Dana White comments on WWE’s rumored relocation to Las Vegas
If Dana White does know anything about the WWE’s rumored move to Las Vegas, he’s not telling.
On Tuesday, WrestleVotes reported that employees of World Wrestling Entertainment were informed in a meeting at the corporate Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut that the Performance Center would be relocating from Orlando, Florida to Las Vegas. Mark Shapiro, the president of William Morris Endeavor, the WWE’s parent company, reportedly revealed the news to a room full of employees.
For those unaware, Endeavor is also the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Endeavor closed a deal to purchase the WWE for $9.3 billion in April 2023 before merging both the UFC and the sports entertainment juggernaut into one company, TKO Group Holdings. With Las Vegas already serving as the UFC’s base of operations, speculation quickly ran rampant that WWE’s rumored move could be the first step toward further combining the two companies into one.
Asked about the WWE’s rumored move into its territory following Tuesday’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC CEO remained tight-lipped but flashed a curious smile suggesting he knows more than he’s willing to share.
“That’s none of my business. I know nothing about it,” White said coyly. “It’s none of my business. Let the WWE talk about their business.”
Rumors of WWE’s Move to Las Vegas Alread Debunked?
Not long after the rumor ran rampant on social media, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that a source within the company claimed it was false and that no such meeting had taken place. The site also added that nobody within the performance center had heard of any such plans to move to Vegas and were shocked when the word began circulating of such a move.
Sources also indicated that Shapiro has talked about how Las Vegas is a sports and entertainment destination and that there was the possibility of a WWE presence on the table, though no immediate plans to relocate are in place.
Despite the followups from both Sapp and Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, WrestleVotes doubled down on their initial report.