“This is one of the biggest mergers in the history of sports.” That’s what the UFC CEO, Dana White had to say when WWE merged with the UFC under the same parent company in 2023. The promotions were combined under TKO Holdings for a whopping $21 billion. And now, things have started moving forward to a collaboration between White’s slap-fighting championship, PowerSlap, and the WWE in a video game. 

On December 16th, PowerSlap released a video on X (formerly Twitter) of Rey Mysterio announcing the epic video game collaboration between the WWE and PowerSlap. The game will feature Ron ‘Wolverine’ Bata, the light heavyweight slap-fighting champion, and Mysterio himself. The caption to the post read, “Play the brand-new Slap Down event with four @WWE Superstars joining the Power Slap Pros for the ultimate Slap Down” 

In the announcement, the WWE star donned his iconic Lucha Libre mask and said, “What’s up fam? How you doing? This is WWE superstar Rey Mysterio. The WWE is teaming up with the PowerSlap mobile game. Got to choose me. Let’s climb up the leaderboard. And let’s get to slapping. Booyaka!”

But did you know that there was a time when Dana White stood against the notion of a crossover with WWE? Well, it seems like he is open to making a crossover in the virtual realm, but not in reality. Let’s see what the UFC head honcho had to say about a possible crossover between UFC and WWE. 

Why did Dana White refuse for a crossover between UFC and WWE?

During a conversation with the Associated Press back in April 2023, White clarified his take on the crossover between UFC and WWE. He said, “The difference between the UFC and the WWE is; you look at the WWE and they have an entertainment value and they have these guys that are incredible athletes that go in there and do their thing.” However, the fact that the wrestling promotion was scripted turned it all down for White. He claimed, “When you look at the UFC, this is as real as it gets. That’s our tagline.”

In the UFC, the fighters need to be well-versed in every single aspect of fighting. Mastery in just one martial art – while it worked in the early days of the UFC – will now get fighters absolutely nowhere in the UFC. You do remember the battle between Kron Gracie and Bryce Mitchell at UFC 310, right? Gracie’s lack of proper striking skills became his unbecoming, which led to his defeat via a knockout. On top of that, MMA athletes also need to be marketable enough to stay relevant and have fans stick with them to the end.

All these make for a strong reason why White refused for a crossover. He said, “But it’s real fighting. It’s real. There are no predetermined outcomes in the UFC. There won’t really be any type of crossover.”

However, things seemed different regarding a crossover in the virtual realm. With WWE and PowerSlap joining hands for an epic video game experience on mobile phones, things seem to be moving forward for the now-sister promotions. What do you think? Would you give this game a try? Let us know in the comments down below.