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Shane McMahon, the 39 year old son of top pro wrestling promoter, WWE's Vince McMahon, is leaving his position with WWE as of January 1. He had an apparent falling out with his father over a variety of issues built up over many years and was ready to try life outside of his father's shadows.
Shane is now interested in buying a stake in UFC. Shane is a long-time MMA fan and had his eye on the sport for years, at times encouraging his father to explore getting into the genre.
There will instantly be fear within the MMA community that somehow Shane going to MMA is going to mean matches will be fixed and hype will be scripted. It's crazy-talk. If Dana White wanted to fix fights and script feuds, he could do that without the top secret passcode to "fixing fights" that Shane supposedly has.
WWE is orchestrated simulated fighting. It's no big deal. It's fights aren't "fixed" because nobody presupposes they're "real fights." It's a scripted form of entertainment not that far removed from a boxing movie or NBC's "Friday Night Lights." They have script writers, producers, and a cast of wrestlers who know when they get into wrestling that there's no shame in being scripted to lose any more than a villain cast in a movie laments that he gets killed in the end by the hero. They're happy to have jobs and proud if they get the reaction they want out of fans, who buy into the action while watching the same way everyone who watches "24" is on the edge of their seat even though Jack Bauer doesn't really exist.
So with that out of the way, why would UFC want Shane? Because his bailiwick in WWE wasn't working with wrestlers or script writers. His area was international hobnobbing and deal-making. He has a wealth of connections that can help UFC in areas where it's weakest and behind WWE, including international TV, merchandising, and licensing. McMahon is a born salesman. He was well-liked among his staff at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Conn., known to be interested and involved in keeping up with his employees personal lives. He's charming, energetic, and driven. His resume, no matter what entertainment industry he was coming from and no matter what his last name was, would get him in the door at UFC. He also happens to have a lot of money and enough to buy an interest in UFC. UFC is interested because he is a key component who can take them to the next level.
That said, is there a little satisfaction within UFC that they might get Vince McMahon's "disgruntled son" to join their ranks? Sure, especially since Vince McMahon tried to hire Mike Goldberg out from under them a few years ago.
But mostly, Shane brings business connections and international deal-making experience in an industry that is similar in many ways. UFC is marketed on cable TV, earned the bulk of its revenue from PPV and live event ticket sales, markets DVDs and merchandise, and has international appeal.
Shane McMahon is less of a threat than Tito Ortiz in terms of injecting "pro wrestling fakery" into the real sport of MMA.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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