The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was riding a huge wave of popularity during the peak of the Attitude Era in the late 1990s. Meanwhile, a company by the name of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was struggling to host shows across the country as many states had blacklisted the sport for being too violent.
Vince McMahon's empire was on cloud nine while the struggles of the UFC continued into the new millennium. The previous owners of the UFC then sold the company to the executives of Station Casinos, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. The Fertitta brothers created Zuffa, LLC to manage the UFC and appointed childhood friend, Dana White as the new president. The purchase was made official in January 2001 and the new management was ushered in.
WWE Was Once The Dominant Force In "Combat" Sports
The beginning for Fertitta and White was far from ideal. UFC 33 was universally panned by critics and even with new management, the company was burning through their cash and the financial losses continued for the next couple of years until January 17, 2005. The first season of the Ultimate Fighter (TUF) aired in early 2005 and the UFC finally turned in a sizeable profit. The fight between the finalists, Forrest Griffin and Stephen Bonnar on the finale of TUF was nothing less than the first WrestleMania for the company in terms of significance as the fight saved the UFC.
Meanwhile, the WWE was going through a cooldown in terms of revenue and viewership. The top stars of the Attitude Era had retired and after the WCW buyout and the conclusion of the Invasion storyline, pro-wrestling, in general, had lost a bit of edge.
Nowadays, the landscape of the sporting world is much different from the 1990s. The UFC is on ESPN and has shattered gate records and PPV buys time and time again. The megastars of the UFC, such as Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Nate Diaz are household names and many of their PPVs are must-watch television. The WWE on the other hand has struggled to establish new stars in the past decade and has lost the cool factor, according to many fans and as evident by the declining ratings and viewership.
How The UFC Surpassed WWE
Good television is founded on unpredictability, as well as adjustment to the wishes of the viewers. The UFC is following the exact same formula as WWE did back in the Attitude Era as the company actively tries to showcase the fights that the fans wish to see. The sport is unpredictable in general but the matchmaking leaves very little room for mismatches and the company relentlessly promotes the main card matches with vignettes, promo packages, and face-to-face interactions between the competing athletes.
The WWE has stopped listening to the fan base and there is no greater example of this than the mega push of Roman Reigns. The displeasure of the fans was vocal and very much noticeable but the company was adamant about ramming the chosen one down the throat of the fans. Moreover, the company did its very best to cool down the momentum of the extremely popular Daniel Bryan during the road to Wrestlemania 30 and while Bryan had his moment at the mega-event, this occasion is seen as an exception to the general rule. The list goes on and on as several superstars, such as Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, and Braun Strowman were sidelined in favor of Roman Reigns and other chosen ones, anointed by the company itself, not the fans.
MMA has surpassed pro-wrestling in the cool factor and is well ahead on the popularity scale. The issues with the current product have been discussed at length but each and every issue boils down to one fatal flaw, the leading brand of pro-wrestling, the WWE had gotten lazy and complacent. The viewership is on a downward spiral but the TV deals net the WWE millions annually and the company can afford to get away with lazy booking and uninspired storylines as the future is secure.
MMA, particularly the UFC is hungry and determined to break new grounds and aims to smash records each time it goes live. Vince McMahon went for “the jugular” when his company was facing stiff competition from the WCW but the UFC needs no such push to continually aim higher. Dana White, the president of the UFC, is determined to surpass boxing in the coming years while the WWE is content on just existing.
Pro-wrestling stopped trying after reaching the pinnacle. MMA aims to be the greatest sport the world has ever known. That is very, very cool.
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