Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania weekend went from bad to even worse after he suffered a beating of epic proportions at the hands of the beast incarnate, Brock Lesnar.
At the start of the show, Cody challenged Roman to a rematch but Reigns refused. He then asked for a tag match against Reigns and Sikoa, and Heyman accepted…on two conditions.
Cody had to find a partner who wrestled this weekend at WrestleMania and whoever answers his call cannot challenge for the title as long as Reigns is champion.
Enter Brock Lesnar to a massive pop from the crowd. Brock shook hands woth Cody and was all buddy-buddy with him and the match was on. Lesnar is alreay barred from wrestling Reigns for the title so the condition didn’t really matter to him.
After spending the whole night promoting the match and 10 minutes of introductions plus commercials, Lesnar attacked Cody and wiped him out with F5s. He took Cody to Suplex City and beat him all over the ringside area.
Brock got the ring steps inside the ring and delivered another F5. Referees rushed to stop the carnage and Lesnar left…only to reappear a few after to flip off the cameras.
Cody refused to go on the stretcher after the show was over and stumbled to the back on his feet.
WWE CEO Nick Khan told Axios that while both WWE and UFC will continue to separately seek linear television rights, they could join forces for one streaming deal after both their respective deals run out.
WWE’s streaming deal with Peacock expires in 2026 while UFC’s deal with ESPN+ expires a year early in 2025.
Khan was careful not to ruffle any feathers and said that NBC Universal have been tremendous partners for them and they, just like FOX, have the first right of refusal when negotiations start.
Khan also discussed potential layoffs once the two companies merge.
While saying they’re not sure exactly yet what’s going to happen, the answers will come soon.
“An integration team is going to be put into place between both companies in short order, and we’ll know — we’ll have a lot more in the next week or two,” he said.
Butch of the Bushwhackers, real name Robert Miller, has passed away at the age of 78. A cause of death is unknown but he had just arrived in Los Angeles from New Zealand and became ill and had to be admitted to a hospital. Butch was supposed to join Luke at WrestleCon during the weekend.
The news was announced by his former tag team partner Luke who wrote, “Our dear Bob has passed away. Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch. We will always love u uncle Bob Miller. Until we meet again.”
Butch started his wrestling career in 1964 and joined his long-time tag team partner in 1974, forming the Sheepherders. In 1988, the two joined the WWF and got renamed to Bushwhackers. The two wrestled there until 1996.
Butch and Luke were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2015, giving a memorable speech.
My name is Chris Bernes. I wrote a column for 5 years on this site called “The Legacy Of Truth”. I was not the most popular writer on this site, but I always gave you the truth, no matter how hard it was to swallow (Insert a Young Bucks joke here).
I always went above and beyond for this site because I knew that Colin always had my back, and in turn, I’d always give him what I promised him. I loved this. I loved all of you (even Ginger, if you remember her), and I just loved wrestling.
Until tonight.
Let me start here… I was done writing for this site and about this business. My heart was not in it. It ended when a particular guy murdered his wife and son and many of you STILL sing his praises.
A few years ago my long time colleague Jonathan Beck reached out to me and asked me to write again because of the WrestleMania match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. I accepted.
That was my last writing here.
Before I rant, I need you to understand a few things. I operate on two premises: Facts don’t care about your feelings and WWE doesn’t care about any of you.
The proof of this came on Sunday, April 2 at SoFi Stadium. WrestleMania 39. The only time a championship gets decided at the home of the pathetic Chargers.
The mantra I have always heard from Vince McMahon, or by proxy his left hand Bruce Prichard, is SEND THE PEOPLE HOME HAPPY. What, Bruce…does “HOGAN MUST POSE” not resonate with the company today?
Now, you may say, “Chris, how can you say stuff like this, you don’t know.” I interviewed Bruce in 2017 on my former podcast and this was exactly the WrestleMania mantra.
So we come to 2023. The Tribal Chief, undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns versus the challenger, the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes.
And…they dropped the ball.
WWE has built Roman into an unstoppable monster. A monolith. The god amongst men. WWE has built Cody as the man who can overcome all odds to reach his destiny.
And in less than one hour, they absolutely screwed Cody Rhodes.
The story itself had legs. Cody returns to WWE after several years away, working for and building inferior promotions, the likes of which are only enjoyed by idiots and drunks. And when he saw how bad it was, he came home. Cody had a great re-emergence, had a great rivalry with the Joker of WWE Seth Rollins, and then the injury.
So fast forward to Royal Rumble 2023. Cody wins. The fans are ready. Cody is ready. WE are ready.
And at WrestleMania, we got screwed.
This was the moment that WWE could have allowed 81,000 plus walk away happy. This was the opportunity for WWE to give millions at home the payoff.
They failed.
I got a text from the owner/operator of this site just after the finish of the Cody/Roman match, when I expressed my displeasure of the outcome. His response was, “I am pissed”.
As am I my friend, as am I.
WWE had the opportunity to crown a champion who will carry the company and excite crowds for years to come. Instead, they went with what is comfortable.
There is a reason KISS has sold 200 million albums, and your favorite local bar band still stays in your local bar.
KISS took risks. WWE used to take risks.
Now, unfortunately, WWE stays safe.
Safe doesn’t make money. Safe doesn’t excite your crowd. Safe doesn’t grow TV ratings.
You’d think the head of WWE creative would know this, since he and his BFF basically started the WWE resurgence back in 1998.
NXT’s Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid, who formed part of the Schism, have asked for and been granted their release from WWE. The news was confirmed by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.
It’s unclear what prompted the men formerly known as the Grizzled Young Veterans to want to depart the company but WWE wasted no time in granting their wish, something which doesn’t usually happen very often.
The two Brits have been part of WWE since 2017 and 2018 respectively, first wrestling under the NXT UK brand and then moving to the United States.
Their last match was this past Saturday at Stand & Deliver where their faction lost in an eight-man tag match.
UFC President Dana White will get to work with Vince McMahon and Nick Khan in their new leadership roles at the merged WWE/UFC company which is still yet to be named.
Commenting for the first time since the news broke out about the sale, White said, “This company has been on fire for the last seven years and now that we will be adding WWE to the portfolio, I am excited to take this to another level.”
He continued, “Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then add what we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next five years.”
The yet-to-be named merged company between WWE and UFC will be headed by Ariel Emanuel, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.
The 62-year-old founded Endeavor Talent Agency which later took over William Morris Agency in 2009 as well. Emanuel orchestrated the UFC takeover in July 2016 for $4.025 billion.
Emanuel will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the new company.
Vincent K. McMahon is the new Executive Chairman of the Board of the new company, basically overseeing the UFC as well at a high level.
Endeavor’s President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Schleimer, and Chief Legal Officer Seth Krauss will retain those roles in the new company while also pulling double duty with Endeavor as well.
On the WWE side, Nick Khan, currently the Chief Executive Officer, will be the new President while Dana White will continue his role of President of UFC.
The board of directors of the new public company following the closing will consist of eleven members who will be determined at a later date, five of whom will be appointed by WWE and six of whom by Endeavor.
Responding to questions about why WWE didn’t pull the trigger creatively on giving Cody Rhodes the Undisputed WWE title last night at WrestleMania, Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque defended the decision to have Roman Reigns walk out of SoFi Stadium still with the title despite the reaction of the majority of the fans which wanted to see the opposite.
“It’s almost perfectly spelled out in this story, to finish the story. In the WWE, the story never changes,” Triple H said to the press. “Tomorrow night on Raw at the sold out Crypto Arena, the story continues, the story takes another chapter.”
Triple H said that they just got to the end of the chapter and that is where the story gets interesting to him.
Roman Reigns, also addressing the media, said that they are only in the third ending and that the story he’s telling just scratched the surface, comparing the story to serving people filet Mignon and not fast food.
In new documents filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission it was revealed that Nick Khan, Frank Riddick III, and Paul Levesque will receive big bonuses for their significant contributions to the company prior to and in connection with the transaction of the sale.
WWE Chief Executive Officer Nick Khan will get $15 million with the closing of the sale. WWE Chief Operating Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque will receive $5 million, and Chief Financial Officer Frank Riddick III will also receive a bonus equal to $5,000,000.
In the event any of them are terminated by the company without cause or resign for good reason prior to the payment date, the unpaid portion of their respective bonus shall vest and become payable as of the date of termination.
WWE announced that WrestleMania 39 became the most-successful and highest-grossing event in company history.
With a gate of more than $21.6 million, up 27% over the previous record, a total of 161,892 fans packed the SoFi Stadium over the two nights. The attendance announced was 80,497 for night one and 81,395 for night two.
In addition, WrestleMania 39 broke all-time sponsorship and merchandise records. Sponsorship revenue eclipsed $20 million, more than doubling the previous record. Merchandise sales were up 20% versus the record set in 2022.
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% increase over last year.
In their very first public appearance together following the acquisition, Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon talked to CNBC about their new mega deal which will combine the UFC and the WWE into one publicly-traded company with a value of more than $12 billion.
Emanuel put over Vince big time for his vision, calling himself the luckiest guy in the world right now for being able to make this transaction.
Asked why Vince is staying, Ari said he was going to bodyslam Vince if he were leaving and Vince did admit that he was ready to walk out but Emanuel prevented that from happening. Vince said that it did not take that much convincing for him to stay on.
“I love what I do. It’s all my life, it’s my passion,” Vince said when he described WWE.
Vince said that this transaction would have happened regardless of the sexual misconduct scandal and the scandal didn’t bring forward the transaction date.
Emanuel said that Endeavor paid a “little bit more” for control premium but with cost-savings coming along with WWE’s TV rights coming up and other sponsorships, he said this will be UFC 2.0 in terms of success.
Asked what they will do if they disagree over something with Ari as CEO and Vince as Chairman, Vince jokingly said that they will get in the ring.
“If we disagree on something we want to do, guess what, we won’t do it,” Emanuel added.
He made it clear that Endeavor will not get into creative as they don’t do that with UFC either and both Vince and Dana White will be in charge of that.
“Do you plan to be involved creatively?” host Scott Wapner asked Vince. “At a higher level, yes. In the weeds, can’t do that,” Vince replied.
A new company name will soon be announced and Emanuel said that they plan to be on the New York Stock Exchange within the next four to six months.
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Finn Balor had a tough time at WrestleMania and suffered a very, very nasty cut to his head which required the match to be temporarily paused.
The incident took place when Edge threw a ladder at Balor during their Hell In A Cell match, busting him wide open. The referee stopped Edge from continuing the match and Edge stalled, going around the ring fetching for more weapons as medical personnel attended to Balor.
Several staples to the head later, Balor was back in the thick of things and the match resumed. Unfortunately for the Demon, he was on the receiving end of a conchairto towards the end and Edge won the match.
Following the match, Balor posted a photo of his nasty head wound which ran several inches long. “Just a flesh wound,” he wrote.
If you don’t mind watching gory stuff, you can check out the photo below.
Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to form a new, publicly listed company consisting of two iconic, complementary, global sports and entertainment brands: UFC and WWE. Upon close, Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% interest in the new company.
Together, UFC and WWE will have global reach, impressive scale and omnichannel distribution. On a combined 2022 fiscal year-end basis, UFC and WWE achieved revenue of $2.4 billion and a 10% annual revenue growth rate since 2019.
“This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed,” said Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor. “For decades, Vince and his team have demonstrated an incredible track record of innovation and shareholder value creation, and we are confident that Endeavor can deliver significant additional value for shareholders by bringing UFC and WWE together.”
“Given the incredible work that Ari and Endeavor have done to grow the UFC brand – nearly doubling its revenue over the past seven years – and the immense success we’ve already had in partnering with their team on a number of ventures, I believe that this is without a doubt the best outcome for our shareholders and other stakeholders,” said Vincent K. McMahon, Executive Chairman of WWE.
McMahon continued, “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. The new company will be well positioned to maximize the value of our combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster our strong stable of brands. I, along with the current WWE management team, look forward to working closely with Ari and the Endeavor and UFC teams to take the businesses to the next level.”
The new company will be led by Emanuel (Chief Executive Officer), who will also continue in his role as Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor, McMahon (Executive Chairman of the Board) 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.
Together, UFC and WWE expect to deliver an estimated $50 million to $100 million in annualized run rate cost synergies by leveraging, among other things, Endeavor’s back office and robust infrastructure. Endeavor also expects significant growth across revenue areas including domestic and international media rights, ticket sales and yield optimization, event operations, sponsorship, licensing and premium hospitality. Endeavor’s success at UFC, including increasing commercial opportunities that have driven more than 2x Adjusted EBITDA growth since its acquisition in late 2016, demonstrates the significant value creation opportunity and upside potential of having UFC and WWE under one roof.
Transaction Details and Approvals
The transaction values UFC at an enterprise value of $12.1 billion and WWE at an enterprise value of $9.3 billion. The transaction represents a contribution price of WWE of approximately $106 per share (before any post-closing dividend). Additionally, UFC and WWE will each contribute cash to the new company so that it holds approximately $150 million. At closing, Endeavor intends to sweep all excess cash at UFC, and shareholders of the new company (other than Endeavor) are expected to receive a post-closing dividend.
Under the terms of the transaction, existing WWE shareholders will roll all existing equity into the new entity that will be the parent company of UFC and WWE (“NewCo” until it is named at a later date) and intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TKO”. The listing of NewCo will expand the collective investor base to allow for broad market participation across Endeavor and NewCo.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Endeavor and by the Board of Directors of WWE. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023.
This marks the successful conclusion of WWE’s strategic alternatives review process. WWE embarked on this process to take advantage of the company’s unique position in the entertainment ecosystem as well as the inflection point coming with its media rights renewals, both of which were widely recognized in the marketplace through this process.
Advisors
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to Endeavor, and Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal advisor to Endeavor. The Raine Group is acting as lead financial advisor to WWE. J.P. Morgan and Moelis & Company LLC are also acting as financial advisors to WWE. The Raine Group, J.P. Morgan, and Moelis & Company LLC each rendered fairness opinions to the Board of Directors of WWE. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal advisor to WWE, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to WWE’s controlling stockholder, McMahon.
Webcast
Endeavor and WWE will make public a recorded audio webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET today discussing this transaction. The event and accompanying presentation materials can be accessed at investor.endeavorco.com or https://corporate.wwe.com/investors. The link to the webcast, as well as a recording, will also be available on those websites after the call concludes.
WWE COO Paul “Triple H” refused to discuss the rumors of an impending WWE sale to Endeavor Group at the post-show press conference.
Asked if he could confirm any of the news that CNBC and the Wall Street Journal put out hours ago, Triple H said that he cannot confirm or deny the reports and he would rather discuss WrestleMania instead.
Before the press conference was over, Levesque said that no matter what happens over the next few days, WWE will still be around and they’re not going anywhere.
“We’re just getting started,” he said.
CNBC broke the news earlier on Sunday that Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group is likely to announce tomorrow a deal to purchase WWE for $9.3 billion which would see the company merge with the UFC under a new publicly-traded corporation.
During the post-show press conference, Paul Levesque revealed that the little girl contortionist who danced with Bianca Belair during her entrance did that performance after she was notified that her mother passed away earlier in the morning.
A very emotional Triple H recounted how this morning they were notified by the group of her passing and praised the girl for doing what she did on the worst day of her life.
Triple H said that the girl didn’t want to let her teammates down and she didn’t want to pass on an opportunity of a lifetime and decided to go ahead with the plan. Triple H added that it was incredible how her friends rallied around her and WWE did everything to make it easier for her.
WWE Chief Content Officer @TripleH shares an incredibly emotional story about one of the young girls from Divas of Compton and how @BiancaBelairWWE and WWE came together to create an unforgettable moment. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BMABXGkp2p
Here are the results from WrestleMania 39 night two which took place from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Brock Lesnar defeated Omos; Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated Liv Morgan and Raquel Gonzalez, Natalya and Shotzi, and Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green in a fatal four-way match; Gunther defeated Sheamus and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat match to retain the Intercontinental title; Bianca Belair defeated Asuka to retain the Raw Women’s title; Edge defeated Finn Balor in a Hell In A Cell match;; Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal title.
Update: Triple H confirmed during the post-show press conference that Shane tore his quad.
Shane McMahon made a surprise return at WrestleMania and completely blew his knee out after a leap frog, forcing Miz and Snoop Dogg to improvise.
McMahon was introduced by Dogg who got a gigantic reception from the fans. McMahon wanted a match against The Miz and Dogg made it official.
But his return ended very quickly as McMahon went for a leap frog and landed badly, blowing his knee. Shane tried to stand up but fell down as his knee couldn’t handle the weight.
The Miz circled around as officials rushed to the rescue. And then Snoop Dogg saved the day. He got in the ring, decked The Miz and performed his own version of the People’s Elbow and covered him for the pin.
Shane was last seen at the 2022 Royal Rumble where he caused chaos by forcing rewrites to make his appearance more meaningful. He was eliminated by Lesnar and then his father Vince fired him, canning his scheduled matches at Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania.
Night one is done but if four hours of WWE WrestleMania action wasn’t enough, we have another full night tonight with night two.
We are presenting the latest odds for the remaining six matches left in the card courtesy of https://utlandskacasino.net/. Remember, these odds are likely to change by the time the show starts so be careful!
Roman Reigns hasn’t been pinned in over 1,200 days but will tonight be the night? For the first time in a very, very long time, Reigns is the underdog in the main event as Cody Rhodes is 11/50 favorite to topple the Tribal Chief who is at 14/5 odds.
Asuka will get a chance to regain the Raw Women’s title as she battles popular champion Bianca Belair. Belair is 3/5 favorite to retain as Asuka, with 6/5 odds, continues her journey to find her first victory at WrestleMania.
Hell In A Cell returns at WrestleMania for the first time since WrestleMania 32 in Dallas as Edge and Finn Balor promise to take each other to hell. Judgment Day’s Finn Balor is currently the favorite with 1/2 odds while the Hall of Famer Edge is 7/5.
Gunther, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre are in what could be a show stealer match as the three battle in a triple threat match for the Intercontinental title. The Austrian champ is 3/5 favorite to retain the gold while Sheamus is 7/5 and McIntyre is a long shot with 6/1 odds.
Brock Lesnar is looking at taking Omos to suplex city tonight and Lesnar is the favorite so far with odds of 1/3 while the giant Omos is 2/1 to take down the beast.
The eight women involved will have a big task in trying to outdo the men who lit up the stadium last night in the fatal four-way showcase match. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler are favorites with 3/10 odds while Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are second with 11/4 odds. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville are 5/1 and Natalya and Shotzi are last with 9/1 odds.
CNBC is reporting that a WWE sale is likely to be announced tomorrow to Endeavor Group, headed by Ari Emanuel.
The Endeavor Group is also the parent company of the UFC and rumors are that WWE and UFC will be combined in a new publicly traded company.
Under the deal, Endeavor will own 51% of the new company while WWE shareholders will get the remaining 49%. The Endeavor deal gives WWE an enterprise value of $9.3 billion, CNBC said.
As far as executive positions, Emanuel will serve as Chief Executive while Vince McMahon is expected to be Executive Chairman. Endeavor President Mark Shapiro will also work in the same role at the new company and Dana White will remain as President of UFC.
WWE CEO Nick Khan will serve as president of the wrestling side of the business.
