WWE boss Triple H appeared on Friday Night SmackDown and revealed a major shakeup is on the way.
The Hall of Famer, who is still the company’s chief content officer following news of a huge sale to Endeavor which is leading to a merger with the UFC, came out to address the fans and announced a WWE Draft is coming.
After hyping up a record breaking WrestleMania, Triple H – real name Paul Levesque – insisted it is time to look to the future, before confirming every superstar is eligible for the draft in the coming weeks.
He said: ‘I promise you this. When it is all said and done, this year’s draft will truly change the game.’
Given Triple H’s comments, it appears NXT will be included in the wide sweeping changes, with the possibility if stars being called up from the developmental brand.
Whatever happens, Raw and SmackDown will certainly look very different heading into the summer.
It’s fitting given WWE is entering a new era, with the upcoming joint sports entertainment company alongside UFC set to be worth a staggering $21.4 billion (£17.30bn).
In a statement, WWE’s executive chairman Vince McMahon said: ‘Given the incredible work that Ari [Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor] and Endeavor have done to grow the UFC brand – nearly doubling its revenue over the past seven years – and the immense success we’ve already had in partnering with their team on a number of ventures, I believe that this is without a doubt the best outcome for our shareholders and other stakeholders.’
He added: ‘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 77-year-old businessman said that 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’.
He noted that he was looking forward to ‘working closely’ with Emanuel, as well as the teams at Endeavor and UFC, so that they can all take their respective businesses ‘to the next level’.
With McMahon staying on as executive chairman, Emanuel will remain CEO of Endeavor, Mark Shapiro will be president and chief operating officer of both Endeavor and the new firm, and Dana White will remain president of UFC while Nick Khan serves as president of WWE.
WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport.
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