Vince McMahon & WWE Execs On WWE Earnings, Network Success, China, The Mae Young Classic, More

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Michelle Wilson and SVP Financial Planning & Investor Relations Michael Weitz are hosting a Second Quarter 2017 earnings call today from WWE headquarters in Stamford. Below are highlights:


Weiss opens the call and welcomes us with the basics. Vince McMahon takes over and says they are pleased with execution of strategy to optimize longtime value of their content. He touts some of the numbers from the press release, including live event revenue, WWE Network revenue and subscribers. Vince touts The Mae Young Classic and says it's one of the things Triple H is putting together for the company, as he did with the Cruiserweight Classic. Vince says The MYC is the chance to bring up young female performers, which is vital to their overall product. He says many of their quarter-hours of TV programming reflect success for the female performers. Vince says one of the things he looks at for overall interest in a product is digital video views and they had 9.1 billion views in this part of the year, which is extraordinary. He also touts social media followers and says that's a tremendous indication of overall interest. He also touts global sponsorship and how blue-chip sponsors like KFC, Nestle, AT&T and others have joined them. He plugs the September live event in China and says their strategy in China is looking good. He also plugs some of their international TV deals before turning it over to Barrios.

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Triple H Birthday - WWE Network

Triple H's birthday is coming up next week and on Friday the WWE Network will celebrate by having multiple shows featuring "The King of Kings." Starting off at 3pm ET with Triple H: Thy Kingdom Come will then be followed by three events: Triple H's first WCW PPV match, his first Intercontinental title win, and the 2016 Royal Rumble when he captured the WWE Championship.

Live Finals For The Mae Young Classic Confirmed, Photo Of The Mae Classic Trophy,

WWE has confirmed that episodes 5-8 of The Mae Young Classic will be available on the WWE Network via on-demand beginning on Monday, September 4th. The finals will then stream live from Las Vegas on Tuesday, September 12th at 10pm EST after SmackDown from Vegas goes off the air that night. As noted, the first 4 episodes featuring first round matches will be available on the WWE Network on Monday, August 28th. A "Bracketology" preview special will premiere on Sunday, August 20th after SummerSlam goes off the air.

Mae Young Classic “Parade Of Champions” To Air This Thursday

WWE will be hosting a “Parade Of Champions” to introduce all 32-women who are participating in the Mae Young Classic tournament. Below is the official statement released by WWE:

“Watch the Mae Young Classic Parade of Champions this Thursday on Facebook Live

The WWE Universe can get its first look at the likes of Toni Storm, Princesa Sugehit, Jazzy Gabert, Rhea Ripley and all 32 Mae Young Classic competitors when they take part in the Mae Young Classic Parade of Champions. Watch this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT at Facebook.com/WWE to see who will take part in this historic tournament!

The Mae Young Classic begins Monday, Aug. 28, when the first four episodes will be available on demand, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network. And be sure to tune into WWE Network on Sunday, Aug. 20, immediately following WWE SummerSlam, for Mae Young Classic: Bracketology, a special look at the inaugural 32-woman tournament.”

Jim Ross' Announcing Partner For 'Mae Young Classic' Revealed, Triple H Comments, New Details

WWE announced that Lita will be joining Jim Ross to announce the upcoming Mae Young Classic.

The tournament will be shown on the WWE Network, starting with the first four episodes available on demand on Monday, August 28. Episodes five through eight will then be available on demand on September 4 with the final match streaming live on September 12 at 10pm ET.
Here is WWE's full statement:

"WWE has announced that the first-ever Mae Young Classic women's tournament will stream exclusively on WWE Network, starting Monday, Aug. 28, with the first four episodes available on demand. Episodes five through eight will be available on demand on Monday, Sept. 4. The final match will stream live from Las Vegas on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. ET.
The Mae Young Classic will be called by WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross, who will be joined on color commentary by four-time Women's Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Lita. The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, Mae Young, will feature 32 of the top female competitors from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament.

"The Mae Young Classic is a unique and exclusive offering for WWE Network subscribers and further highlights our ongoing commitment to the 'women's evolution' in sports and entertainment," said Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative. "It's a privilege to showcase these talented women from around the world and to provide them with an opportunity to shine before a global audience on WWE Network."

Competitors announced thus far include Toni Storm from New Zealand; Princesa Sugehit from Mexico; Lacey Evans, Sarah Logan, Tessa Blanchard, and Abbey Laith from the United States; Kavita Devi from India; Jazzy Gabert from Germany; and Taynara Conti from Brazil.

WWE Network will also stream an exclusive special entitled, Mae Young Classic: Bracketology immediately following SummerSlam, on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 11 p.m. ET."

WWE announces Mae Young Classic women’s tournament to be held at Full Sail Live July 13 and 14

WWE has announced that the first-ever Mae Young Classic women’s tournament will take place Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14, from Full Sail Live in Orlando, Fla.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. ET via www.nxttickets.com.

The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, Mae Young, will feature 32 of the top female competitors from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament. The unprecedented event will stream later this summer exclusively on WWE Network.

“The Mae Young Classic will mark a significant moment in the evolution of WWE,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative. “We are proud to provide this unique opportunity for the best female talent from around the world.”

Jim Ross Confirms He Will Announce This Summer’s WWE Women’s Tournament

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross confirmed to Busted Open Radio on SiriusXM today he will be one of the voices calling the action for this summer’s WWE Women’s Tournament.

Ross returned to call The Undertaker’s final match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania this year, and it was soon reported that he had signed a new two-year deal with the company. He called the action at Friday’s UK Championship Special on the WWE Network, alongside Nigel McGuinness, and will be covering the UK Championship match at Saturday’s NXT Takeover special.

WWE teases new comedy show 'Southpaw Regional Wrestling'

The WWE has gone retro in the first teaser trailer for a new comedy series titled Southpaw Regional Wresting.

The clip, released Wednesday on Twitter, begins with a VHS tape being inserted into a VCR player as the video switches over to a more low-quality look.

WWE Superstars including John Cena, Rusev, Lana, United States Champion Chris Jericho, Raw Tag Team Champions Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, Cesaro and more are seen donning various wigs and costumes as they recreate the glory days of professional wrestling.

A man in a dinosaur costume along with Superstar TJ Perkins wearing a championship belt also make appearances.

"This is Lance Catamaran and you are watching Southpaw Regional Wrestling," Cena announces while wearing a wig.

WWE plans on releasing Southpaw Regional Wrestling on Friday on the WWE Network.

Vince McMahon Talks WWE UK And WrestleMania 33 Momentum, 'Super Serving' Content To Fans, More

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios and SVP Financial Planning & Investor Relations Michael Weitz hosted a Fourth Quarter 2016 earnings call today from WWE headquarters in Stamford. Below are highlights:

- Weiss opens the call and welcomes everyone. He gives the standard introduction and mentions that the earnings release can be read on the WWE Corporate website. Vince takes over and touts the record revenue announced this morning. Vince talks about how they're "super serving" the WWE Network audience with live shows and in-ring content - specifically 205 Live and the WWE UK Title tournament. He mentions how the cruiserweight division will have their own sources of revenue such as merchandise and live events. It didn't sound like he was indicating cruiserweight-only live events. He said they had 294 million hours of watched content on the Network. He mentioned how social media is big barometer for him and how they had more than 15 billion video views. They're satisfied but not thrilled with their 2016 performance. Barrios takes over the call next.

- Barrios talked about the release and some of their growth, touting that they are the 5th largest streaming service.

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Updated WWE Network Subscriber Count

WWE noted in today's fourth-quarter earnings report that the WWE Network had 1.5 million paid subscribers as of January 31st of this year.

The Network averaged 1.41 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2016. This breaks down to 1.1 million in the United States and 400,000 internationally.

WWE previously reported 1.458 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter in 2016 - 1.071 million in the US and 373,000 internationally.

NJPW Owner Talks WWE Global Expansion

Owner of Bushiroad and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Takaaki Kidani recently took to Twitter to talk a little bit about NJPW's strategy towards WWE's ever-growing global presence. Just this past week, WWE announced a brand new UK Championship and tournament that will help build their influence in England and its surrounding areas going forward. Kidani sees WWE is trying to build new global territories as another way to generate revenue and to tour internationally at a lower cost. Here are his tweets translated by Chris Charlton into English.

"WWE strategy 1: raise roughly 2 billion Yen from the network to create a network of global territories and tie up talent. It's very possible WWE purchase a promotion in Japan. WWE are shoring up their network because of cable cutters and prevalence of streaming, meaning declining TV ratings. The cable TV structure as is will collapse in the US within 3-5 years."

Kidani continues about WWE's attempt to cut costs and create new stars:

"There are many reasons for WWE to create local territories. It cuts cost just to send talent on international tours and not the whole infrastructure. WWE are only functionally profitable in the U.S., Canada and U.K. They have TV elsewhere but that's all. By creating territories, they're able to actually create products with awareness of cultural differences and characteristics of markets. WWE have had difficulty in creating new stars. By going to local territories and broadcasting them, they can create network stars. WWE are taking big gambles, in IT for one."

While keeping things vague, Kidani finishes with this bombshell:

"This isn't the platform to discuss NJPW strategy fully, but we will announce something soon. We are entering a phase where you are either with WWE or against them. WWE have a lot of weaknesses and time is not on their side."

Nigel McGuinness announced as WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament co-host

Plenty of big news came out of today’s press conference at the O2 Arena in London, with one of the most exciting reveals being that famed British grappler Nigel McGuinness will serve as co-host for the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament, live and exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network this January.

Widely considered to be one of the greatest competitors to never have a major run in WWE, McGuinness was a contemporary of Superstars like Daniel Bryan, Cesaro and Samoa Joe, and shared the same global path through the wrestling world as those men. A swaggering London native with peroxide hair and a Johnny Rotten attitude, McGuinness entered the ring to a blistering Oasis anthem and attacked his opponents with the recklessness of a soccer hooligan after a losing game. His series of bouts against Bryan in the mid-2000s were so unrelentingly physical that you watch them and wonder why the cops didn’t intervene mid-match.

Injuries brought an early end to McGuinness’ career, but his influence is present in WWE today, whether you knew it or not. Seth Rollins cites him as a key opponent in his evolution as a ring performer, and the wild rebound lariat Dean Ambrose throws with abandon on SmackDown LIVE is done in tribute to the great McGuinness.

Outside of his in-ring physicality, McGuinness also possessed great intelligence and ring acumen, which he used to his benefit in retirement as he transitioned to the announce booth. He’ll bring those skills to the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament on January 14 & 15, 2017, live on WWE Network, and the WWE Universe will finally be introduced to one of England’s — and sports-entertainment’s — greats.

Triple H announces that WWE will crown the first-ever WWE United Kingdom Champion live on WWE Network this January

Today in @WWEUK we announce the @WWE UK Championship Tournament to crown the FIRST EVER UK Champion. #GetReady pic.twitter.com/KkZGGp5ERF

— Triple H (@TripleH) December 15, 2016

Rumor Mill - WWE NXT Going Live On WWE Network Next Year?

There's been talk of taking WWE NXT live on the WWE Network in 2017, according to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio.

There are obviously major logistical issues that would come with going live and the costs would be significantly higher than the current tapings model. WWE would have to bring in talents each week for a one-hour live show and NXT airing live or on tape likely won't affect the Network subscriber count.

New WWE Network Show Featuring Ric Flair, Bubba Dudley, Jake Roberts and More to Premiere After WWE Survivor Series

Story Time, a new animated short-form original series on WWE Network, will premiere this Sunday immediately following Survivor Series. Story Time paints an animated picture of some of the most entertaining stories in WWE, as recounted by the Superstars and Legends who lived them. As history is retold with imagination and illustration, these tales that took place behind the scenes and beyond the ring are finally revealed and brought to life.

First Promo For 205 Live Cruiserweight Show

WWE Announces New Weekly Cruiserweight Series, Triple H Comments

WWE just announced the following:

205 Live premieres Nov. 29 on WWE Network

STAMFORD, Conn. — A one-hour, in-ring program called 205 Live, showcasing WWE's new Cruiserweight division, will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 10 p.m. ET, exclusively on WWE Network. The live weekly show will be called by Mauro Ranallo, the voice of SmackDown LIVE, and Corey Graves, color commentator for Monday Night Raw.

Coming off the success of WWE Network's recent Cruiserweight Classic tournament and the formation of the new Cruiserweight division, which airs exclusively on Monday Night Raw, 205 Live will feature Superstars that are 205 pounds and under, including: new WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Brian Kendrick, as well as TJ Perkins, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, HoHo Lun, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, Gran Metallik, Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Gurv Sihra and Harv Sihra.

"205 Live is a natural progression to showcase the depth of our roster," said Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. "With world-class talent such as Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, and Rich Swann, 205 Live will be a must-see program on WWE Network."

"With the addition of 205 Live to an already robust programming schedule, WWE continues to enhance the value of WWE Network for our subscribers," said Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer. "We take pride in listening to our fans and delivering even more live, premium content that they are asking for."

Gabe Sapolsky Talks Working Relationship With WWE, Triple H's Influence, Opportunities For Talents

Co-Founder and Vice President of EVOLVE and WWN Live, as well as former Ring of Honor booker, Gabe Sapolsky joined Busted Open with Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca to discuss EVOLVE's relationship with WWE, Triple H's influence in it, and much more. You can check out some highlights below:

The relationship between EVOLVE and WWE:

"The WWE has been a tremendous help to us and we still continue our relationship with them. It's important that we have this relationship with WWE, not just for the company but for the wrestlers as well and have that conduit for the wrestlers to go to WWE, and that's something they'll always have with WWN. We made sure our relationship there is healthy, they have William Regal coming to our show in Maryland on November 13th, and EVOLVE show, and we're gonna keep going. Hopefully you see these guys move on. Drew Gulak and Tony Neese, they're on RAW almost every Monday, and you're gonna see them at our upcoming events in Queens, New York.

"It's an unreal time where you see this talent going from our evolve shows, and then being on RAW, and then coming back, and then going to NXT, and then we're able to have a farewell for someone like Johnny Gargano like we had last month, and see all the hard work he put in and move on. The opportunity is there, WWE has made this such an exciting time for wrestling fans because of this, because you never know who's going to pop up where next. They've made it an exciting time for the wrestlers, and most importantly WWE has played a huge part in helping the overall health in professional wrestling, and making this work for everybody."

WWE having their finger on the pulse of pro wrestling's streaming service after the WWE Network and their financial backing of FloSlam:

"It's freaking crazy (chuckles). I'm still at the point -- it's been like this all year where I wake up everyday and I don't know what the next e-mail, or the next phone call, or the next text is going to bring. It's amazing because it's like limitless opportunity all over the place, and there is no telling what tomorrow is gonna bring. We'll just have to see what happens. Flo Sports and FlowSlam.TV is gonna have a very progressive attitude, and WWE has shown how much they respect and value the independents and the health of everything by everything they've done. This isn't something they're talking about, they have actually demonstrated it and shown it. I mean when you have Triple H showing up at one of our shows, that is unbelievable to me and that's what happened last January. I still can't believe it and we're ten months later. It's just one of those things where all of this crazy stuff is going on, and nobody really knows what's going to happen next."

Triple H's influence in their relationship with WWE:

"Yeah, Triple H is the man, I mean if you want to talk about a guy that is really right on the cutting edge, and sees the landscape, and has an understanding of where it's gonna develop and the vision of where it's gonna develop, that's Triple H. This thing has been very important to him, our House of EVOLVE has been very important to him, and he's backed up his words with actions. In turn hopefully they've benefited a little bit as far as this talent exchange goes, and we hope it continues. Most importantly I love seeing the talent get this opportunity. This is something that back in the ROH days I'd sit around and I saw these guys working their asses off and the sacrifices they made, and I sad down and said 'hopefully Bryan Danielson will be able to scratch out a living one day.' CM Punk, hopefully the same. Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, I go 'I hope it pays off for these guys, maybe they can go to Japan or something.' Now we see it really is paying off for these guys, and the fact that their future is limitless. Daniel Bryan, I know he's got the injury thing and everything, but it looks like he's got a job there for life doing various roles or whatever pops up. I just like seeing it pay off for everybody and hopefully it continues like this, and I don't see any reason why it won't."

WWE's Third Quarter 2016 Earnings Call Recap With Vince McMahon And Other Executives

WWE Says 19 Of The More Than 50 Wrestlers In Current Concussion Lawsuit Signed Away Right To Sue

WWE today filed motions in all of the consolidated lawsuits that deal with both contract issues and concussions in regards to former talent. In particular, one of the exhibits is something that was sent to the plaintiffs by WWE back in August, which proves that a total of 19 out of the over 50 wrestlers involved in the lawsuit actually signed away their right to sue the company. This is a similar issue that was brought up back when Rene Dupree attempted to sue WWE over royalties involving the WWE Network.

Below are the 19 names involved, as well as the reasons WWE say they signed away their right to sue:

--Carlene Moore-Begnaud (aka Jazz); signed a contract on January 18, 2007 that entitled her to an advance on royalties totaling $13,000.

--Rodney Begnaud (aka Rodney Mack); husband of Jazz, who signed the same type of contract on the same date as his wife.

--Mark Canterbury (aka Henry Godwinn); signed a contract on June 15, 2016 "from any and all personal injury claims, now known or later discovered, arising out of or related to [his] past affiliation with, or performances rendered to, WWE."

--Bryan Emmet Clark, Jr. (aka Adam Bomb/Bryan Clark); signed a contract stating that, effective January 9, 1996, released Titan Sports (WWE's former name) from any future claims after he was released by the company.

--Marc Copani (aka Muhammad Hassan); signed a similar contract to Bryan Clark that became effective upon his release on September 20, 2005.

--Mike Enos (aka Blake Beverly); signed a similar contract to both Clark and Copani that became effective upon his release on September 9, 1993.

--Bill Eadie (aka Demolition Ax); signed an agreement on May 25, 2001 "with the knowledge, advice, and consent of his legal counsel" after being involved in a lawsuit with WWE for over a decade over issues that included the rights to his "Demolition" gimmick.

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