Kemo
06-28-2016, 03:29 PM
Stephanie McMahon says Brock Lesnar is in one of the most unique positions of any WWE star. In an interview with Business Insider conducted last week at the Cannes Lions festival in France, Stephanie talked about Lesnar returning to the UFC octagon while still under contract with WWE.
Stephanie says the UFC and WWE are not competitors because one is competitive sport and one is entertainment. Stephanie says WWE is more like a Hollywood production than a sport, and WWE has an advantage as far as television goes because they can script their protagonists and antagonists.
“UFC, they can make a big star but the second that person loses, they lose credibility, and how do you continue to make that star rise?” Stephanie said. “So I think [WWE has] the best of both worlds and the opportunity to tell the stories in the way we want to tell them.”
Stephanie claims Brock fighting for UFC isn’t a promotional opportunity for WWE, and the company isn’t necessarily “supporting” the fight.
“In Brock Lesnar’s case it was really a special case that we are allowing him to do this fight [against Mark Hunt on July 9]. But like you said it’s not really a cross-promotional opportunity, but we are allowing him to participate in that fight,” Stephanie said. “We are not supporting the fight necessarily but, again, it’s not a competitor to us and the more that our superstars, that’s how we refer to our talent, the more they do outside of WWE, the more awareness it generates and the broader the audience can be that is then brought back into our properties. So we recognize the value of that.”
Stephanie says the UFC and WWE are not competitors because one is competitive sport and one is entertainment. Stephanie says WWE is more like a Hollywood production than a sport, and WWE has an advantage as far as television goes because they can script their protagonists and antagonists.
“UFC, they can make a big star but the second that person loses, they lose credibility, and how do you continue to make that star rise?” Stephanie said. “So I think [WWE has] the best of both worlds and the opportunity to tell the stories in the way we want to tell them.”
Stephanie claims Brock fighting for UFC isn’t a promotional opportunity for WWE, and the company isn’t necessarily “supporting” the fight.
“In Brock Lesnar’s case it was really a special case that we are allowing him to do this fight [against Mark Hunt on July 9]. But like you said it’s not really a cross-promotional opportunity, but we are allowing him to participate in that fight,” Stephanie said. “We are not supporting the fight necessarily but, again, it’s not a competitor to us and the more that our superstars, that’s how we refer to our talent, the more they do outside of WWE, the more awareness it generates and the broader the audience can be that is then brought back into our properties. So we recognize the value of that.”