WWE makes major announcement ahead of RAW

WWE
WWE and UFC are part of the same family tree

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. governs the endeavors of both World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

On account of their partnership with the UFC, WWE has announced that the upcoming NXT Battleground event is scheduled to emanate from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, on Sunday, June 9th.

"This marks the first-ever WWE event to be hosted at the state-of-the-art, 130,000-square foot event and production facility, which is home to UFC Fight Night events, Dana White’s Contender Series and more," reads on the WWE site.

Furthermore, the Stamford-based promotion's Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, stated:

"We are always exploring new frontiers to showcase NXT and we are excited to bring Battleground to this world-class event and production facility in partnership with UFC."

The man currently in possession of the NXT Championship in the former black-and-gold brand is Ilja Dragunov. This is his first reign, which commenced in late September 2023, when the Russian-born wrestler won the belt from Carmelo Hayes. Meanwhile, Roxanne Perez is the record-tying two-time NXT Women's Champion.


Ex-WWE and UFC star Matt Riddle compares Dana White and Vince McMahon

During an appearance for Signed By Superstars earlier this year, Matt Riddle was asked about working for Dana White and Vince McMahon.

Riddle first had a career in mixed-martial arts, between 2008 to 2014. He made a name for himself on SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7 before going on to have a four-fight winning streak in the UFC. He ultimately got fired from the UFC for testing positive for smoking marijuana in February 2013.

In 2018, he signed with WWE and gradually won over the fans with his relatable persona and in-ring work, most notably his association with former WWE Champion Randy Orton as the tag team RK-Bro. The Original Bro was released by the company in 2023.

"When Vince has a story he tells the story. It doesn't matter what anybody says online, it doesn't matter what people say in the back, that's his story that's how he's going to run his ship, that's how it's done. You might like it, you might hate it, that's the point," Riddle said on Sign By Superstars. "Dana White is the same way. He has his business, and he wants it run a certain way, he's not going to say like a lot of the boxing they have random fights that shouldn't even be happening but they draw a little bit, Dana won't do it."

Vince McMahon resigned from TKO in January 2024 after Janel Grant's s*x trafficking allegations and a lawsuit were brought to light. He is no longer associated with World Wrestling Entertainment, the entertainment medium he co-founded and turned into the global business it is today.

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