WWE: An Of An Era? Vince McMohan Is No Longer The MostF Powerful Man (Picture Credit: IMDB)
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A couple of eras are set to close their curtains in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Raw. Monday night marked the return of Monday Night Football featuring a crop of stars including Aaron Rodgers and the new-look New York Jets vs. perennial contender Buffalo Bills. However, this also means bidding adieu to Vince McMohan who has been a prominent figure in WWE for decades now. The development comes after the WWE and Endeavour merger.
In a statement issued last week, WWE and Endeavour jointly announced they will be bringing the wrestling company and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) together to make a new publicly traded company named TKO Group Holdings.
“Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (‘Endeavor’) and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (‘WWE’) today announced they expect to close the previously announced transaction to form TKO Group Holdings Inc. (‘TKO’) on September 12, 2023, at which time TKO will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘TKO’,” the press release said according to a report in News4Jax.
Vince McMohan has been the chairman of WWE since 1982, establishing a new foothold that resulted in a four-decade-long successful run. He was the frontier who led the WWE to become the phenomenon it is today. His promotional strategies were at par with any other sports entertainment company featuring storylines, scripts, choreographed matches, and guest promotions, that captivated the audience abundantly bringing unprecedented glory to WWE.
It is important to note that despite the power shift, McMohan will continue his run as the executive chairman of WWE once the Endeavour deal gets finalised. However, he will now be working under someone. The new TKO group which has acquired 51 percent of WWE’s ownership stake will have Ari Emanuel as the CEO of Endeavor, while WWE stakeholders will have 49 percent of stakes. Emanuel was a founding partner of the Endeavor Talent Agency and played a pivotal role in shaping its June 2009 merger with the William Morris Agency.
This is the first time Vince McMohan has lost major control over WWE. The merger is expected to be completed on September 12, 2023, with Endeavor taking control of the major part of the company.
Talking about the WWE and Endeavour merger in April, McMohan had said, “Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity.”
