No, the Wrestlemania 26 NBC special is not a WWE strike against UFC 117

This has come up on various wrestling and MMA forums, as well as our sister site Bloody Elbow, and needs to be fully debunked:

The Wrestlemania 26 special on NBC this Saturday night is nothing.  It's certainly not a bold move to counter-program UFC 117.  When the new generation of Saturday Night's Main Event specials flopped, NBC was still contractually obligated to give WWE two specials each year.  This hole is filled by Tribute To The Troops and the annual Wrestlemania highlight special.  Both shows are considered unimportant filler, with Tribute To The Troops at least being an ostensibly heartwarming program where ratings don't matter.  Last year's special aired in early August, just like this year's.  The matches are edited to shreds and set to shitty nu-metal.  They are NOT giving away the main events for free.  You will not see the whole Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker match.  Get the DVD for that.