WWE officials held an all-employee Zoom meeting this afternoon to discuss the Endeavor acquisition and merger with UFC.
As noted earlier, WWE and Endeavor announced that WWE and UFC are merging to form a new publicly listed global sports and entertainment company. Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel will lead the new company. WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon will stay on as Executive Chairman, while Nick Khan will be WWE President, and Dana White will remain in his role as UFC President. You can click here for the full announcement with comments from McMahon and Emanuel, and you can click here for Vince’s e-mail to WWE employees, and you can click here for a statement from White.
In an update, current WWE CEO Khan hosted the meeting at around 4pm ET today, along with WWE CFO Frank Riddick, and WWE Chief Human Resources Officer Suzette Ramirez-Carr. WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H joined the meeting by telephone.
Khan opened the meeting by reading an e-mail from McMahon, which could be the employee e-mail detailed earlier today at this link.
It was said that the WWE Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve the transaction this past weekend. Riddick said the deal is signed and they are preparing the SEC and regulatory filings. He believes the deal will officially close by the end of this year, if not before, which is in line with what was said this morning.
Triple H said he wanted to take a moment to thank all of WWE’s employees as their dedication and passion for the company led everyone to this moment where they, as a company, are now. He also praised Endeavor as a company, pointing to how Endeavor did not get involved in the UFC’s day-to-day business and operations when they acquired that company, so they will not be getting involved in the WWE creative process, with talents or production.
Triple H added that he could not be more excited about this move, and that it was nothing but a positive move for everyone involved, and WWE as a whole. He also reiterated that it’s “business as usual” going forward.
It was also noted that they are putting together the transition team that will lead the process of Endeavor taking over WWE.
Khan thanked Triple H and WWE Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn, who did not participate in the meeting. The meeting ended with Khan making a joke about Vince’s mustache.
The meeting was described as very much of a “rah rah” spiel for the most part, with officials praising this as a major positive for the entire company.
On a related note, it’s been confirmed that Triple H will remain in his role as Chief Content Officer. John Pollock noted on Twitter that the aforementioned e-mail from Vince stated, “Paul Levesque will remain WWE’s chief content executive.”
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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