Uncharted territory: Why the WWE-UFC merger matters

The TKO era increases the possibility of a McMahon-less future for WWE, something that was unthinkable not that long ago.

In 1953, Roderick James “Jess” McMahon (alongside Toots Mandt) founded the Capitol Wrestling Corporation.

In the 70 years since, the company has changed names, grown from a regional territory to a global entertainment juggernaut, and built its brand to the point that it has become synonymous with professional wrestling as a whole.

Through it all — global success, lawsuits, federal indictments, etc. — a McMahon was at the helm. Whether it was Jess McMahon, Vincent J. McMahon, or its current leader, Vincent K. McMahon (you may know him better as simply Vince), the company has remained primarily within that family’s control, with the potential succession plan for the patriarch to pass the company down to his children.

But on Sept. 12, 2023, that changed. After decades of being an independent entity, WWE has officially become part of TKO, a new umbrella company under Endeavor combines the wrestling industry giant with the UFC, the titan of mixed martial arts. The company has a valuation of $21.4 billion.

And with that, Endeavor now controls the two most known combat sports/entertainment properties in the world. For pro wrestling, the significance of this moment cannot be understated.

While Vince McMahon will still have significant say over WWE’s operations and is an executive chairman of TKO, this marks the first time since 1982 that he will not have complete autonomy over the company he helped build into a multi-billion dollar promotional machine, and the first time a member of the McMahon family won’t have full say … ever.

The effects of this monumental shift probably won’t be felt for a while. McMahon still sits firmly atop the WWE food chain, which is what he really wanted out of this merger after being ousted from that perch last summer, although his voting power has been decreased. 

Endeavor, which owns 51% of TKO, understandably isn’t looking to make sweeping changes to a promotion that routinely breaks its own revenue records. The fact that WWE owns the other 49% of TKO cannot be overlooked as well.

In the future, however, who knows? That uncertainty is uncharted territory for WWE, which makes the merger becoming official so intriguing. That is because one day, Vince McMahon will no longer walk this earth. Not that anyone is rushing for that to happen anytime soon, and if there is one person I’d put money on to have found the secret to immortality, it would be Vince McMahon.

But what is the succession plan in the event he does in fact pass away? It is a reality that WWE will have to face one day — even if it feels like that is still something to worry about in the distant future.

Will a member of the McMahon family remain at the top of WWE’s hierarchy, or will Endeavor opt to go in a different direction? It may sound outrageous to even suggest such a thing, but as far as we know, that is well within Endeavor’s right. Even the possibility of it happening is way beyond what wrestling fans could have imagined just five years ago.

Some may scoff at all of this and wonder what the big deal really is, as wrestling is just wrestling and not much will change. 

Well, yes and no.

That is because when you really think about it, what we’ve all been watching for the last 41 years is largely Vince McMahon’s vision of professional wrestling. Other promotions have come and gone during that time, but a lot of them — whether they want to admit it or not — took entire chapters out of his playbook.

Who could blame them? He has only made billions of dollars doing it his way and set his family up for generational wealth in the process. A promotion could make far worse decisions than following parts of McMahon’s blueprint to worldwide domination.

But what if someone else came into WWE and got rid of the McMahon formula? If so, would the rest of the industry follow suit like it has in the past?

Again, these are giant unknowns that we may never find out the answer to, but these are the type of questions we have never had to ask before. 

I don’t think now is a bad time to start.