Update On WWE Programming On Peacock

A new report provides an update on WWE‘s programming on Peacock.

WWE shows are on the move, as SmackDown has moved to USA Network, while NXT will premiere on The CW Network on October 1.

Steven Muelhausen of The Takedown on SI reports that, per a Peacock spokesperson, as part of their agreement with WWE, SmackDown’s complete past season library is available, while new episodes will be available only 30 days after airing on USA.

With RAW, new episodes will be available 30 days after airing, as the show will remain on USA Network through the end of 2024.

The spokesperson also said that Peacock will no longer have the libraries of NXT and RAW when their contracts expire. The streaming service will have countdown clocks to inform viewers of their expiration dates starting on September 19 and December 2, respectively.

Muelhausen also writes that a WWE spokesperson said that all PLEs will continue to air exclusively on Peacock.

WWE RAW will move to Netflix in January 2025. It is currently unclear how this may affect programming otherwise.

source: WrestleZone

Netflix to Become New Home of WWE Raw Beginning 2025

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) today announced a long-term partnership that will bring WWE’s flagship weekly program – Raw – to the world’s leading entertainment service. This marks a major programming shift as Raw leaves linear television for the first time since its inception 31 years ago.

Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories, with additional countries and regions to be added over time. Likewise, as part of the agreement, Netflix will also become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. as available, inclusive of Raw and WWE’s other weekly shows – SmackDown and NXT – as well as the company’s Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble. WWE’s award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally beginning in 2025.

“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO President and COO. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. “By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

“In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “We believe Netflix, as one of the world’s leading entertainment brands, is the ideal long-term home for Raw’s live, loyal, and ever-growing fan base.” 

With 1,600 episodes to date, Raw is the most iconic show in sports entertainment. Since its debut in 1993, Raw has delivered action, compelling drama and unmatched athleticism – 52 weeks a year. Blending the best of scripted content with unpredictable live entertainment, the three-hour show has helped launch the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple  H, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair.

The show is currently the No. 1 show on USA Network, where it brings in 17.5 million unique viewers over the course of the year. One of television’s best performing shows in the 18-49 advertising demographic, Raw trends on X 52 weeks a year while each new episode is airing. On social media, WWE has more than one billion followers across its platforms.

WWE Reportedly Sets All-Time Record At Madison Square Garden Live Event

Business is booming for WWE right now, with the promotion reportedly setting an all-time record at the recent Madison Square Garden live event.

"Fightful Select" has reported that the December 26 live event at the iconic New York venue is the highest-grossing domestic non-televised event in the history of the promotion. The show saw CM Punk wrestle for the first time since his return to WWE, defeating former "NXT" North American Champion, Dominik Mysterio, whom he will face once again at a live event in California. The report added that WWE has stated internally that the show was sold out, with WrestleTix revealing that over 15,000 tickets were sold for the show. 

"Fightful" has also revealed that the live event in Baltimore, featuring the "WWE SmackDown" roster, was the highest-grossing non-televised WWE show in the region.

The stacked card at the Madison Square Garden show featured several of "WWE Raw's" top stars, including the likes of Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Becky Lynch, and Cody Rhodes. Rollins and McIntyre closed out the event, where the former retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Finn Balor and Damian Priest retained their tag team titles against Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, while WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley defeated Ivy Nile and Shayna Baszler in a triple threat match.

The "Raw" and "SmackDown" rosters have a string of live events lined up ahead of the new year. This week's "SmackDown" will air a best-of show, recapping the highlights of 2023 from the blue brand, much like the "Raw" show on Christmas day.

Paul Levesque On WWE’s Merger With Endeavor: ‘I Can’t Tell You How Excited I Am’

Front row at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater last night for the Callum Walsh-Ismael Villarreal boxing match were UFC CEO Dana White, WWE President Nick Khan, and WWE Head of Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

 
The fight aired on UFC Fight Pass, which is investing more resources into its boxing and building around potential cornerstones like Walsh. A highly touted super welterweight prospect, Walsh (9-0) won a closely contested bout by unanimous decision, earning Levesque’s respect with his performance.

 
“It’s the first time I had the chance to see him fight live,” said Levesque, who spoke with Sports Illustrated while ringside. “He’s so well-rounded. I think this kid has it on all levels.”

 
Levesque marveled at the ten-round performance of the 22-year-old Walsh, who extended his undefeated streak with the victory.

 
“No matter what the genre, when you reach the next level, there are nerves and second-guessing that come at this level–and maybe a part of you that doesn’t believe in your hype,” said Levesque. “When you get to a certain level, a lot of it is a head game. To see how poised he is at this level, it’s awesome to see.”

 
Levesque is in the midst of a superb run of storytelling in WWE, especially since the company’s merger with Endeavor, which is also the parent company of the UFC. An old-school booker willing to embrace wrestling’s modern aspects, Levesque is molding Raw and SmackDown back into must-see products. Raw has been especially strong, with seemingly minute details–like advertised matches taking place–allowing multiple talents to have significant storylines.

 
Endeavor CEO has tasked Levesque to oversee all of WWE’s creative, a role he relishes.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am,” said Levesque. “Working with Endeavor, it’s next level. The flywheel for all the things they touch–if you were trying to build that on your own, it’s taking you a decade. For us, now, it fast tracks everything we’re doing.

 
“Endeavor, UFC, they’re the best in the business at what they do. They put things on a different level of professionalism, and we fit right into that. The future is so bright because of the opportunities Endeavor is going to provide for us and the synergies that are there. We’re going to take this to a whole new level.”

source:  si.com

WWE’s ‘Smackdown’ to Move from Fox to USA Network in New Rights Deal

WWE’s “SmackDown” is officially set to return to USA Network in a new five-year rights deal.

The weekly show currently airs on Fox but will move to its new network home in October 2024 when the Fox deal expires. “Smackdown” originally began airing on Fox in 2019 as part of a five-year deal between the network and WWE. It had previously aired on USA Network from 2016-2019 and had a number of network homes before that, including Syfy, The CW, UPN, and MyNetworkTV.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources say the new deal is worth roughly $1.4 billion, up from the $1 billion Fox paid in 2019. As part of the new deal for “Smackdown,” WWE will produce four primetime specials per year for NBC, marking the first time that WWE will air in primetime on the network. It is unknown at this time exactly what form those primetime specials will take, i.e. if they will feature live wrestling or if they will be more documentary-focused like WWE’s programming on A&E. According to an individual with knowledge of the deal, the exact nature of the specials is still being determined.

“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” said WWE president Nick Khan. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing ‘SmackDown’ to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

The rights deals for both “Smackdown” and “Monday Night Raw” were due to expire in the next year. While “Smackdown’s” future has been determined, there is no word yet on where “Raw” will land. It currently also airs on USA Network, as does WWE’s NXT. Sources say that there has been serious interest from a number of top platforms but no deal has been made at the time of this publishing. Neither of the other two shows is expected to continue to on USA Network, according to sources.

“It’s a privilege and thrill to continue NBCU’s decades-long partnership with WWE which has helped cement USA Network’s consistent position as the top-rated cable entertainment network in live viewership” said Frances Berwick, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment. “With Friday nights on USA, primetime specials on NBC, and the WWE hub on Peacock, we’ll continue to use the power of our portfolio to superserve this passionate fanbase.”

Since 2021, NBCUniversal’s Peacock has been the exclusive streaming home of the WWE Network. That includes the company’s expansive library of wrestling shows as well as the home for annual events like WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble, Summer Slam, and more.

WWE was recently sold to Endeavor, which merged WWE with the UFC to form a new company dubbed TKO Group. Vince McMahon, former CEO of WWE, has assumed the role of executive chairman of TKO Group. Under the terms of the deal, McMahon — who was WWE’s controlling shareholder — will own 16.4% of the economic interests in TKO (and 16.4% of the voting power in the new entity). McMahon stepped down as WWE’s chief executive in 2022 amid an investigation by the company’s board into alleged hush-money payments to women who accused him of sexual misconduct. McMahon returned to the company in January 2023 as executive chairman to head up efforts to sell WWE.

source:  variety.com

Analysis Shows WWE's Fan-Driven Business Metrics Improved Under Paul Levesque

However you feel about the state of WWE programming and the specifics of how shows have or haven't differed when spearheaded by Paul "Triple H" Levesque as compared to Vince McMahon, there absolutely have been differences. Levesque brought back various wrestlers who had been cut by the previous regime, and under his guidance, the last-minute changes that were constant under McMahon had subsided. Past that, it becomes a matter of personal preference and business metrics. On Thursday, Wrestlenomics offered the latter, comparing TV ratings and live attendance for Levesque's eight months running creative to how McMahon's WWE was doing a year earlier. And the answers are favorable to Levesque.

On the TV side, "WWE Raw" averaged 1.80 million viewers each week under Levesque, up 4% from McMahon a year prior, which is doubly impressive considering USA's reach among cable customers has dropped. "WWE SmackDown," meanwhile, saw a bigger increase, going up 6%, from an average of 2.14 million viewers under McMahon to 2.28 million viewers under Levesque. Since "SmackDown" is on FOX, a free broadcast network, the caveat about its potential viewership does not apply, though.

As for ticket sales, that data is from WrestleTix, which is able to count tickets distributed, but without being able to distinguish between paid admissions and comps. With that out of the way, for every month of the Levesque era, "Raw" averaged a higher number of tickets out than the McMahon regime did a year prior, and "SmackDown" did the same for all but one month, even with the latter including the initial surge in interest when WWE resumed touring after COVID-19 precautions eased. Across the full eight-month periods being compared, "SmackDown" averaged 8,555 tickets distributed for Levesque vs. 7,532 for McMahon, a 14% increase, while "Raw" averaged 8,463 tickets distributed for Levesque vs. McMahon's 6,787, a 25% increase. And though the McMahon period had a 2% lead on Levesque's for domestic house shows, that gain was carried by August through November 2021, the early months of post-pandemic touring.

WWE Announces Updates To Commentary Teams

Today WWE announced that Raw, SmackDown, NXT and Premium Live Events will all have updated announce booths starting with this week's season premieres. The news was first reported by Variety on Thursday afternoon.

On Friday Night SmackDown, the commentary table will be headed by Michael Cole with Wade Barrett doing color commentary. Samantha Irvin will be the ring announcer, and interviews will be conducted by Kayla Braxton and Megan Morant.

On Monday Night Raw, Corey Graves will still be providing his colorful insights and will be joined by Kevin Patrick on play-by-play. Mike Rome will continue to announce from the ring, and Byron Saxton will transition from the commentary booth to backstage interviews. Also joining Saxton in backstage interviews is none other than Cathy Kelley in her return to WWE.

Over on NXT, Vic Joseph will be assisted by six-time World Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. Alicia Taylor will still provide her exceptional voice to ring announcing, and McKenzie Mitchell will once again be conducting interviews.

On the Premium Live Event side, Michael Cole and Corey Graves will come together again to announce from the booth.

Pat McAfee will return to the WWE announce booth following his commitments to ESPN's College GameDay.

WWE Releases More Superstars

WWE has released multiple Superstars including multiple-time champion John Morrison alongside former NXT North American Champion Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott.

As first broken by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, WWE has released the following WWE Superstars on November 18th:

John Morrison

Top Dolla

Ashante Adonis

Isiah Swerve Scott

Tegan Nox

Drake Maverick

Shane Thorne

Jaxson Ryker

WWE Releases Several Main Roster Names

WWE has released several main roster Superstars, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful. The following names were released this evening – “B-Fab” Briana Brandy, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Eva Marie, Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Nia Jax, and Harry Smith.

Furthermore, the following WWE NXT Superstars were also cut – Trey Baxter, Jessi Kamea, Karrion Kross, Jeet Rama, Zayda Ramier, and Katrina Cortez.

WWE has also released Scarlett Boudreaux, Oney Lorcan, Franky Monet and Ember Moon.

Friday's WWE SmackDown Soars To Almost 3 Million Viewers On FOX

A report from SpoilerTV reveals that Friday's WWE SmackDown on FOX, which featured all the fallout from this past Saturday's SummerSlam 2021 pay-per-view drew an overnight viewership of 2.933 million viewers.

The 2-hour broadcast also scored a 0.7 rating in the key 18-49 demographic.

The viewership increased significantly from the week previous, which delivered 2.237 million viewers and a 0.55 rating 18-49 demographic.

Friday Night SmackDown Heads To Rolling Loud Miami 2021

WWE and Rolling Loud, the world's premier rap festival, today announced a new partnership that brings Friday Night SmackDown to Rolling Loud Miami 2021 on July 23. The occasion marks the first ever collaboration between WWE and a major music festival.

Gracing the same stage as festival headliners Travis Scott, Post Malone and A$AP Rocky, WWE Superstars will compete in matches live from Rolling Loud Miami. The July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX will feature a split-site broadcast with multiple matches at Rolling Loud Miami, and the remainder of the evening held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

“What Matt Zingler, Tariq Cherif and the entire Rolling Loud team have built is spectacular,” said Scott Zanghellini, WWE Senior Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development. “We couldn’t think of a better partner to deliver such a unique WWE experience to fans during the July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.”

“I grew up on Sweet Chin Music, mesmerized by the spectacle that Vince McMahon and co have built at WWE,” said Tariq Cherif, Co-Founder/Co-CEO of Rolling Loud. “The idea of weaving our two storylines into one world, one must see event, is electrifying.”

“And I quote! If ya smell…what the WWE and Rolling Loud…is…cookin’! Give me a hell yeah!,” said Rolling Loud Co-Founder/Co-CEO, Matt Zingler.

WWE has a rich history of integrating music into all aspects of its brand and collaborating with some of the most celebrated artists in the world. Over the years, world-renowned hip-hop artists including Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Three 6 Mafia, MGK, Wale and many others have performed at WWE’s biggest events.

Bringing 130 of the hottest acts in hip-hop to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., the sold out Rolling Loud Miami 2021 is a triumphant return for live rap music, and a coming out party for risers and new superstars eager to play in front of a festival crowd. The sixth Rolling Loud festival in Miami, where it started as a humble one-day event in Bayfront Park, Rolling Loud Miami 2021 will occur from July 23-25.

Friday Ratings: ‘Shark Tank’ And ‘WWE Friday Night SmackDown’ Tie In Demos

ABC’s Shark Tank and Fox’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown tied in the demo wars for Friday night, with the season finale of Shark Tank edging out wrestling by virtue of its larger audience.

The Sharks in this episode included Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and Robert Herjavec

WWE Friday Night SmackDown had a Fatal 4-Way Intercontinental Championship match between Big E, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Intercontinental champion Apollo Crews as its draw.

source: deadline.com

New Report Claims India Doubles United States’ WWE RAW Viewership

According to a new report from Lucha Libre Online, WWE RAW’s average viewership in India for the month of Jan. 2021 exceeded 4 million viewers, more than doubling the 1.85 million viewers in the U.S. during the same timeframe.

The report added that while WWE SmackDown averaged 3 million viewers in India, WWE NXT surpassed the 1 million mark in the country for the month of Jan. 2021.

Furthermore, while South Africa averaged in excess of 1 million viewers for both RAW and SmackDown, Canada averaged 300,000 viewers for both shows during the same month.

Meanwhile, Germany and Italy averaged approximately 300,000 viewers for both RAW and SmackDown.

Therefore, only in India, South Africa, Italy, Canada, and Germany, RAW obtained average viewership of approximately 5.9 million viewers in Jan. 2021. SmackDown for its part averaged around 5.2 million viewers in India, South Africa, Italy, Canada, Germany, and South Korea during the first month of 2021.

These numbers do not include the viewership in the United States, Latin America, United Kingdom, Japan, China and many other countries that broadcast weekly WWE programming live on various TV networks.

Triple H On If He Had Creative Input Into Retribution's Debut

During today's media call, Triple H was asked about Retribution's recent RAW debut, and how much input he and NXT wrestlers have into how they will debut when they move to the main roster for RAW or SmackDown. "Wait a minute, you're saying that some of the people in Retribution came from NXT? Geez, I gotta pay more attention to this stuff," Triple H joked. Triple H continued and revealed that he has no creative say-so into what happens after a NXT Superstar is called to the main roster. He noted that the RAW and SmackDown creative teams take over once a call-up happens.

"We have conversations around who will go where, when," he said. "An example of, 'Hey, this person, we have an interest in them. They reach out to us, we have an interest in them. Great, I can write them out of stuff and get them to you by this period of time. Excellent,' and we go from there. "Where it goes from there, at this point in time, I don't have any say on, or anything else. It really goes to those creative teams. I get the call, whether it's from RAW, whether it's from SmackDown, or whether it's somebody that kind of has oversight of both, and we sit down, we have meetings around who goes where, when, and really that's it. You know, sometimes those calls are reversed as well. That's sort of the process, but the creative teams of those brands are controlling what happens to those talent. They might ask me, 'Hey, can this person handle this or can they handle that?,' Because they're maybe not as familiar with them as I may be, but it really doesn't go a whole lot further than that."

Rumor Mill - Triple H and Stephanie McMahon Main Roster Presence Reduced Lately

Triple H and Stephanie haven’t been at the main roster TV shows in a while, outside of Triple H’s 25-year celebration and similar events. The pandemic has WWE creative down to smaller, focused teams, which is why Shane McMahon has been more involved with RAW creative. Bruce Prichard is still Vince’s right-hand man. Triple H has been mostly focused with running NXT.

WWE Officially Announces New "ThunderDome" Experience Coming To Orlando's Amway Center

It looks like we are about to see a different setting for WWE shows each week. The company has now confirmed ongoing reports of an extended residency at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, according to SI.com.

It was noted that WWE has rechristened the Amway Center as the "WWE ThunderDome" during their stay. Starting with this Friday's SmackDown, all future events, including RAW, SmackDown, and pay-per-views will be taking place from the ThunderDome. There has been no word yet on changes to 205 Live, Main Event, or NXT.

WWE Executive Vice President of Television Production Kevin Dunn took some time to speak with Sports Illustrated about what fans can expect from this new experience. He explained that the ThunderDome will include pyrotechnics, drone cameras, and video boards to give audiences something unique.

"When people think of WWE, most think of the spectacle that we are, but it was just impossible to put on a spectacle in the Performance Center," said Dunn. "Moving to Amway, and unveiling the ThunderDome, the opportunities are limitless.

"We can now do things production-wise that we could never otherwise do," he added. "We're flying drones in the arena, we are putting a roof inside the Amway Center, and we'll be able to project content onto the roof. So when a big star like Drew McIntyre comes down to the ring, the whole arena will turn into his content with lasers, pyro, smoke, projections on the top of the building and on the floor. It will be a big, beautiful entrance, better than WrestleMania."

Dunn says that the "almost 1,000 LED boards" will feature virtual fans live via video streaming, something that WWE officials hope will make up for the absence of the in-person audiences. Starting on this Monday's RAW, fans will have the ability to register for their own virtual seat by using the website www.WWEThunderDome.com. This service is reportedly being provided through a company called, The Famous Group.

"Like the NBA, we're doing virtual fans, but we're also creating an arena-type atmosphere," Dunn explained. "We won't have a flat board, we'll have rows and rows and rows of fans. We'll have almost 1,000 LED boards, and it will recreate the arena experience you're used to seeing with WWE. The atmosphere will be night and day from the Performance Center. This is going to let us have a WrestleMania-level production value, and that's what our audience expects from us. We are also going to put arena audio into the broadcast, similar to baseball, but our audio will be mixed with the virtual fans. So when fans start chants, we'll hear them.

"We start on Friday on SmackDown, and it will be a learning experience. We have two days of testing, and we're going to practice like hell, then we're off to the races. We may have fans for certain entrances, standing up and cheering for the typical babyfaces. But someone like Bray Wyatt, who is so character-driven, the entire Amway Arena will be one big Fiend-dom. That's our opportunity to be different from sports, where we can present these larger-than-life characters uniquely. This will be great for people watching at home across the globe, as well as the ones participating."

Throughout all of this, WWE has guaranteed that social distancing, wearing masks, and other COVID-19 protocols will continue to be enforced. There are still no plans to have fans return to shows any time in the foreseeable future.

"We're going to have a very tight set that is focused on safety for our performers," said Dunn. "Everyone is going to be tested all the time. It's really important that our performers feel safe. It's open-ended [with the future]. Obviously, we want to get back in the live event business. We rely so much on our fans. The Amway people have been fantastic to work with, and we look forward to staying as long as it takes."

Dunn mentioned how appreciative he and his fellow WWE staff members are for the fans that have continued watching the product through the pandemic. He believes that this new interactive experience will bring excitement back to their live shows.

"We're grateful and so appreciate the fans are hanging with us," said Dunn. "It's been tough. The shows haven't been what we'd like them to be, and we'd be dishonest saying anything else. We miss our fans. Our fans make our shows. Without them, it's been really challenging. I can't wait to see the ThunderDome full of 1,000 people, giving us the energy we need to make this as entertaining as possible. I think people watching and participating are really going to enjoy this, and it's going to make people say, 'Wow, WWE, it's back.'"

As noted this past weekend, WWE is scheduled to conduct their shows at Orlando's Amway Center through October 30, according to Jon Alba of MyNews13.

WWE Shows At The Amway Center To Have Virtual Fans Appearing Live On LED Boards

WWE is expected to announce the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida as the location for the SummerSlam pay-per-view on August 23. They're also looking at the venue for other upcoming events and TV tapings.

It was reported on Thursday, via PWInsider, that WWE was considering the use of virtual fans for SummerSlam, something FOX has done for recent MLB broadcasts. Now @Wrestlevotes reports that WWE has a much bigger interactive experience planned for the Amway Center.

It was noted that WWE is about to begin a "new long term residency" at the Amway Center, indicating they have signed a lease with the venue, which has been "officially" closed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This residency includes a new interactive experience that will see fans appear live on the show via LED boards. The interactive experience will be hosted by WWE Superstars and Legends.

The interactive experience will be shown in the arena with more than 2,500 square foot of LED boards.

WWE should be announcing details on the interactive experience soon as it was noted that applications for people to appear on screen will open next week.

Vince McMahon On AEW Ratings Rebounding While RAW And SmackDown Drop, Paul Heyman, Triple H

WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon commented on AEW vs. WWE NXT, Paul Heyman being dismissed from his creative job, and Triple H working creative during WWE's Second Quarter 2020 earnings call with investors from this evening.

Vince took the loaded call from Brandon Ross of Lightshed Partners. Ross asked Vince why he thinks WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite have bounced back from the initial COVID-19 shock better than RAW and SmackDown have, if Triple H could help in an elevated creative role on RAW and SmackDown given his NXT success, why why he fired Paul Heyman from the RAW Executive Director job and if firing Heyman means that Vince has abandoned the strategy he spoke about during the Q1 call in January, where he indicated that they had to be patient with the plan to get over new talents on the main roster.

"That was a lot," Vince first responded to the question. He took the NXT - AEW question and said they are looking to make RAW and SmackDown have a more youthful feel. "I think some of those are new. It's something that's new, and what have you, and it's up to us to make RAW and SmackDown feel more youthful. That is where we're going."

Vince then commented on the strategy that he firs talked about during the Q1 call in April, where he said they are working on building new main roster Superstars, and that it will take some time to get them over. He did not directly answer if Heyman's creative dismissal means a change in direction when it comes to getting over new stars.

"As far as continuing on, acting on what's new and building and characters, you always have to build new characters. Constantly," Vince said.

Regarding Triple H possibly taking on an "elevated role" with the RAW and SmackDown creative teams, based off his success on the NXT brand, Vince noted that he already helps out.

"As far as Paul Levesque helping out on RAW and SmackDown, that happens," Vince said. "It's 'all hands on deck' in terms of all that we do."

Finally, Vince commented on Heyman's work in creative. While he will remain with the company as an on-air talent, Heyman was released from his role as RAW Executive Director on June 11 of this year, one year after he was hired for the role. Vince briefly spoke on Heyman but said he did a good job.

"As far as Paul Heyman's concerned, he did a very good job in terms of creativity," Vince said.

Triple H: No One Is Allowed To Enter A WWE Closed Set Without A Negative COVID-19 Test

WWE has not taken a full week off of producing content since the start of the global Coronavirus pandemic. Throughout the time that has elapsed since March when the pandemic began, Florida, where WWE films most of its content, has become a bit of an epicenter for the pandemic. As such, WWE has had to ensure the safety of its staff and performers and Paul Levesque aka Triple H continues to Champion the forward-thinking efforts of WWE and their partners. During The WWE annual shareholders meeting (via Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics), Triple H opened up about WWE testing procedure and how serious the promotion takes the COVID-19 threat.

 “Obviously, as Vince mentioned earlier, the health and safety of our performers, employees, and crew are the company’s top priorities,” began Levesque. “And since the beginning of this around mid-March we have been producing content on closed sets with only essential personnel in attendance and following guidelines set forth by our medical team in conjunction with state and local officials and the CDC. The protocol for these closed sets are extraordinary and include heightened safety and sanitizing during use, long-duration electrostatic and anti-microbial sprays and coatings, pandemic level cleanings, and disinfecting between and after our events.” Levesque continued, “As it relates to our talent, production, crew, and employees, we conduct COVID-19 testing in advance of any TV or content production, using polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing, which is the most statistically valid, the highest level of accuracy test available today. No one is allowed to enter a WWE closed set without a negative COVID-19 test. Once on set individuals must wear masks when talent are not performing social distancing and sanitize where appropriate. In the event of a positive test result, individuals must self-quarantine for a minimum of 14 days, will not be cleared to work until they are symptom-free and test negative. Extensive contact tracing is done following any positive test. Individuals possibly exposed are identified in quarantine appropriately. “

And this process is constantly being updated. We’re looking at this every day. Our medical staff working with state and local officials, as I mentioned, and the CDC, to reflect the most current data and medical recommendations available.”

WWE Launches Free Version Of The WWE Network

WWE today unveiled the free version of WWE Network. The free version features a vast portion of its content library with more than 15,000 WWE titles now available for free, with no credit card required.

The free version of WWE Network includes:

* New shows including Raw Talk, streaming Monday nights each week immediately following Raw

* Original series including Monday Night War, Ride Along, Table for 3, Photo Shoot and Story Time

* Recent episodes of WWE's flagship programs Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and NXT

* Select historical WWE pay-per-views and NXT TakeOver events

* Weekly WWE highlights, Top 10, WWE's The Bump, WWE Now, The Best of WWE and WWE Timeline

"The launch of WWE Network's Free Version is a key component of our company's digitization strategy and a new way for all fans to be able to experience premium WWE content," said Jayar Donlan, WWE Executive Vice President, Advanced Media. "As we continue to reimagine WWE Network's offering, the Free Version will serve as an effective way to reach a broader group of consumers and allow them to experience the history and spectacle of WWE."

To access WWE Network's free version, download the WWE App on any device, including TVs, gaming consoles, mobile phones, tablets and computers.