In April 2023, WWE and UFC’s mother company Endeavor came to a deal to merge WWE with UFC and form a new company named “TKO” where Endeavor will hold 51% of the share and WWE will hold the rest 49%. Wrestling Fans were very excited when the deal was announced between the two sports giant companies.
Although The deal is still in the processing phase, the plans after the deal are already revealed by one of the most trusted persons for combat sports and the update was from none other than Dave Meltzer. Let’s have a look at the spoiler given by Dave.
NXT’s future under Endeavor Group revealed
Famous Pro Wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer has reported that Endeavor the owner of UFC is looking to focus more on NXT and will try to make it a sustainable third brand of WWE. In the August 14th edition of the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter,” Dave Meltzer revealed that Endeavor, the parent company of WWE, and CEO of WWE Nick Khan are reportedly planning to shift their concentration towards NXT for its growth.
According to Meltzer’s report, Endeavor recognizes the potential of NXT as a valuable brand and aims to take it back to the same level as it previously was back when the show used to tour outside of Florida and created record shows in different venues over the times like their top shows Raw and SmackDown.
Meltzer wrote:
“There is a renewed focus from Endeavor as well as Nick Khan on making NXT what was termed a sustainable third brand. The idea is to build up the ratings so they can get a good rights fee for the show and then NXT can be a money maker. The goal is to go back to what it was, running regular tours outside of Florida in 2,000-seat arenas and taping television on the road like Raw and Smackdown.”
Endeavor and Nick Khan are looking to push the NXT brand. https://t.co/8d1pTegIF8
— Inside The Ropes (@Inside_TheRopes) August 11, 2023
Meltzer also mentioned that although this is their main aim. However, there is no set time for when this will be done, and the company is still looking into launching “NXT Europe” and a full-time performance center in London, which might not happen until 2024.
“Keep in mind there is no timeline for this, and they are still talking of NXT Europe and a full-time performance center in London as the backbone but nothing is happening there until 2024.” wrote Meltzer.
Insider expects staff layoff following the official merger
Recently, speculations have been circulating that WWE might release several of its talents due to the company’s sale to Endeavor, which could lead to cost cuts for some time. The potential release of wrestlers is quite concerning for WWE fans and industry insiders alike, as it could have a significant impact on the future of WWE.
According to a report from April by Wrestling News Co, WWE may be looking to cut costs in order to make the company more profitable under the ownership of Endeavor. This could mean releasing some of its employees. This could also mean the release of talent that might not play a key role in the company’s future. WWE CEO Nick Khan’s testimony to Lightshed Live has raised concerns about the speculation of talent being released.
He said: “If you look at what Endeavor was able to take out, cost-wise, from UFC in 2016 or shortly after that deal was done, we have the same expectation here. We think 50 (million) is a really conservative number. We have integration teams now, we’re going to get those in shape, I think we’ll have a better sense of it in a month or two. We’re going to be pretty aggressive with them to make sure that, for our shareholders and for our company, our organization is as lean and mean as possible, and we’re going to rely on the Endeavor flywheel to make up the rest.”
The fact that WWE is expecting 50 million Dollars in cost cuts directly indicates that a lot of talent might be released from the roster.
Do you think any major superstar from the roster might get released? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comment section.
