Will WWE Have Another Wave of Releases After the UFC Merger?

WWE hasn't had a big wave of releases in quite some time. But between the impending merger with UFC under Endeavor and Vince McMahon's reported return to WWE Creative, wrestling fans have been holding their collective breath hoping that another firing spree similar to the COVID-19 budget cuts in 2020-21 won't happen again. WWE CEO Nick Khan discussed that notion with LightShed Partners during a recent interview, stating that WWE intends to make roughly $50 million worth of job cuts but that it likely won't reach the talent roster. 

"If you look at what Endeavor was able to take out, cost-wise, from UFC in 2016 or shortly after that deal was done, we have the same expectation here. We think 50 (million) is a really conservative number. We have integration teams now, we're going to get those in shape, I think we'll have a better sense of it in a month or two. We're going to be pretty aggressive with them to make sure that, for our shareholders and for our company, our organization is as lean and mean as possible, and we're going to rely on the Endeavor flywheel to make up the rest," Khan said (h/t SEScoops). 

"The most important thing is to leave the product untouched. Untouched, meaning, if Triple H and Kevin Dunn want to evolve it, great, but in terms of cutbacks there, that's not what we're looking to do," he later added.

While WWE and UFC will technically be under the same roof in the near future, fans shouldn't expect too much crossover between the two brands. UFC President Dana White explained as much in an interview with The Associated Press.

"There won't really be any type of crossover," White said earlier this month. "If you look at the WWE, they have an entertainment value and they have these guys that are incredible athletes that go in there and do their thing. It's well known that it's scripted. When you look at the UFC, this is as real as it gets. That's our tagline. You have these guys that are incredible athletes that have to be well-rounded and well-versed in all these different aspects of martial arts. Then you have the entertainment side of it too, but it's real fighting, it's real. There are no predetermined outcomes in the UFC."