WrestleMania 39 generated $215 million for LA region, WWE says

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- One of the biggest professional-wrestling events in the world generated millions of dollars for the Los Angeles area, according to WWE.

WWE says Wrestlemania 39 was a big hit at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium.

The company says more than 161,000 fans from all over the world attended the two-day event in April. They helped make over $215 million for the L.A. economy and made Wrestlemania 39 the highest-grossing and most-attended event in the company's history.

WWE also held events at Crypto.com arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown during Wrestlemania weekend.

WWE, which announced with Endeavor in April that it was combining with UFC, said during a second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that it saw an increase in ticket sales for live events, both domestically and overseas. It also reported an uptick in advertising and sponsorship revenue.

WWE's combination with UFC will result in a new publicly listed company called TKO Group Holdings. The deal is still expected to close in the second half of the year.

Vince McMahon is stepping aside from his role as CEO and chairman of WWE during the investigation. His daughter, Stephanie, will serve as the interim CEO and chairwoman.

While the deal with Endeavor continues to move forward as anticipated, WWE is continue to focus on its domestic media rights for its weekly television programs. WWE currently has "Smackdown" airing on Fox and "Raw" and "NXT" airing on USA Network. Aside from Fox and NBC Universal, which owns USA Network, there have been several media reports that other well-known companies are possibly interested in the media rights, including Disney and Amazon.

"As expected, there was significant interest from the marketplace and these conversations are progressing well," WWE CEO Nick Khan said during the call.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.