WWE WrestleMania 39 is the most-successful and highest-grossing event in company history!
The two-night sold-out sports entertainment spectacle in LA set new records for viewership, gate, sponsorship, merchandise and social media.
WrestleMania 39 generated a gate of more than $21.6 million, breaking the previous record by 27 percent.
80,497 people in the building Saturday night and 81,395 on Sunday for a total of 161,892 establishing a new SOFI Stadium record in Inglewood, California
Night 2 of WrestleMania 39 Goes Hollywood on Sunday surpassed the existing global viewership record by 33 percent, just one day after Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 surpassed the existing global viewership record by 28 percent.
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 percent 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 percent increase over last year.
Roman Reigns is stilllll the Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion with a controversial victory over Cody Rhodes on Sunday night. The Tribal Chief has held the Title for 946 Days.
Snoop Dogg threw some punches and dropped a People’s Elbow on The Miz and pinned him after Shane McMahon was injured.
On Saturday Montreal’s Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated The USOS to win the Undisputed Tag Team Titles.
Rhea Ripley defeated Charlotte to win the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship. Full results of WrestleMania weekend below.
WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 2 Results on April 2, 2023
- Brock Lesnar defeated Omos to kick off WrestleMania Sunday
- Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler won the Women’s Fatal 4-Way
- Gunther defeated Sheamus and Drew McIntyre to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship
- Bianca Belair def. Asuka to retain the WWE Raw Women’s Title
- Snoop Dogg defeated The Miz after Shane Mcmahon returned but suffered an injury.
- Edge defeated Finn Balor
- Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes—WWE Undisputed Universal Title
WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 1 Results on April 1, 2023
- Austin Theory defeated John Cena to kick off WrestleMania Saturday
- Street Profits won the Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match
- Seth Rollins defeated Logan Paul
- Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita defeated Damage CTRL
- Rey Mysterio defeated his song Dominik Mysterio
- Rhea Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship
- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated The Usos to win the Undisputed Tag Team Championship Belts.
Featured Image and Story Source: WWE.com
Endeavor Announces UFC® and WWE® to Form a $21+ Billion Global Live Sports and Entertainment Company
Fresh off the heels of The Showcase of The Immortals WrestleMania 39,WWE announced Monday a merger with UFC
Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR) (“Endeavor”) and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) (“WWE”) 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. 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.
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.
Source: WWECorporate
