Ari Emanuel & Vince McMahon Appear Side by Side On CNBC

    

    Ari Emanuel said that UFC and WWE will be together as a publicly traded company. "This is the biggest thing Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon have ever done" said McMahon, sporting a bizarre mustache along with jet black dyed hair. McMahon confirmed that WWE had many suitors, including the Saudis. Vince said the deal would have happened, even if his scandals had not. The deal values the UFC at $12 billion and WWE at $9.3 billion. Vince was seeking $9 billion for the sale of WWE, which means he got that plus an extra $300 million.

    Just a few months ago, Vince McMahon was out of WWE, seemingly for good, after announcing his retirement following multiple scandals. Not too surprisingly, he has returned to WWE in the last few months, first to help negotiate the sale, but now as a full-time employee. He will be the Executive Chairman on WWE. McMahon confessed that he was ready to walk away from WWE, but Emanuel admitted, "I wasn't going to let him."

    Endeavor will have nothing to do with the creative process, Emanuel revealed. McMahon was asked by the interviewer if he'd be back onboard creatively. "Yes and no," he said. "On a higher level, yes. In the weeds, which, I always looked to get in the weeds in the past, no. Can't do that."

    WWE and UFC will go after separate TV rights (WWE's deals with NBCUniversal and Fox Corp. expire next year, but UFC is with ESPN until 2025), but that a combined streaming deal could be a future possibility. Currently, WWE's streaming deal with Peacock, a part of NBCUniversal, comes to an end in 2026. UFC's deal with ESPN, which airs all of UFC's pay-per-views on ESPN+, expires in 2025. That means, after 2026, the two sides could come together.

    When the deal is done, Endeavor will have a 51% controlling interest in the newly combined company, while WWE shareholders will have the other 49%. Endeavor will appoint six board seats and WWE will have five.