News that Endeavor has purchased WWE and that it will soon merge with UFC continues to make waves throughout the world of pro wrestling and mixed martial arts. While details are still sparse about what the new sports and entertainment juggernaut will look like, UFC President Dana White is now shedding some light on what fans can expect in a new interview with the Associated Press.
“So you have the power of the fan base of WWE,” White began. “You have the power of the fan base of the UFC. And you have the power of the viral, I don’t even know what to say the hell this thing is yet. The viral ability and whatever that fanbase is going to be for Powerslap. You know, we could reach all these people in so many different ways. There’s just a lot more resources now, you know what I mean?
“WWE has a lot more resources, it’s a phone call away now. All they have to do is pick up the phone now and say, ‘Hey, how did this happen?’ ‘I need this’ or ‘I need this contact’ or ‘How did you do this?’ And you all work together to make sure everybody wins. We’ve been together on the same weekend many times and to have a UFC event and the next night you have Monday Night Raw, I mean, who knows?
“Who knows? Again, these are all things that can be figured out, on the business side. The difference between the UFC and the WWE, if you look at the WWE, they have an entertainment value and they have these guys that are incredible athletes and go in there and do their thing. It’s well-known that it’s scripted. If you look at the UFC, it’s as real as it gets, that’s like our tagline.
“You have these guys that are incredible athletes that need to be well-rounded and well-versed in all these aspects of martial arts. Then, you have the entertainment side of it too but it’s real fighting, it’s real, there are no pre-determined outcomes in the UFC so, there won’t really be any type of crossover.”
While some fans may breathe a collective sigh of relief that the two parties won’t be intermingling, at least as White described it, others are letting out a collective groan. Just as the news was breaking this past Sunday night of the potential merger, which I asked about in the post-WWE WrestleMania 39 press conference, Conor McGregor and Paul Heyman were already over on Twitter stirring the pot regarding potential crossover.
Stay with Haus of Wrestling for all the latest regarding WWE and UFC’s impending merger.
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