Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Friday, November 17, 2006 at 8:39 PM EST

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that the meeting earlier today between WWE and PRIDE in Stamford, CT at WWE Headquarters was something expected for the last month or so due to WWE entering negotations with Bob Sapp about possibly joining the company. The plan at the time was to promote Sapp as both a pro wrestling superstar and MMA superstar, with a scheduled start date around October 29. That time has now passed as Sapp did not end up signing a contract with WWE.

In regards to the relationship between WWE and PRIDE, don't expect a joint event in the United States of PRIDE and WWE matches. According to reports, no athletic commission will allow that to take place and it is doubtful either side would attempt to put on a bill like that given how unsuccessful it was in Japan. Many have noted that with PRIDE willing to work with WWE, it shows desperation on the part of the company and isn't a real surprise since the promotion lost TV and attempts to get popular in the U.S. market recently.

As of now, there are numerous possibilities being discussed between WWE and PRIDE. One possibility is that WWE gains ownership interest in PRIDE and gets them a timeslot on the USA Network to help put another MMA organization on TV. The only problem with this is that officials in WWE have little to no knowledge of MMA and if WWE were to get ownership interest, they would be calling the shots and that is never a good idea with someone like Vince McMahon involved. The idea of doing some cross-promotion has also been discussed with WWE and MMA personalities competing in each organization, which has the chance to turn out as a disaster for obvious reasons.

What it really comes down to is both WWE and PRIDE having a common interest at the moment - UFC. It is very obvious both companies would like to stop the company from getting any stronger than it already is within the United States. With PRIDE being unable to compete with UFC because of no television and WWE losing badly to UFC in terms of pay per view buyrates (UFC is often outdrawing WWE on PPV on a four to one or even five to one basis this year), you can easily see the common interest. While some have pointed out that WWE losing to UFC in PPV buyrates isn't all that bad, WWE has not been happy with the media pointing that out and cornering them as a company who is on the losing end at the moment despite always turning a profit regardless. In the end, PRIDE is coming off as the weakest company at the moment as they need WWE right now more than WWE needs them.