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April 16, 2007
Who’s next in line to reign over the ring?
McMahons yet to unveil succession plan for WWE
By ALEXANDER SOULE
Vince McMahon may have had his locks shorn by The Donald, but at least he got paid for the indignity by The Bear.
The World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. chairman and his CEO wife, Linda, have begun accepting salaries once more, set at $850,000 and $500,000, respectively, for 2007. The celebrity executives declined most compensation from Stamford-based WWE in 2006 and 2005. The staged “Battle of the Billionaires” between Donald Trump and McMahon at Wrestlemania 23 on April 1 set a record gate for WWE, with 80,000 fans showing up to see Trump shave off McMahon’s coif. In addition to Vince’s hair cut, the McMahons are taking a pay cut in fiscal 2004, the last full year they accepted pay, Vince McMahon received a $1.2 million salary and an equivalent bonus, and Linda McMahon received $750,000 in each compensation category.
Lowell Weicker Jr., the former Connecticut senator and governor once nicknamed “The Bear,” chairs the compensation committee of WWE’s board of directors. Weicker and other WWE shareholders are getting a bargain under the McMahons, WWE’s stock is up 60 percent in the past 20 months to about $16 per share, valuing Vince McMahon’s holdings today at $750 million. While a publicly traded company, McMahon wields nearly total control of it. In its most recent fiscal year ending April 30, 2006, WWE bounced back from a 2006 sales decline with a $47 million profit on $400 million in revenue. WWE is in the process of aligning its fiscal year with the calendar year, making past comparisons knotty.
Attendance at WWE events in North America increased 6 percent in fiscal 2006 to 1.7 million, or 5,000 per show, and 6.2 million people watched on pay-per-view, nearly 1 million more than the year before. Overall revenue from live events declined slightly, however, which the company blamed on a lower average ticket price. WWE closed the year with 560 employees, excluding its “superstars” who are independent contractors. The company expects to pay $16 million this year for “talent” and employment contracts.
Vince and Linda McMahon have been compensated both for their performance running the company and in the ring, as have their children. The McMahons’ employment contracts run through October 2008, and are automatically extended in one-year increments, though the McMahons and WWE both hold opt-out clauses. Even as McMahon continues to thrive in the limelight, mugging paroxysms of agony for the crowd at Wrestlemania 23 as Trump wielded the razor, he has yet to shed light on a succession plan for the company whether that might involve a sale to a media, sports or private equity company, or keeping the company in the family. “Succession planning has been undertaken, and is an ongoing process,” said WWE spokesman Gary Davis, in an e-mailed statement. “However, WWE expects that Vince McMahon will be leading WWE for many years to come.”
Son Shane McMahon, 37, is one of five people to hold the title of executive vice president or unit president, not including Michael Sileck, a former Monster Worldwide executive who was elevated in February to chief operating officer. He received $470,000 during the transitional fiscal period between May and December last year. The McMahons’ daughter Stephanie Levesque is also a WWE employee and received $350,000 in compensation between May and December. Like Shane a past WWE performer, she now does behind-the-scenes work including creative writing. Stephanie is married to Paul Levesque, one of WWE’s top draws who performs under the stage name Triple H.
“You have seen Michael Sileck come in at the (chief financial officer) level, and then get promoted to COO he is seen as a solid operating guy,” said Michael Kelman, an analyst who tracks WWE’s stock for Susquehanna International Group L.L.P. in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. “They have a lot of good managers below that level who run the day-to-day stuff, but this is a business owned by the McMahon family.”
source: www.fairfieldcbj.com
April 15, 2007
Triple H Update
Triple H told people at the Hall of Fame ceremony in Detroit that he hoped to be back in the ring by July. Let's hope so.
What would Jackie have done about Imus?
By Ray McNulty
WWJD? What would Jackie do?
Can we spend a few moments on this special day — the 60th anniversary of the most important event in the history of American sport — thinking about that?
Can we look back on all the commotion of the past couple of weeks and ask ourselves: What would Jackie Robinson do?
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Can we try to imagine what this wonderful athlete, this courageous pioneer, this great man would've done if confronted with the issues that generated so many headlines on the way to today's celebration?
Certainly, it's something worth pondering. And, maybe, we'll be better for it — because Robinson, who broke the color barrier in major league baseball on this date six decades ago at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, was so much more than a historic sports figure.
He was, arguably, the most compelling role model the sports world has given us. He was a man of strong character and tough discipline and tremendous class, filled with grace, dignity and poise. He was the type of principled person all of us should strive to be.
That he also was the greatest all-around athlete this country has produced merely provided him with a stage.
It was his mental and emotional makeup, as much as his physical talents, that made him the perfect choice for a mission that forever changed the fabric of America.
Because failure wasn't an option...More?
source: msnbc.com
April 14, 2007
Dixie Carter Blasts the Wrestling Fans
"I love the passion of wrestling fans but there is just so much that they get wrong, that they perceive to be one way when it's not. It's interesting that at our last PPV during the Sting v Abyss match they started that chant("Fire Russo"). First of all that match was something Vince had absolutely nothing to do with. Second of all it wasn't 120 seconds later that the crowd were jumping up and down screaming 'holy s***' and 'TNA'. Vince is human, and has one of the best hearts in this business, so I am sure the chants hurt him. They hurt me for him. But it's amazing how off the mark these folks are. One thing they blame him for is that we sometimes try and cram too much into our TV shows, as we only have 42 minutes, but Vince has actually been a big part of helping me slow that down and make positive changes. But the hardcore fans don't see it and there's no telling them any different."
source: wrestlingnewsworld.com
German Army in New Racism Row
CNN.com
Howard Stern, Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh, German army - they are all the same. What else is new...
Paul Levesque's Standing in the WWE
Triple H's importance to the structure and integrity of the WWE predated his relationship to Stephanie McMahon-Levesque and this fact has been acknowledged in their 2006 Transition Report:
As provided in its Charter, the Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions, which the Company defines as those required to be disclosed by applicable SEC regulations. While no written policies exist, the Audit Committee believes it will apply a standard of reasonable business practices to any such related party transactions. The employment of Shane McMahon and Stephanie Levesque predated the Company’s initial public offering in 1999 and the formation of the Audit Committee. The importance of Paul Levesque as one of the Company’s top superstars predated both the Company’s initial public offering and his marriage to Stephanie Levesque which resulted in his becoming a related party. The Audit Committee does not review the retention of these individuals each year nor does it approve the individuals’ level of compensation. Instead, as to levels of Compensation, the Audit Committee relies on the approval procedures of the Compensation Committee, in the case of Shane McMahon and Stephanie Levesque (who are employees of the Company). In the case of Paul Levesque (who is an independent contractor of the Company), his pay is set by a multi-year agreement that was last negotiated by the Company’s Chairman and Talent Relations Department prior to Transition 2006. The Audit Committee believes that this oversight of employee and talent pay by the Compensation Committee and the Chairman/Talent Relations Department, respectively, is consistent with relevant expertise and good business practice.
source: corporate.wwe.com
April 13, 2007
