WWE And UFC Merging With Vince McMahon Staying On As Executive Chairman

Actor Ryan Reynolds (“The Adam Project”) is about to return to the “Deadpool” franchise soon with a shoot in the United Kingdom, this time under the banner of Marvel Studios. But the actor also lining up another project with Legendary.

40 miles from Central London — wasn’t the kind of place to keep police on the edge of their seats in suspense. But in the early hours of Feb. 22, 2006, a call came in that rocked local law enforcement — and shortly after, an entire nation.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic According to legend, the chupacabra is a fearsome, blood-sucking beast — a lean and intimidating animal you wouldn’t want to come across feasting on your livestock at night. Not so the cub three kids nickname “Chupa” (Spanish for “sucker,” short for its species) in Mexican director Jonás Cuarón’s family-friendly Netflix movie. This one looks like a fuzzy-wuzzy baby lynx, with inquisitive amber eyes and a pair of awkward azure wings it still hasn’t learned how to use. A single glimpse of this oversized kitten and you’ll want one for your own, if not the plush version to snuggle up with at night. That’s a pretty radical reimagining of a mythical monster usually discussed in horror terms, but an inspired way to bring a sense of Amblin-esque wonder south of the border, attempting to do for a legendary Latin American creature what films like “E.T.” did for extra-terrestrials — which is to say, turn something typically perceived as a threat into everyone’s new fantasy best friend. Cuarón doesn’t exactly hide his influences here, paying overt homage to Steven Spielberg throughout. He even goes so far as to tack a “Jurassic Park” poster on the wall of 13-year-old Alex’s (Evan Whitten) all-American bedroom.

WWE fans are unhappy about the recent news that Vince McMahon would be retaining some creative control behind the scenes of the brand.

Prince Harry hasn’t packed his bags just yet.

Prince Harry stayed at Frogmore Cottage during his surprise return to the UK last week, sources have claimed. The Duke of Sussex, 38, is understood to have stayed at the Windsor home while he attended the preliminary hearing in his claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) at the Royal Courts of Justice.

before King Charles evicted him — while visiting the UK last week, the Telegraph reported.The former royal, 38, made a surprise appearance in court for his phone-hacking case against the Daily Mail, joined by other high-profile celebrities such as Sir Elton John and model Elizabeth Hurley.Harry did not see his father during the visit, according to the Telegraph, but the Duke of Sussex retrieved possessions that he and Meghan Markle left at Frogmore Cottage and shipped them to their $14 million Montecito, California mansion.Following the release of Harry’s bombshell memoir, “Spare,” the king allegedly ordered the couple — who were gifted the home by the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding present — to vacate the residence. According to reports, the Sussexes were “disappointed” to leave the five-bedroom property they had “made their home.”Prince Harry did not see his father during the visit because the King was too busy, the Telegraph reported, noting it was his first visit to the UK since receiving eviction orders.A royal insider previously claimed that Charles decided to evict the couple after his son described Queen Consort Camilla as a “wicked stepmother.”“It was the last straw,” an insider told the Mirror.

Vince McMahon called Monday “a great day” as his iconic company announced plans to sell a controlling stake to Endeavor in a merger with mixed martial arts firm UFC. “Things have to evolve. A family business has to evolve, for all the right reasons. And this is the right business decision, and it’s the right family decision,” McMahon said in an interview today on CNBC.

Fans are divided over Vince McMahon’s makeover.

Sharon Acker, who starred in "Point Blank" and "The New Perry Mason," has died. She was 87. The actress passed away on March 16 at a retirement home in her native Toronto, Canada, her daughter Kim Everest confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will merge into one company as part of a sale to Endeavor Group Holdings. The new operation will be valued at $21.4 billion thanks to the UFC's $12.1 billion valuation and WWE's $9.3 billion. WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon will join the new "global live sports and entertainment company" in the same role.

Conor McGregor is very excited about the sports world’s big new merger.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter In a storyline worthy of the finest pro wrestling angles, the McMahon family’s nearly complete control of WWE is coming to an end after seven decades. That is not to say there will no one within the McMahon family at the helm of the sports entertainment juggernaut. With the announcement that Endeavor Group is purchasing WWE and combining it into a new company with the UFC, it was revealed that Vince McMahon will be executive chairman of the board of the new entity. In addition, Paul Levesque — known to fans as Triple H and also McMahon’s son-in-law — will stay on as chief content officer, a role he assumed in September 2022. But no longer will the WWE be the family-run business that WWE and its predecessors have been since McMahon’s father and grandfather began promoting professional wrestling in New York in 1953. As such, it marks the end of an era for TV’s dominant pro wrestling franchise.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Endeavor is bringing together two of the world’s biggest combat-sports franchises — UFC and WWE — in a blockbuster merger announced Monday. It’s a deal in which “one plus one equals three,” said Endeavor president and COO Mark Shapiro, who will serve in the same role for the merged UFC-WWE. The pact, valuing the combined company at roughly $21.4 billion, is anticipated to close in the second half of 2023. The deal will result in an estimated $50 million to $100 million in annualized run-rate cost synergies, according to Endeavor, including by moving WWE to Endeavor’s back-office infrastructure. Shapiro said Endeavor, when it acquired UFC, realized $70 million in cost savings.

Endeavor Group Holdings and Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment have entered a definitive agreement to create a new $21.4 billion live sports and entertainment company consisting of UFC and WWE.The deal, which was unanimously approved by Endeavor and WWE’s boards of directors, values UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE at $9.3 billion. It is expected to close in the second half of 2023.Under the terms of the transaction, existing WWE shareholders will roll all existing equity into a new entity that will be the parent company of UFC and WWE (“NewCo” until it is named at a later date) and intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TKO”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Endeavor Group Holdings and World Wrestling Entertainment said Monday that they had signed a definitive agreement to form a new, publicly listed company consisting of two complementary, global sports and entertainment brands: UFC and WWE. The deal was reported to be close over the weekend by financial media CNBC and Bloomberg. Upon closing, Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% interest. “Together, UFC and WWE will have global reach, impressive scale and omnichannel distribution,” Endeavor said in a statement.

WWE and UFC parent Endeavor Group Holdings made things official in an SEC filing Monday morning, confirming their blockbuster merger into a combat sports colossus.

CNBC, the top pro wrestling and mixed martial arts promotions in the world would both be operated under a new joint company led by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. McMahon, who briefly stepped down from WWE this past July after the Wall Street Journal exposed years worth of hush money payments he made to several women to keep quiet about affairs and sexual misconduct, would serve as executive chairman of the new company.

J. Kim Murphy World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) is nearing a deal to be acquired by Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. Bloomberg was first to report on the ongoing acquisition deal. The report states that “no final decision has been made” and that negotiations could potentially fall through. The talks coincide as WrestleMania 39, one of the organization’s premier annual events, continues to unfold. The two-day pay-per-view and streaming extravaganza concludes Sunday evening, with more than 80,000 fans in attendance in Los Angeles. The WWE has been actively exploring an acquisition deal for some time now. Vince McMahon, the longtime public face and majority owner of the professional wrestling organization, returned to the company as executive chairman in January. McMahon had exited his WWE leadership role last year amid investigations into sexual misconduct allegations, leaving his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, to take on offices as chairman and co-CEO alongside Nick Khan, who previously served as the company’s president.

The WWE, which has been exploring a potential sale over the past few months, is in the process of being acquired by UFC parent Endeavor Group Holdings.