Triple H Believes You Can Make The Argument WWE Is Right There With The Big Four Sports In America
Triple H and Tyson Fury discuss WWE Crown Jewel.
On Oct. 31, heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury will make his professional wrestling debut when he goes one-on-one with Braun Strowman. Reports have circulated that Fury will make $15 million for the bout, though those numbers have not been confirmed. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani spoke with Fury and WWE Executive Vice President Triple H about the deal, and asked whether the $15 million number was true.
Fury replied, “That’s what I’ve read. I don’t know where that information has come from. But I’m not gonna confirm or deny. I don’t want to breach my contract.”
Triple H added, “It’s amazing how much people count other people’s money. You can make an argument right now that, if you said, what are the four big sports in America, you can make an argument that we’re right there. I’m not gonna confirm or deny, but the positioning of what we are, it’s no different than any other sport. We’re not the size of the NFL or anything like that, but what we do is up there.”
WWE has worked with other boxers in the past, including Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather, the latter having a match of his own at WrestleMania 24 against The Big Show. ESPN reported that Mayweather made $20 million for the bout but Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported that the number was $2 million. Meltzer also reported that Tyson, who was the special guest enforcer at WrestleMania 14, made $3.5 million for his appearances.
When comparing himself to the other boxers, Fury stated, “None of the other boxers who came into (wrestling) made that type of money, but none of the other boxers were the lineal heavyweight current world champion. And they’re not the Gypsy King.”
Triple H joked, “You want the king, you gotta pay for the king.”
Along with the WWE debut of Fury, Crown Jewel will also mark the WWE debut of Cain Velasquez as he challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title. You can check out the current Crown Jewel card by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show with a h/t to Fightful for the transcription.
