Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Breaks Silence on $21 Billion WWE-UFC Merger
WWE superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson envisions a "smooth" partnership between Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon following the April announcement of the merger between UFC and WWE.
"The Rock" gave his thoughts on the merger during an interview with CNBC Television on May 11:
"I see smooth sailing with [Emanuel and McMahon]. They've known each other for a very, very long time; we all have, as a matter of fact.
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Johnson referred back to his own 'seven bucks' story, comparing McMahon's struggles to that of his own:
"I see smooth sailing with this. This has been a long time coming. When we think about where Vince [McMahon] started --- I often talk about my 'seven bucks' moment --- I had seven bucks in my pocket when I was cut from the Canadian football league.
"Vince [McMahon] had his 'seven bucks' moment too as well, and he leveraged every dollar he had for the very first WrestleMania. Years later he creates this merger with Ari [Emanuel] that's in the billions of dollars."
The WWE-UFC merger is worth over $21billion dollars.
"When I say 'smooth sailing', these guys are adamant on creating an incredible conglomerate that's going to entertain the masses. I think between the WWE, the UFC, bull riding, and probably some of the other things that are coming down the pipe... I'm excited about this merger."
Emanuel & McMahon's Own Statements on the WWE-UFC Merger
Both Emanuel and McMahon released their own statements as a part of the official merger announcement on the Endeavor website.
Endeavor CEO Emanuel claimed the merger was a "rare opportunity", and had praise for McMahon's body of work:
"This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed.
"For decades, Vince [McMahon] 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."
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WWE Executive-Chairman McMahon painted a broader picture, envisioning a sports entertainment super-conglomerate:
"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."
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