WWE has officially been sold to Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc., the parent company of UFC. Once the sale closes, WWE and UFC will merge into a new, publicly listed company.
The news of the sale of WWE has long been in the works. Per a press release announcing the news, the new company will have Endeavor owning 51% controlling interest. The remaining 49% will be held by existing WWE shareholders. Altogether, the new live sports and entertainment company has a value of over $21 billion.
As for the leadership structure of this new company, the press release notes, "The new company will be led by [Ariel] Emanuel (Chief Executive Officer), who will also continue in his role as Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor, [Vince] McMahon (Executive Chairman of the Board of WWE) and Mark Shapiro, who will be President and Chief Operating Officer of both Endeavor and the new company. Dana White will continue in his role as President of UFC and Nick Khan will serve as President of WWE. The Board of Directors will consist of 11 members who will be appointed at a later date, six of whom will be appointed by Endeavor and five of whom by WWE."
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News of the merger comes less than 24 hours after the end of WrestleMania 39, which took place April 1 and 2 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. WWE said in a press release this was "the most successful and highest-grossing event in company history." The sport entertainment giant reports the gate for WrestleMania 39 at $21.6 million. 161,892 fans filled SoFi Stadium over the course of two nights.
The press release also noted, "WrestleMania 39 became the most social WrestleMania of all-time, with over 500 million views and 11 million hours of video consumed over the two days, a 42 percent increase over last year."
WrestleMania 39 kicks off tomorrow, and the Showcase of the Immortals is going "Hollywood."
Taking place over the course of two nights on April 1 and 2, WrestleMania 39 will emanate from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The event will feature packed cards on both nights including Roman Reigns defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes and Charlotte Flair defending the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship against Rhea Ripley
Additionally, fans will see a Hell in a Cell match between Edge and "The Demon" Finn Balor and a six-woman tag team match with Damage CTRL taking on Becky Lynch and WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita.
These tickets are hot items. According to a press release "WWE announced a record for first-day ticket sales for WrestleMania 39 taking placeat SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Over 90,000 tickets were sold within the first 24 hours – more than any event in WWE history and a 42% increase over first-day sales for WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas."
The event will stream live exclusively on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.
To celebrate "The Grandest Stage of Them All," here are 10 interesting facts about WrestleMania.
WrestleMania almost wasn't WrestleMania
WrestleMania 35 was the first WrestleMania to be headlined by women.
Run-DMC provided a WrestleMania first.
WrestleMania 2 is the only WrestleMania to happen on a weekday.
WrestleMania 28 holds the record for most PPV buys.
“Macho Man” Randy Savage has the record for most WrestleMania wins in a single night.
Longest match in WrestleMania history.
Shortest match in WrestleMania history.
Most losses at WrestleMania.
Total attendance at WrestleMania.
