Vince McMahon and company are now considering Mixed Martial Arts as direct competition, despite stating otherwise in the past. According to WrestlingObserver.com, WWE has quietly been telling arenas that hold their events not to allow MMA events to be held there 30 days before or after the WWE event.
This is nothing new as it pertains to wrestling. Back in the 1980’s, Vince McMahon was notorious for trying to make other regional promoters look like they had lesser companies by forcing them into smaller venues. Some of the promoters had the same type of agreement with certain arenas and could keep McMahon from coming in that area as well.
TNA deals with this when it comes to mid-sized arenas, so it still goes on today, but just recently has Vince openly looked at MMA as direct competition to make a move like this. In fact, Atlanta-based MMA group, Extreme Fight Night, has had to move dates three times this year due to the insistence of the WWE.