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Will Shane McMahon really buy a piece of UFC?
By Zach Arnold | November 22, 2009
Jonathan Snowden says it’s a possibility:
There was plenty of buzz about former WWE Vice President Shane McMahon. McMahon, were he to come into the company, would help the UFC secure international marketing and television deals, similar to the work he did for his father’s company. The holdup is Shane’s desire to buy in to the company. Zuffa has been loathe to add a partner in the past, but with the struggling real estate market, the time may be right for the Fertittas to add a new partner.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 60 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Even if they’re not willing to sell him a stake in the company outright, the ownership of Zuffa has taken out so many hundreds of millions of dollars in loans in order to pay themselves dividends that Shane McMahon could still potentially do what Mark Cuban did, which was to buy a chunk of that debt.
^ Yep, my thoughts exactly.
Yuck. I really don’t care for MMA and wrastlin mixed together.
Isn’t there anybody else available with the skills or connections to secure international marketing and television deals?
Robthom, Who gives a shit what his past was? IF HE HAS THE EXPERIENCE, INTELLIGENCE/KNOW HOW PLUS PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED WORKING RELATIONSHIPS INTERNATIONALLY, all these things that could potentially help Zuffa as a whole are all positives, regardless if he’s a “rasslin’s guy” or not, and I’m a huge Wrestling mark, but you cannot deny the basic business model is striking similar between the two.
How they generate revenue, the demographics they drive their business towards (Don’t say the UFC doesn’t care about getting kids eyes attention, because if that was the case there wouldn’t be a Pride ring and Zuffa cage along with the “pose-able” action figures in the toys section of your local big box.
Shane provides alot of viable assets to the company either as an employee or minority partner.
I sware as MMA fans I know we have to defend our sport against “Gays” “Rasslin Fans” and “Human Cock Fighter” claims at the drop of a dime, but sit back and perhaps if you do you’ll see past the blind hate and see the positives the guy would bring to the table.
Shane McMahon would be a positive asset to the company. There aren’t many people out there who have a real depth of knowledge at putting on international events in multiple markets like Shane does. It might be a different type of event to put on, but I would imagine the skills to get the job done are very similar.
As a still-semi-interested wrestling fan, I do not want anybody in the pro wrestling industry no matter what they can bring to the table involved in MMA. It will do far more harm than any good.
I practically worshiped Paul Heyman as the one true messiah through out the 1990s, but if he was involved with Strikeforce as he almost was, his history of being a pro wrestling promoter would have had everybody suspicious of every fight outcome. And whether their paychecks would clear, but that’s another story. They would constantly ask “Did that KO punch really connect?”, “Did that guy let his opponent out of a submission?”, “Did he take it easy on him to go to decision?” Even though Heyman’s mastery at promoting personalities would be amazing for Strikeforce, nobody would take them seriously.
Now imagine what reaction a McMahon would get. Imagine what Shane McMahon as co-owner would get from the press with 3 controversial main event decisions in a row. It wouldn’t be blamed on bad judging, it would be blamed on the carny’s son involvement. I know Shane has been a MMA fan since the mid-90s, but all the international connections in the world won’t be worth the headaches.
Shane gets involved, does Vince start showing up, maybe getting involved. How would that look? Does it matter how it would look?
Fluyid, Shane has been trying to get his dad to listen to him about MMA for ages. Attempts to purchase UFC, EliteXC, Strikeforce, IFL, etc. have all been suggested by Shane and Vince wanted nothing to do with it.
Shane leaving upsets his dad, and if Shane would go on to be competition? Yikes, I wouldn’t worry about Vince sticking his nose around.
No, Shane will become the black sheep trader of the McMahon family tree if he takes a UFC job. Not as bad as if he took a job with WCW in 1996, but nearly as bad. UFC is the company who have destroyed their PPV market and taken a huge amount of the adult audience away. Especially if Shane is co-owner, unless you believe it’s a conspiracy to spy on the inside of Zuffa, Vince would probably never speak to Shane again.
Pure speculation… but perhaps with the HHH/Stephanie combo running things in the WWE, Shane could have felt like a 3rd wheel and wanted to do something outside “da business”. I couldn’t blame him.
On a side note…. in my opinion, the HHH/Stephanie combo has been the single worst thing for Pro Wrestling since 1980….
Mark I think your point is a bit OTT. Seriously I think most UFC fans wouldnt give a damn if he Shane McMahon bought a piece of the pie. Although I may like my Puro I have not got one piece of love for the WWE, I think your thinking of the worst way too deeply.
Seriously when you watch fights in pride, rings, pancrase and shooto do you question every fight you see as all the promotions have/had pro-wrestling roots right at the top of the tree..
I’m thinking more of the media than fans.
But, the fans of puro and Japanese MMA are far more forgiving of it because puro and MMA have been intertwined since UWF-i laid the groundwork for PRIDE.
But those who are strictly UFC fans are going to absolutely hate the idea. Just look at the reaction Lesnar got. If he’s just another office worker nobody will really care. But if he’s co-owner they will.
The people who have had the biggest issue with Brock Lesnar are the hardcore fans. The guys who do BJJ or are really into the sport. Most casual fans couldn’t care less.
The same reaction would occur for Shane McMahon. A bunch of internet drones would make a huge deal abotu how it is killing the sport… And the rest of the public will have this reaction… “Shane owns part of the company? Oh, okay.”
“…but you cannot deny the basic business model is striking similar between the two.”
I deny it.
One is dramatic theater and the other is a sport.
I dont know much about shane mcmahon, I dont watch rasslin. But his last name is synonymous with it. Its his legacy. And I can only imagine that mcmahon’s would do for MMA what they did for football. Let alone a nice inside scuttling of UFC would be market protection for the original family business.
There must be somebody else walking the earth with international business acumen but without the taint of fixed fighting.
“Seriously when you watch fights in pride, rings, pancrase and shooto do you question every fight you see as all the promotions have/had pro-wrestling roots right at the top of the tree..”
Quite often I do.
He’s talking beyond what they are. If you don’t see that Dana White has studied Vince McMahon you’re blind. He clearly idolizes him even if he’d never admit it. Just look at how he carries himself, he certainly isn’t a disciple of Bud Selig.
Monthly PPVs, storylines promoted through several television shows, personalities being sold as much as athletic performances. Hell, look at last night alone: Josh Koscheck takes a timeout for a questionable injury as the fans boo him rabidly then cuts a promo on Dan Hardy. Tito Ortiz in heel moves 101 cuts several promos denying he really lost the fight. You see no connection to pro wrestling? What are they borrowing from, bowling?
“But, the fans of puro and Japanese MMA are far more forgiving of it because puro and MMA have been intertwined since UWF-i laid the groundwork for PRIDE.”
Mark, are you kidding me? I’ve seen many hardcore MMA/PRIDE MARKS (no pun intended) bash the UFC for signing a pro wrestler in Brock Lesnar, forgetting the fact that if it wasn’t for pro wrestling in Japan with UWFi and Takada and Sakuraba, PRIDE could of easily failed.
I do agree with you that some people might blame shoddy judging and stuff on the fact that the UFC is involved with a Carny son.
Whether you know or respect PRIDE’s puro roots depends on when you got into it. Lots of internet fans didn’t see PRIDE until it got on cable which by then the US broadcast went out of its way to erase all pro wrestling references (remember when Giant Silva’s Japanese broadcast style was “pro wrestling” but the American broadcast had it as the deadly art of “basketball”?) By then Takada was just some random emcee.
I am little unclear here, if Vince is against it, then where does the $’s come from for Shane to invest in the UFC?
Shane sold most of his WWE stock in 2007 and supposedly that was worth quite a chunk of change because it was prior to the Chris Benoit incident when stocks were still high that year. Shane is a millionaire with his own money. I don’t know what the UFC is valued at, but he certainly couldn’t afford a huge chunk of it, but he could at least afford a few percentage stakes. It is certainly a wiser investment than his old company these days.
Mark,
Makes sense then.
“He clearly idolizes him even if he’d never admit it. ”
Okay Dr.Phil 🙂
” Tito Ortiz in heel moves 101 cuts several promos denying he really lost the fight. ”
What your seeing as heel moves 101 I’m seeing as tito is a genuine asshole and definitely not one of the more attractive aspects of the MMA business. Let alone something I’d like to see further exploited with shane mcmahons help.
Tito knows how to market himself very well.
There is no proof that Dana White is a fan of Vince McMahon.
Joe Silva…. Well, he is a big wrestling fan….
Have more on Shane coming soon…hopefully tomorrow.
No worries everyone – 45 will just let us know what “mmalogic” thinks on the issue and that should settle it for us all!
^ Another pointless Gaijin post. What are the odds?
“Even if they’re not willing to sell him a stake in the company outright, the ownership of Zuffa has taken out so many hundreds of millions of dollars in loans in order to pay themselves dividends that Shane McMahon could still potentially do what Mark Cuban did, which was to buy a chunk of that debt.”
Yeah, but that’s just debt. He gets reimbursed a set percentage on top of his initial investment and that’s the end of that. The true value in owning a chunk of the UFC is in the future worth of the company.
I agree with 45 Huddle in post #5. Shane getting hired to help with European expansion seems like a very logical idea. He’s done it himself in the last half decade and probably has all those contacts still fresh.
As far as him getting part of the company? I say 0% chance.
I’d rather have Shane work behind the scenes in MMA than on camera in WWE. He made the WWE a lot more dangerous for the wrestlers because fans expected the everyday wrestlers to take the bumps Shane got 6 months to recover from
…but LOL @ White not emulating McMahon (outside of letting people have a cut of merch/dvd sales of course lol)
^ Another pointless Gaijin post. What are the odds?
Not to worried about what a knee toucher thinks anyways. Please fill us in on what another internet poster thinks on the subject and act like it’s gospel…I’m looking forward to it.
Just throwing this out there, but on TSN’s Off The Record, didn’t Dana said Vince was a “genius”?
^ Continues to prove my point. Are you just going to continue to post nonsense so I can laugh at you?
What does mmalogic have to do with this topic? Nothing. So why are you bringing him up? You are useless as always.
I’m actually interested in hearing what Jonathan Snowden reports tomorrow on this issue.
I think it would be fascinating to see Shane McMahon with the UFC. Let’s not factor out that he might have some contacts within other TV networks in the US that could broaden the UFC. Never know.
“One is dramatic theater and the other is a sport.”
Watch the commercials advertising the Super Bowl, World Series, or any other top sporting event, and tell me that sports aren’t sold as dramatic theatre.
Every sport is sold as dramatic theatre at the elite level. However, the more of the sport you have, the more the theatre gets watered down. The UFC, with one or two events a month, can pull off way more theatre than the NFL, with 15 games a week for half the year.
shane is another WWE infiltrator. Like Brock. It’s all part of Vinces plan to take down his biggest rival from the inside. Brock wins HW belt then gets “sick” and cant defend pulling out of shows and ruining events.
Then shane mcmahon pops up as a potential investor. There are WWE ninjas infiltrating our sport. If it carries on like this the UFC 125 main event will be Randy vs Hulkster in a caged ladder match. :o)
Come on, he might as well change his name to Mr. McWhite. He’s certainly not charismatic enough to be mimicking Don King, too thin to be mimicking Gary Shaw, not smart enough to be Bob Arum. So who is left? The guy who lives Dana’s dream of a market monopoly. And I’m not talking about Rich Uncle Pennybags. If it came out that Dana was Vince’s lovechild I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. He’s certainly more Vince-like than Shane.
Tito openly admits to basing his persona on pro wrestling villains. He’s also been in TNA several times, although his role is now being filled by Kim “It Takes A Long Time To Be An Elite MMA Fighter” Couture so that’s nothing to be proud of.
The “heels never admit they lose” angle is a heel move as old as time to get the fans even more pissed at you: they thought they finally saw you get your comeuppance, but you won’t admit it happened. Since all he has left is his shameless self promotion I’m sure he’s going to really go off the deepend with stuff like this. I mean, come on he made over $200,000 than Koscheck and Johnson not even to mention PPV bonuses and he’s out there at the press conference complaining he didn’t get the $70,000 fight of the night bonus. That was clearly the stir the fans up. And hey, since he can’t win anymore go out of your way to make sure people are happy when you lose.
The McMahon name is mud in US television. Let’s see: they pissed off Spike, NBC wants nothing to do with him because the Saturday Night Main Event ratings were abysmal, MyNetwork and WGN are useless channels. The only US channel he is in good standing with that matters would be Univision. But since that’s owned by NBC theoretically the Comcast merger would get them in good graces there. But regardless, the UFC is strong enough that in America how much prying do you really need? You want it or you don’t. Dana will agree to take the deal or he won’t. And the WWE is hardly known for getting the type of TV deals with crazy leverage and payouts Dana is looking for. I’m sure the new USA Network contract is laughable. Dana would probably consider WWE deals a slight step above Public Access if he hates Elite/Strikeforce’s deals.
C’mon man – don’t piss on 45’s fantasy here. Everyone knows what “awesome” deals the WWE was able to get on network tv (basically none) in their last big run from ’97-’01 when they were a money making and ratings juggernaut, pulling out 6’s and 7’s on cable.
The WWE was/is a cable tv company (USA, Syfy (lol)) and runs on MyNetwork (the same channel that everyone laughed at when the IFL got it’s deal on there). But of course if he comes over the the UFC he’ll magically be able to create wine from water and suddenly come up with these non-existent network tv deals he couldn’t get for himself.
McMahon will be good for international expansion and contacts but this network tv contacts is funny, because as far as I recall they don’t have many good ones. Maybe they’ll even make “UFC Films” or publishing company for fighter based biographies and books. If they were ambitious they’d make a UFC 24/7 premium paid channel and make use of all of the tape libraries they own.
Smackdown is shown in 56 countries and fairly popular in all. UFC is shown in 36 countries but really only popular in America, Canada and the UK.
But as for American deals: WWE has been notorious since the day Vince Jr. took over for getting TV time by giving up all the ad revenue in the hopes they’ll make the money back by being able to infomercial PPVs and live events. And they pay for all production costs. They briefly had a great deal with Spike but screwed that up and Shane wasn’t in charge of television deals back then. He wasn’t able to get a new deal with Spike, got Smackdown canceled from the CW Network even though it was their #1 rated show, got crappy deals with MyNetwork, Syfy and WGN and took 2 lousy contracts with USA network.
But on the plus side, he’s great at selling cheap, pre-made, months old syndicated programming so maybe Unleashed and TUF will be all over the globe soon.
Exactly. This is why they’re interested in him and he would be quite valuable in that capacity. If there’s someone that has a good idea in how to expand and find the pulse in the international markets for ppvs, tv, etc. he’ll be one of them. But the idea that he’s got some great contacts/influence/pull to bring them network deals is a total fantasy…but not a shock considering where it’s coming from.
I do recall that the WWE was pretty successful running some tours in Japan, maybe he’s an “inside” guy that will help them navigate the tough to penetrate market over there or know the right contacts/business ops, since they apparently don’t have much of an idea of how to successfully operate in that climate.
“What your seeing as heel moves 101 I’m seeing as tito is a genuine asshole and definitely not one of the more attractive aspects of the MMA business.”
I’m not trying to act like some guy acting like I’m some big insider or anything, but I do know and have been around Tito a lot. He is absolutely nothing whatsoever like the asshole he portrays in interviews, etc.
While it’s pretty anecdotal (and the tv cameras were running at the time), he came off like a total a-hole giving a lecture to some homeless guy asking for change a few weeks back.
“Do you know how hard my wife’s anus had to work to get this dollar?”
Yes, by all accounts the Tito on TUF (hard working, positive motivator) was the real Tito. TUF 3 actually made me briefly like him because he seems like he’d be the perfect trainer, unlike Ken’s “Hey, I’m gonna go take a nap on those mats stacked over there, do whatever.” But then he stinks up the joint and thinks he’s awesome for being the same fighter for the past decade and I hate him again. I think Forrest is more legitimately a douche than Tito, though. His post-Silva interviews have come across like he’s the biggest jerkoff on the planet when he used to seem like a funny guy who didn’t take himself too seriously.
I am also of the opinion that Shane’s involvement would be good business for Zuffa and UFC. Shane’s not being asked to come in and write storylines. He’d be asked to build business relationships and develop the international market. That’s a totally different thing.
People are looking at his wrestling background and just assuming he’s going to put wrestling stories and practices into place. There is a whole other side of WWE, one that is built off of real marketing and business relationships independent from the scripted product that is presented on TV every week. I think everyone lumps the pro wrestling product into every aspect of life of anyone who was ever involved with it and it’s a shame.
Brock Lesnar is a highly competent, NCAA Championship caliber wrestler. But he pro wrestled at some point so now apparently he’s just a carnie freak who never belonged in the UFC and should never get title matches.
Shane McMahon is a master at business development and understanding international markets. But his Dad owns the WWE and he’s been on TV in some matches and angles so all of that business acumen is completely erased because he’s just a pro wrestling guy who’s going to supposedly force Dana White and Co. to make all of the UFC guys cut exaggerated promos and work matches.
Come on. Get a grip people.
Pro Wrestling is something you do for money but it doesn’t define who you are or what other talents you have independent from it.
This is like hating on a Doctor who had to become a stripper for a while to pay for Medical School. She’s probably a really good Doctor but hey she was a stripper so who gives a damn what else she knows right?
I also agree with 45 on this point: “On a side note…. in my opinion, the HHH/Stephanie combo has been the single worst thing for Pro Wrestling since 1980….”
Wrestling has never been as bland, boring and pathetic as it is right now. Who would have thought that wrestling peaked 13-14 years ago and would actually get progressively worse a decade later? Ugh. Thanks Triple Ego.
Rp
“This is like hating on a Doctor who had to become a stripper for a while to pay for Medical School. She’s probably a really good Doctor but hey she was a stripper so who gives a damn what else she knows right?”
I really hope you didn’t believe that peeler when she told you she was in med school. 🙂
Unless S. McMahon actually tries to act like some egomaniacal authority figure in the public eye – and they already have that position filled – I don’t think there’ll be much of an issue.
And RP – how dare you be such a sexist swine to attribute a female gender to the aforementioned doctor example!!!!
Gaijin –
You’re right I should have said “they” since it very well could have been a male stripper/chippendale dancer we’re talking about here as well. My bad.
You get the inference though. Pro Wrestling involvement should not mean someone is tied to the corniness of pro wrestling forever and automatically dismiss their other qualifications.
No different than any other idiotic stereotypes.
I think Shane’s business qualifications make him a very worthy pick up for UFC at a time when they are trying to expand their global reach.
Rp
How do we know what Shane McMahon did for the WWE while he was there, outside of his wrestling matches?
Shane McMahon (& The WWE) would be a great fit as part of the UFC ownership group. After all, statistics and demographics have proven that the UFC’s fan base is derived or stolen from wrestling. Plus, the UFC’s marketing and advertising campaigns is very similar to what we see with Pro-wrestling.
“How do we know what Shane McMahon did for the WWE while he was there, outside of his wrestling matches?”
What his role in the company has been talked about by guys like Dave Meltzer. It was discussed a lot that Stephanie was more like her dad in the creative department and Shane was more like his mom with the structuring of the company.
“Wrestling has never been as bland, boring and pathetic as it is right now. Who would have thought that wrestling peaked 13-14 years ago and would actually get progressively worse a decade later? Ugh. Thanks Triple Ego.”
They don’t let the athletes be themselves. What made Steve Austin so great was that they let him run with his character which was just an extension of himself. Today, they are so restrictive on how an “entertainer” can act, that they have no ability to let their own personality shine. Hence why it is so bland.
The other thing that drives me insane is how they work the camera now. Go watch Monday Night RAW tonight. If a wrestler clotheslines his opponent, as soon as the impact happens, they change the camera. This happens on every single impact in the ring. It makes it literally impossible to watch.
It seems like 3 things in life stick.
1) A guy sucks one d!ck, and you are forever a pole smoker. Doesn’t matter if he banged 100 hot girls after that.
2) A girl does one porno, and forever is a pornstar, doesn’t matter if she has been in a relationship with one partner with no cheating for a decade.
3) If you are involved in pro wrestling, you are forever tainted with fakeness.
^Ooooookkkaaaaaayyyyyy…