16 years ago, on this date of January 17, the first ever episode of UFC tournament, The Ultimate Fighter, had aired on SpikeTV. TUF was allowed to air on the channel right after WWE RAW, and it was Vince McMahon who gave the thumbs up for UFC to have that slot. The rest, as they say, is history.
UFC benefitted largely from following a show as big as RAW, and in the following years went on to rip WWE off viewership and pay-per-view buys. Their partnership with SpikeTV, that started in 2005, went long term, while WWE returned to USA Network within a year.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer shared the story on his Twitter on the day of the historic incident, and asked his followers whether Vince McMahon would make the same call if he had knowledge of what would follow.
To say this was the night that changed the course of sports history would be an understatement. I hope everyone thanks Vince McMahon for this. Hindsight being 20/20, do you think Vince makes the same call? https://t.co/kNat7TT8Yz
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 17, 2021
Vince McMahon refused to see UFC as a competitor of WWE
Several followers wondered what the story behind this was. Dave Meltzer went on to detail how Vince McMahon was asked by SpikeTV if he had any problem with TUF following RAW. Mr. McMahon had said he did not.
The story is that Spike wanted to air the shot right after Raw, since it was their highest rated show at the time. But in being good partners, they asked Vince if he saw them as competition and did he have any problems airing it in that time slot. https://t.co/O7f5z2GsSD
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 17, 2021
Vince McMahon is not one to let anything or anyone have their chance at hurting the business of WWE. However, a lack of hindsight made him believe that UFC was not sustainable enough to compete with WWE, the reason being the uncertainty of UFC outcomes.
Vince, who believed UFC was not sustainable since the promotion couldn't control the outcomes and big stars could lose at any time, said he had no problem with it. https://t.co/O7f5z2GsSD
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 17, 2021
Paul Heyman had warned Vince McMahon about UFC
Not everyone at WWE took UFC lightly. Paul Heyman revealed in a 2010 interview with MMA reporter Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, that he had told Vince McMahon not to go with the decision.
“I was there in the room when we decided whether to let The Ultimate Fighter come on after Monday Night Raw. They had the right to approve or decline any programming that followed them.”
Heyman recalled telling Mr. McMahon that he should be “afraid of anything that will take away from your pay-per-view dollars.” Vince McMahon clearly did not pay a heed and all the MMA fans in the world are thankful for that.
