As PWMania.com previously reported, WWE officially announced on Monday that they had agreed to be acquired by The Endeavor Group, with the intention of merging WWE and UFC to form a new publicly traded company. It is scheduled to be finished later this year.
Puck spoke with Endeavor COO Mark Shapiro, who stated that he was unaware of the deal until last Saturday, and that the company submitted its bid to acquire the WWE three weeks before it was announced.
Layoffs are expected as a result of the merger because there will be people at Endeavor in departments that can handle things at certain WWE departments.
“Anything from H.R. to finance to legal to communications production to distribution and marketing,” Shapiro said. “Across every area, you’re going to find cost synergies; you’re going to integrate and ultimately highlight and appoint the best and brightest teams.”
The question for WWE talent is whether mass releases are on the way. It is rumored that some people in WWE are concerned.
The focus now shifts to WWE’s next media rights negotiations, as their current television contracts for WWE RAW on USA Network and SmackDown on Fox expire in 2024.
Shapiro previously stated that Endeavor’s game plan with WWE is to do what they did with the UFC when they bought the company in 2016.
