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  • The Atlantic

    A Gory Amalgam of Truth and Spectacle

    Trumpism hovers over the merger of the UFC and WWE.
    by James Parker Oct 03, 2023 5 minutes
    Source: Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Anna Moneymaker; Getty.

    With the news last month that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (brand: authentic, highly skilled violence) has merged, in a deal worth billions upon billions, with World Wrestling Entertainment (brand: fabulously stylized, highly skilled violence), it appears to be time to reset the reality levels. Again. What new form of narrative, what gory amalgam of truth and spectacle, what double-talking rough beast approaches? In other words: Are you ready to rumble?

    If you doubt the importance of this bit of business, consider that braided into the corporate histories of both the UFC and WWE, and into their respective anthropologies (we’ll be coming back to this), is the rise of Donald Trump. Trumpism has expressed and explored itself through both of these entities. And as they coalesce, and as Trumpism itself further coalesces,

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