Paul Heyman believes the shocking merger between WWE and UFC is just another thing that makes Vince McMahon who he is.
The Wise Man recently sat down with Ariel Helwani of WWE on BT Sport to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked if he was surprised by the Endeavor news, Heyman said it was a yes and no answer.
“Yes and no,” Paul Heyman began. “Vince McMahon, who loves every micro-moment of his life because the most passionate relationship he’s ever had in his entire existence is with building the WWE business and the brand that goes along with the business, but it’s the thrill of building the business. He is truly the ultimate disrupter. He disrupted the professional wrestling industry to the point where it’s now called sports entertainment.
“And then every time he found a niche pattern, every time he found what he was looking for in the industry, he then disrupted that whole game plan and went to something different. We’re making hundreds of millions of dollars on pay-per-view. He went streaming. We have this whole concept about streaming. Then he makes the television license fees, the true bread and butter of the company.
“Then he builds the stock to such an extent, and the company’s valued at nine and a half billion dollars. He’s constantly disrupting his own business plan and marketing plan. So to that degree, strategic partnerships, mergers, etc., etc. I could see Vince doing whatever he felt was going to build this to be bigger, better, stronger, more resilient to any kind of storms that could happen in the future, the collapse of television itself. Streaming is taken down by a foreign government who’s infiltrated the systems of the United States.
“Whatever happens, we’re going to survive, and we’re going to thrive. So can I see that? Yeah, this particular move? No, but that’s what makes Vince Vince. I mean, that’s why he has a company that was valued at nine point something billion dollars because he will see things that we common folk don’t.”
When asked if he thinks WWE or UFC will gain more from this merger, Heyman said it’s really too early to tell but predicts that the shareholders will gain a lot from this merger down the line.
“The promoter in me, the marketer in me. And the political fixer backstage in me would love to say, well, it’s the fans who stand to gain the most,” Paul Heyman said. “It’s the audience who stands to gain the most. I don’t know; we’re not even 24 hours into the deal. I really can’t tell.
“There’s gonna have to be maneuverings. That’s just the nature of the evolution of a conglomerate. So I don’t know yet. Who stands to gain the most? I truly don’t — hopefully, the real answer is its shareholders, but I also can’t vouch for something that I don’t have my arms around. And I don’t even think that the principal players have their arms around this yet. It’s something that you have to figure out as you go along.”
READ MORE: Paul Heyman Compares Roman Reigns’ Title Run To The Undertaker’s Streak
What do you make of Paul Heyman’s comments? Do you think the merger is a good thing for WWE? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit WWE on BT Sport with a link back to this article for the transcription.
