Impact dealing with key injuries and crowning one or two new champions
  • Impact star competing in a bodybuilding contest this week
  • Impact uses former NHL star who has been doing indie shows
  • Tons of AEW news including Jon Moxley’s podcast interview, C.M. Punk’s potential return, next PPV show
  • Don Callis injury update
  • Notes on timing of a major return
  • Tony Khan’s view of ROH compared to AEW and who ROH is aimed for
  • Honor Club update
  • AEW All Access first episode looked at
  • AEW’s top merchandise sellers
  • Tony Khan on MJF as a babyface
  • Vickie Guerrero talks leaving AEW
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • New UFC main events
  • Fighter attempts to win title in third weight class
  • Benavidez vs. Plant boxing numbers and what percentage of AEW & WWE big show buyers purchased that PPV
  • MMA stars in major boxing event this week
  • Promotion with its own unique audience with 91 percent of TV viewers not watching any rival promotion on TV
  • Nick Khan talks TV rights
  • What Nick Khan says are the most important things to WWE
  • Rey Mysterio’s future and how long he wants to wrestle
  • Update on Dominik Mysterio
  • Interesting note on Rey Mysterio’s career
  • Ronda Rousey talks creative and not in flattering way
  • A look at new WWE recruits

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

Ordering Info:

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Sunday Update

Bryan and I will be back tonight covering night two of WrestleMania. We did shows Friday night covering the TV shows and ROH Supercard of Honor, and last night covering the latest news and WrestleMania night one, previewed night two and NXT Stand & Deliver. We’ll also be up after Raw tomorrow.

There are multiple reports out that it will be announced tomorrow that Endeavor has purchased the majority interest in WWE. This CNBC story that just broke said that Endeavor would spin WWE & UFC into a separate publicly traded company, which would allow both the UFC and WWE profits to pay the interest and that this deal could be announced as early as tomorrow. The story is that Endeavor would create a joint company composed of both UFC and WWE. They would have people in place in the company which would enable them to cut duplicate jobs if necessary, lowering costs, plus negotiate deals either together or separately with using the power of owning both brands. The idea is through owning both brands they could use that leverage to get higher rights fees for both properties. The rest of Endeavor would become a separate company. Notable in that is that the UFC profits have been valuable in the old Endeavor company in carrying it. Ari Emanuel would run both companies. Vince McMahon and Mark Shapiro would be Executive Chairmans of the new company while Nick Khan would remain president of WWE and Dana White would remain president of UFC. Essentially that gives McMahon even greater power in the sense he would be co-chair of both WWE and UFC if the story is accurate. Emanuel had said multiple times of late that he wasn’t interested in buying WWE and they were trying to lower the company debt. The new company would theoretically pick up the UFC and WWE purchase debt.

Regarding Randy Orton, on Friday we were told by WWE and actually asked to put out that he was not ready to return for a while due to his recovery from injuries and were told they wanted that out with the idea people shouldn’t get their hopes up for an appearance. The only reason I’m bringing that up is because Nick Khan did say in an interview this week that Pat McAfee would not be part of WrestleMania this year (which was kept secret from everyone) and there he was last night. When asking others nobody knew of plans for Orton for tonight but that would likely be a secret if there were.

The WrestleMania match order as of a few hours ago was:

  • Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
  • Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green vs. Natalya & Shotzi
  • Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre for the IC title
  • Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s title
  • Edge vs. Finn Balor Hell in a Cell
  • Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed title

There will be major ring entrances of course like last night including for Edge and Finn Balor. Everything points to Brood Edge as part of the presentation and it’s already been announced Demon Balor. There is the Hall of Fame announcement later in the show. Bobby Lashley has been saying he will issue an open challenge. 

As of this morning there were 67,134 tickets out for tonight’s show and 88 remaining plus 1,522 secondary market tickets that were purchased but not yet sold (which is not unusual at all). There will probably be some tickets opened up late like happened yesterday.

There were a lot of chants for LA Knight when they talked about The Miz open challenge last night and “Yeahs.” Fans were after clearly wanting Knight to be the guy Lashley faces tonight. Houston Mitchell of the LA Times said he’s been going to wrestling for over 40 years and has rarely seen a groundswell of support for a guy out of nowhere like that and can’t believe it’s just because his name is LA.

Dustin Rhodes is in Los Angeles

Dante Martin was released from the hospital and was with Tony Khan. There is no update regarding the medical procedure.

MJF will be getting a key to the city of Oyster Bay on Long Island tomorrow at 2 p.m.. at Oyster Bay Town Hall. 

For the weekend we are dong polls on ROH Supercard of Honor, NXT Stand & Deliver and both nights of WrestleMania. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from all four shows to [email protected]

We are also looking for reports from the GCW Hall of Fame ceremony today as well as any of the Los Angeles non-WWE/ROH shows the last two days to [email protected]

As far as Google searches go for the week, WrestleMania had 500,000 thus far for Friday/Saturday and was second behind the Final Four for the week. Snoop Dogg was No. 18 yesterday although that was at least partially not due to WrestleMania and the lead story on him wasn’t Mania related. Nothing from MMA made the list with no UFC shows. But ROH and NXT didn’t nor would they be expected to crack the top 20. Anthony Joshua was No 10 yesterday with 50,000 and Roy Jones Jr., who boxed MMA star Anthony Pettis last night in Milwaukee, was No; 15 with 20,000.

Pettis beat the 54-year-old Jones via decision in a boxing match in Milwaukee last night via eight round decision. Vitor Belfort also knocked down Jacare Souza three times in winning a decision on the show, while Jose Aldo went to a draw on that show with Jeremy Stephens. Aldo in his post-fight interview went hard on Conor McGregor claiming McGregor turned down a rematch with him. McGregor responded of course saying that the two of them should box.

Report: WWE finalizing deal to be sold to Endeavor

Posted on by Ian Carey

Endeavor, the parent company of UFC, is reportedly in advanced talks to purchase WWE on a deal that could be announced as soon as Monday.

CNBC’s Alex Sherman reported the news Sunday afternoon, hours before the second night of WrestleMania 39. 

As part of the agreement, WWE and UFC would merge into one publicly traded company with 51% owned by Endeavor and the other 49% by WWE shareholders, according to the outlet’s sources.

Sherman reported the deal will give WWE an enterprise value of $9.3 billion and UFC with an enterprise value of $12.1 billion.

Vince McMahon is reportedly expected to remain as Executive Chairman of WWE with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel expected to become the new company’s chief executive. 

Endeavor president Mark Shapiro will serve in the same role for the newly created company with WWE CEO Nick Khan acting as president of the wrestling side of the business with Dana White remaining president of UFC.  

Emanuel commented on the company’s potential interest in WWE last month during Endeavor’s fourth quarter earnings call. At the time, he seemed to suggest they weren’t looking at purchasing the company. 

“As it relates to WWE, it’s an unbelievable product,” Emanuel said. “Vince, you know, created a great business. We’ve had a longstanding relationship with them over two decades. We’re doing on location business with them, streaming business with them, his business is really valuable. But we’re not going to do anything as it relates to changing our leverage position right now.”