Endeavor President Mark Shapiro Says They Won’t Over-Commercialize Apparel Deal With WWE

Vince McMahon’s return to WWE as the Executive Chairman made it pretty obvious that he planned on selling the company to the highest bidder. After almost months of going back and forth between potential buyers, WWE was sold to UFC’s parent company Endeavor. Now it appears that Endeavor President Mark Shapiro stated that they won’t over-commercialize an apparel deal with WWE, which would be similar to what the UFC already has.

Endeavor is now the controlling owner of WWE, and they will merge UFC and WWE into a new publicly traded company. This is truly a massive deal and will lead to significant changes that will be felt by both pro wrestling as well as the Combat sports world for a long time.

As previously reported, the new name of the publicly traded company will be TKO Group Holdings. Endeavour has already expanded the UFC’s business in numerous ways and likely plans to do the same with WWE. With Endeavor, UFC has signed various apparel and sponsorship deals to put on gear, the mat, corners

While speaking on the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch, Endeavor President Mark Shapiro was asked if WWE might get a similar apparel deal as the UFC. Shapiro stated that while WWE could benefit from an appeal deal, they will not over-commercialize it.

“We haven’t finished this transaction, we’re still running through this process, we’re not making any decisions. We’re not in control, so I’m not going to forecast what we may or may not do. I’ll speak to you from a point of view of why we thought it was so attractive. Yes, all of those are opportunities. You want to be authentic, seamless, organic, and true to your audience. We’re not going to put a brand on somebody’s robe walking to the ring. Do UFC fighters wear Venom apparel and Project Rock shoes?

Yes, they do. Could WWE benefit from an apparel deal as such, a shoe deal as such? Absolutely. We’re not going to over-commercialize it. We’re not going to saturate it to the point that we cheap it out and trick it out, and you turn off the fanbase. You have to figure out what’s right in the ring, in the Octagon, what’s right in the arena, indoor and outdoor. What’s right with the fighters and the participants, and you have to walk before you run

We will have to wait and see whether WWE will end up getting their own apparel deal, as Nick Khan had previously mentioned WWE was open for business when it came to putting sponsorships on the ring mat and more.

What’s your view on what Mark Shapiro said? Do you think WWE will get an appeal deal like the UFC? Let us know in the comments!