Fake fighting and real fighting will be run by the same company. Endeavor, which owns the UFC, is buying a majority stake in WWE and forming a $21 billion dollar live-combat brand:

First things first, that’s a shit ton of money for a fake sport. I had zero idea WWE was still in this position financially. I’ve done a fairly decent job of keeping up with the WWE storylines over the years, but didn’t really pay attention like I used to during the Attitude Era. I know it’s been said a million times, but there was nothing like the Attitude Era. When every kid in the 1990s-2000s got detention for chopping your crotch and telling your teacher to “SUCK IT.” The fact there aren’t more paralyzed little brothers scooting around the world is a testament to how good we were at Tombstone pile drivers growing up. I could sell a Stone Cold Stunner at seven, better than Vince McMahon ever did:

Now it’s the end of an era. If you would’ve told me in the 2001 that one day Vincent Kennedy McMahon would sell the family business, I’d call you crazy. This is the same dude who created a storyline where he would cheat on his real life wife with Trish Stratus, ask for a divorce on Smackdown!, institutionalize her where she fell into a “comatose” state, and fight his son at Wrestlemania. I mean what the hell was family dinner like that whole year? I know Succession is supposed to be about the Murdochs, but you can’t tell me Logan Roy doesn’t have a little Vince McMahon in him.

What a time to be alive! Nowadays he looks like an oil baron:

Wrap that interview up. He’s got a woman he needs to tie to some train tracks later today.

Regarding what this could mean for the future of WWE; I wonder if they’ll do crossover PPV promotions. A two-for-one deal. You’ll have Jon Jones fighting in Las Vegas and the next match Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes are wrestling for the title down the street. Could there be more UFC fighters transitioning to the WWE when their careers wrap up, a la Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar? Probably. We’ll definitely have WWE guys getting in the octagon like Ken Shamrock. Hopefully WWE can lend their mic skills to some of these dudes in the UFC. It’s been a while since we’ve had someone who can sell a fight like Conor McGregor. Vince is back after retiring in July and will be a part of creative again, but not in a full capacity level it seems, which should be good for the brand, but you never know what he’s bound to do on any night:

Should be interesting to see if the PPV model changes and what happens with their Peacock deal now that Comcast lost out on the acquisition.

P.S. Do you think Vince has to let Ari Emmanuel sneeze in front of him now that he owns most of the company? Kind of has to right?