Outside of boxing, when you think of combat sports, you think of WWE in pro wrestling and the UFC in MMA. These brands are synonymous with the genre, but how did they grow into the dominant forces in their respective fields we know today?
As with any successful company, both started small. The WWE was originally a northeast territory based around the New York market when it was the World Wide Wrestling Federation. The WWWF dropped one of its w’s in 1979 and became the WWF with Vince McMahon developing pay-per-view (PPV) opportunities throughout the 1980s.
WrestleMania, which is widely recognized today as the premier PPV in pro wrestling, began in 1985. SummerSlam, Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble all followed, and the WWE’s year is still heavily planned around these big four marquee events today.
Monthly pay-per-views have been common in WWE since the mid-1990s but their feature presentations are spaced out at key points in the calendar. The Royal Rumble helps to build storylines to WrestleMania with the winner of the men’s and latterly women’s matches getting a guaranteed title shot in early spring if they win the January battle royals.
There used to be a King of the Ring PPV in June which made the gap between major shows – WrestleMania is usually in late March or early April, while SummerSlam isn’t until August – feel somewhat smaller. Survivor Series was initially held in conjunction with Thanksgiving.
As well as pay-per-view, WWE has used its weekly television programs – Monday Night Raw from 1993 and SmackDown, which started in 1999 – to help build superstars. A bitter ratings war with long-time rivals World Championship Wrestling (WCW) saw Raw go head-to-head with Nitro in the same slot, splitting wrestling fans and the TV audience.
The then WWF weathered the storm of losing this battle 83 weeks in a row and eventually vanquished WCW before acquiring its assets – talent, libraries and other intellectual property – in 2001. They did the same with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) too.
Using pay-per-view buys and multi-million-dollar TV deals to get on top has latterly been followed by the creation of the WWE Network, with the platform available for subscription in most countries. McMahon also took his company public, so investors could buy stocks and shares in Titan Sports – the parent company behind WWE.
There are similarities with how UFC has built up. Starting small in 1993, the MMA promotion has actually benefitted from a good working relationship with pro wrestling and some crossover stars. Ken Shamrock, the inaugural UFC Superfight champion (a forerunner of the heavyweight title), went on to wrestle in the WWF and had a run as Intercontinental champ, for instance.
Once UFC had developed some history, they then began to expand divisions. Ronda Rousey, a pioneer of women in MMA, more or less forced the company to create championships for her gender before also transitioning into WWE and making her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34.
Big names competing on pay-per-view, including yet another crossover star in Brock Lesnar, helped the UFC to build its brand. Controversies including a post-match brawl between the teams behind Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov have also helped to raise the profile of MMA in general.
It makes for fantastic entertainment, but while WWE bouts are staged (though not without plenty of risk), UFC competitors engage in legitimate “shoot” fights when they step inside the octagon. Offshoots from wrestling and cage fighting include merchandising and a lively betting industry.
UFC has become so popular that there are a variety of odds and markets available. That means there are a number of MMA betting sites that you can place wagers on, and it’s the same for WWE. Even though storylines are scripted, you can still bet on things like who will win the Royal Rumble or title matches on pay-per-view.
It’s clear that both WWE and UFC have used similar models to be leaders in their fields. Both have optimized PPVs to great effect and have weekly programming supporting those in the shape of Raw, Smackdown and UFC on ESPN. The promotions maximize what star power they have among the wrestlers and cage fighters and continue to drive successful business across America and beyond.
