By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon were interviewed by Scott Wapner for a piece that ran Monday on CNBC (full video below). Vince described the union between WWE and Endeavor as the biggest thing that he and Emanuel have ever done. When Wapner mentioned the Saudis and Liberty Media having shown interest in acquiring WWE, Vince confirmed by saying “sure.”
“It’s the right time,” Vince said of the deal with Endeavor. “It’s the right time to do the right thing. It’s the next evolution of WWE. I could probably do what Ari is right now with UFC and it would take me ten years.” Vince said that by the time he did, Emanuel would be another ten years ahead. “It makes all the sense in the world for all these synergies we have and to extract all the value we can out of the marketplace,” McMahon added.
Vince was asked if the deal would have been made had it not been for his personal scandals. “Absolutely,” Vince said. “Because it makes sense. Because nothing’s ever happened like this before. And again, I’m always looking at what’s best for our stockholders and what’s best for our company. This is the best thing that’s happened in a long, long time. All of the WrestleManias combined, there have been 39 including tomorrow, doesn’t really equal to the magnitude of what we will do together.”
Vince was asked if this is a good day for him. “A good day?” asked Vince. “It’s a great day, one of the greatest days of my life.” Vince said it was not a tough day to give up his family business and once again stated that things have to evolve. He said it’s the right business and family decision.
Emanuel was asked about Vince holding an executive position in the new company. He joked that he would have bodyslammed Vince if he thought he was going to leave. Emanuel referred to Vince as a visionary. When asked if he wanted Vince to stay, Emanuel replied, “Oh, God yes.” Vince said it didn’t take much to convince him to stay and said he loves what he does. Vince claimed he was ready to walk away if the right sale offer was made. Emanuel said he wasn’t going to let Vince leave.
Wapner asked Vince if he intends to be as involved in the WWE creative process as he has been in the past. “Yes and no,” McMahon said. “On a higher level, yes. In the weeds, which I always loved to get in the weeks in the past, no, I can’t do that.” Emanuel, who previously said Endeavor won’t be involved in the creative process, said that if Vince wanted to return to television he would not stand in the way, though Vince downplayed the idea of the Mr. McMahon character returning.
Emanuel was asked about the upcoming television rights negotiations. Emanuel touted the success of Raw on cable and Smackdown on broadcast television. “The rate card is way below market by a significant amount,” Emanuel said. He added that content is king and he believes WWE will get “a proper price.”
Vince was asked about his legacy given where he took the company and what’s happened over the last year and whether he has regrets. Vince said he’s made mistakes personally and professionally over his 50-year career. Vince said he’s owned up to every one of them and then moved on. Vince said he’s not the one who will write his legacy. Vince then said he’s someone who had an extraordinary amount of fun, a great passion for what he did, and wound up doing the biggest deal that he’s ever done in his life.
Powell’s POV: Emanuel said he hopes that the new company will go public within four to six months, though he added that it depends on the government. He also defended Vince’s new contract, which gives him ownership of his own intellectual property by saying that Vince should be the person who controls his own legacy. “It is what it is,” Vince said regarding that agreement along with him receiving a big payoff if the company is sold.
Vince stating that he won’t be “in the weeds” as part of the creative process is certainly vague. This seemed like a chance for him to endorse Paul Levesque’s role in the creative process, but Levesque’s name was never mentioned. That said, I assume that Levesque will continue to head up the day-to-day creative work, though there doesn’t seem to be anything stopping McMahon from reassuming control of that part of the business.
There is no way that Vince outweighs Ari by 100 lbs these days
Vince looks like an alternate dimension Walt Disney with that wispy stache and his hair style reverting back to what it looked like in the early 80s. It’s the most carny he’s ever looked.
Also more like Howard Hughes…