World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is no longer under the control of the McMahon family. Vince McMahon, who turned WWE into a global juggernaut, has finally relinquished his grip and sold the company for a reported $9.3 billion! While night 2 of WrestleMania 39 was in full swing, CNBC reported that a potential sale of the company was on the horizon.
However, fans were apprehensive as there were previous reports of Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund being close to buying the company. Although that never happened, the return of Vince McMahon to the company indicated that the intention to sell the promotion was evident. Hence, the report of Endeavor buying the WWE did not surprise many.
Today, @Endeavor announced it has signed an agreement to form a $21+ billion global live sports and entertainment company made up of @UFC and @WWE. https://t.co/lPrkBmKJXm pic.twitter.com/ZBk95c5exU
— Endeavor (@Endeavor) April 3, 2023
But interestingly, Endeavor, which owns the UFC as well, will merge the companies to build another publicly traded super company. The new merger company, which is yet unnamed, will be worth an obscene $21 billion! So there is a lot of curiosity among the fanbase regarding the positions of power in the new super company. So which authority figures are staying on board? Let’s find out!
Will Vince McMahon and Dana White remain after WWE merges with UFC?
According to a report from InvestorsObserver, Endeavor is set to retain control of 51% of the new company. The rest of the 49% of the company will remain under the control of the WWE shareholders. As fans know, with new takeovers, come several changes in key positions. But, WWE fans desperately want to know what role Vince McMahon will play in the new company.
By the time Vince McMahon retired from the creative side of the WWE, the talent and fans became tired of his methods. They felt much more comfortable when Triple H took over and reinstated a sense of peace behind the scenes. But, it does not look like Vince will leave the company despite selling it. The report adds that Vince will stay on as the Executive Chairman of the Board for the merger company.
However, he will not have involvement in the creative department of the company. After WrestleMania 39 night 2 culminated, Triple H confirmed that regardless of what the next morning had in store, he was not going anywhere. So the reports of Vince not having creative control make sense. Endeavor head honcho Ari Emanuel will be the CEO of the newly formed company.
As for the UFC, things pretty much remain the same. Dana White will be in charge of the UFC and the MMA promotion is expected to continue its run without any changes. However, fresh-looking Vince McMahon and Ari Emanuel sounded optimistic about the venture and its future prospects.