Endeavor President Mark Shapiro Says The Company Will 'Run The UFC Playbook' When Handling WWE

In 2016, Endeavor purchased the UFC. Following the acquisition, the product and the face in charge of it didn't change, with Dana White continuing in his role as president of the company. Fast forward seven years and Endeavor is purchasing WWE, and bringing the MMA and sports entertainment giants together under one banner. Speaking on the acquisition with Sport's Business Journal's John Ourand, Endeavor President Mark Shapiro discussed what he expects to come for WWE following the transaction.

"We're going to run the UFC playbook," Shapiro said. "The opportunity to put Vince McMahon's creative head with Dana and Ari [Emanuel] is going to create a significant amount of value for shareholders."

"That's the strategy," Shapiro continued "That's how it has successfully played out for the UFC over the last six years. Remember when we bought it for $4.1 billion? People thought that price was crazy. Now, it is valued at $12.1 billion. I mean, what a story. We hope to do the same thing with the WWE."

During an interview with CNBC, Endeavor's Ari Emanuel and WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon spoke about the next steps in handling WWE's creative direction. McMahon stated he wouldn't return to his role like he used to. Continuing to talk about the sale, Shapiro mentioned a belief in Endeavor's ability to grow WWE's sponsorship, licensing, hospitality, and ticketing businesses. WWE did over $20 million in sponsorship dollars during WrestleMania 39 weekend, reaching an all-time high in that category.  When speaking on how the deal got finalized, Shaprio jokingly mentioned that while Emanuel was "sitting next to Vince and doing high-fives" at SoFi Stadium, he and his partners were in the "boiler room" finalizing the deal in New York that would be announced Monday morning.