The recent TKO merger has been the talk of the town. Being the sole reason for a whopping $21.4 billion deal, it has been taking the internet by storm. Alongside the merger, it was also revealed that various official bigwigs amassed a whopping amount of money; in fact, WWE President Nick Khan was able to bag a humongous $15 million. With such huge financial milestones, this deal is proving itself to be one of the biggest mergers in the realm of combat sports.
Amidst all the discussions, Khan recently made an intriguing revelation. He laid bare the plans TKO Executive Chairman, Vince McMahon had in mind before signing the deal. Let’s find out what actually led to the merger.
Vince McMahon had ‘equality’ in mind
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The WWE and UFC have both been in the limelight amidst the monumental merger. Despite this, the real reason behind the merger was yet unrevealed until now. Captivating discussions following the deal were showcased on a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, where WWE president Nick Khan was invited as a guest. Regarding the deal, he laid bare why McMahon wanted the deal to take place.
He said, “I don’t think that was a deciding factor in this. I think Vince approached it as, ‘Hey, I want to make sure every shareholder is treated the same way I, Vince, am treated.’ And it was the Endeavor folks who asked him to stay in once the process was well underway, and bids were already in, and all of those things.”
Khan was candid about McMahon’s reasoning behind taking up the deal. In fact, he also revealed in the same podcast that McMahon had received multiple offers, but for him, the TKO deal was the ideal one to choose. With the promotion in the spotlight during the deal, there was another topic recently that got fans in splits.
How did the fans shoot salvos on WWE’s debacle?
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With the recent turn of events, fans witnessed a blunder that no one had thought of. It was concerning the latest TKO header, which featured a face that used to be in the WWE but is now in a different promotion.
Impact Knockout champion, Trinity (previously known as Naomi), was also among the big faces that got featured in the TKO poster. However, not being part of one of the biggest promotions led the fans to leave harsh comments on X. The fans didn’t like that botch, and without shilly-shallying, they shot salvos at WWE. While all the lights were on that huge merger, each and every step relating to it is likely to become a hot topic among the fans.
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What do you think about McMahon’s reasoning behind taking up the deal?
Watch the story: Everything About 21 Billion UFC WWE merger