WWE amassed 20 million viewers during the past week across all of its action-packed, drama-filled programming including: SmackDown® on Friday, August 2 on Syfy; WrestleMania® 29: The World Television Premiere on Saturday, August 3 on NBC; Total Divas™ on Sunday, August 4 on E! Entertainment Television; Raw® on Monday, August 5 on USA Network; and Main Event™ on Wednesday, August 7 on ION Television.
Key highlights include:
Friday Night SmackDown – Friday, August 2 on Syfy
• SmackDown was the most watched program on cable among all Males
WrestleMania 29: The World Television Premiere – Saturday, August 3 on NBC
• WrestleMania 29: The World Television Premiere ranked #1 with A18-34, M18-34, M18-49 and K2-11
• The television special was up +39% with A18-49 from the prior 4-weeks in the time period on NBC and generated more than 3 million unique Viewers
Total Divas – Sunday, August 4 on E! Entertainment Television
• In its second week, Total Divas built week-to-week viewership in key demos including P18-49 (+4%), W18-49 (+5%), Viewers (+14%) and HH (+13%)
• The telecast ranked as the most-watched unscripted series for the time period among P18-34 (557), W18-34 (367), and M18-34 (189) on all of cable
• The episode paced above prior 4-week averages by double-digit percentages across key targets including P18-49 (+42%) and Viewers (+48%)
Monday Night Raw – Monday, August 5 on USA Network
• Raw generated 8 million unique Viewers
• The show was watched by more M18-34 than every other program on broadcast TV
WWE Main Event – Wednesday, August 7 on ION Television
• Main Event was the most watched program on ION across all demos
• The program was watched by more Viewers than every program on The CW, AMC, Spike TV or Bravo
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August 9, 2013
WWE Scores 20 Million Viewers
August 8, 2013
Why DirecTV has dropped TNA's "One Night Only" PPV events
DirecTV dropped the recent "TNA One Night Only: TNA 10 Reunion" PPV special that debuted on 8/2. According to a report by Dave Meltzer, the decision was made "last minute" by DirecTV to drop the show and all going forward.
To have all the shows completely pulled going forward by DirecTV indicates a low number of purchases for the events that started airing back in April.
source: wrestling observer newsletter
August 7, 2013
Sheamus Suffers Injury
MRI results indicate that Sheamus has suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will require surgery, scheduled for next week. As a result, The Celtic Warrior is expected to be sidelined for four to six months, WWE.com has learned.
The injury occurred during the Money in the Bank All-Stars Ladder Match and was further aggravated over the following weeks. During that intense match, Sheamus was thrown off the top rope and sent crashing through a ladder at ringside, landing hard on his left leg and left shoulder.
"My mindset heading into Money in the Bank was to risk everything to get that WWE Title contract,” Sheamus told WWE.com. “That night I went out there putting it all on the line.”
While it seemed as though his leg had taken the brunt of the impact, swelling to twice the size of his uninjured right leg, The Celtic Warrior soon found out that his battle scars from that night ran deep.
During WWE’s tour of South Africa, Sheamus’ leg started to heal, but he discovered his range of motion limited in his shoulder and he experienced sharp pains radiating down his arm, he said. During a pre-Raw workout, Sheamus felt another sharp pain in his shoulder and notified WWE medical staff.
“We performed a specialized MRI with a dye inserted to highlight the structures within the shoulder joint," said WWE ringside physician Dr. Chris Amann. "Doctor Samson and I both reviewed the film, and it appears that Sheamus has a cartilage [SLAP] tear.”
As a result, Sheamus will undergo arthroscopic surgery next week to fix the tear, which doctors hope will offer him the best chance of recovery and the best outlook for a normally functioning shoulder.
"I’ve never in my whole life had to have surgery,” Sheamus said. “I’ve always worked through pain. For the first time in four years, I’m going to be out of action.”
He continued, “To say I’m devastated would be a serious understatement, but I’m determined to take this time to go home to Ireland to see my family, to see my friends, learn a different language, read a lot of books, and come back bigger, stronger and better than ever.”
Intent to stay positive through his injuries, Sheamus emphatically said, “I’m determined to be a champion again, and when I come back I am going to rock this place like it’s never been rocked before!”
source: wwe.com
Mexico’s Female Professional Wrestlers Do It for the Love
At this point lucha libre, Mexico’s version of professional wrestling, is famous the world over—the superheroesque masks, the muscled men preening and acting out storylines in the ring, the acrobatic aerial maneuvers. But what’s not as well-known is that the sport isn’t exclusive to dudes. Luchadoras, masked female competitors, are becoming more and more prominent in Mexico, and not just as sexy sideshows. Journalist Marta Franco followed a handful of these women through Mexico City's pro wrestling scene and used the material she gathered to create her graduate-school thesis, "Las Luchadoras," a series of videos that documents and celebrates these women’s role in lucha libre as well as their difficulties acheiving the same recognition as men.
Mexican women have been invovled in pro wrestling since the 1940s, but they were barred from competing in the county's capital until 1986. At first, many entered the ring as eye candy (they were there to "blow kisses and show off" to the crowd, one luchadora told Marta) rather than actual competitors. It's only recently that the sport has allowed women to fight men. Yet there’s still widespread discrimination despite the efforts of luchadoras and their fans. I recently sat down with Marta in San Francisco to talk about her project and what place women occupy in lucha libre...More?
source: vice.com
August 6, 2013
Details on WWE SummerSlam Axxess Sessions
WWE released the following schedule information for next week's AXXESS sessions in Los Angeles as part of Summerslam 2013 weekend:
General Admission Tickets - $25*
General Admission sessions
Saturday, August 17 — 11 a.m.
The Miz, Jack Swagger, Zeb Colter, Antonio Cesaro, Curtis Axel, Paul Heyman, The Wyatt Family, Mick Foley, Damien Sandow, Jerry “the King” Lawler, and more!
Saturday, August 17 — 4 p.m.
Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Fandango, Summer Rae, Booker T, The Bellas, AJ, Big E, Zack Ryder, R-Truth, The Funkadactyls and more!
Sunday, August 18 — 11 a.m.
Rob Van Dam, Christian, The Usos, Kaitlyn, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, Brodus Clay, Zack Ryder, Justin Gabriel, Tensai, Rosa, Tamina, and more!
Limited VIP Tickets - $95*
VIP Tickets include:
- (1) 8x10 glossy photo of the appearing Superstar
- (1) Autograph and professional photo with the appearing VIP Superstar
- Exclusive VIP line at the event entrance
VIP sessions
Saturday, August 17
Session 1
Meet WWE Superstars The Shield 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar Sheamus 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Session 2
Meet WWE Superstar Ryback 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar Big Show 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar Randy Orton 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar Kane 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 18
Meet WWE Superstar Mark Henry 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Meet WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Limited Premium VIP Tickets - $150*
Premium VIP Tickets include:
- (1) SummerSlam Axxess Premium VIP commemorative ticket
- (1) Special matted Premium VIP Superstar photo
- (1) Autograph and professional photo with the appearing Premium VIP Superstar
- Exclusive VIP line at the event entrance
Premium VIP sessions
Saturday, August 17
Session 1
Meet WWE Superstar John Cena 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Session 2
Meet WWE Superstar Triple H 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Meet WWE Superstar CM Punk 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
WWE Studios, Lionsgate Scare Up ‘See No Evil’ Sequel
WWE Studios is bringing “See No Evil” back to life, producing a sequel with Lionsgate to the horror film that will again star wrestler Kane as a psychopath that goes on a killing spree.
“See No Evil” was the first film that WWE produced through its film division, and went on to earn $19 million worldwide when it was released in 2006 — its biggest hit until this year’s Halle Berry thriller “The Call,” which generated $52 million to date.
Production on “See No Evil 2″ will start in the fall, with identical twin helmers the Soska Sisters Jen and Sylvia (“American Mary”) set to direct. They are also among the directors that will contribute to the anthology series “ABCs of Death 2.”
Kane will return as the reclusive madman Jacob Goodnight, who rises from the dead in the city morgue after his killing spree at the Blackwell hotel and goes after a group of medical students who fight to survive. Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby are co-writing the script...More?
source: variety.com
WWE EVP Stephanie McMahon Sells 114,972 Shares
WWE EVP Stephanie McMahon sold 114,972 shares of World Wrestling Entertainment stock on the open market in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.39, for a total value of $1,194,559.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,945 shares of the company’s stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.
A number of research firms have recently commented on WWE. Analysts at Zacks downgraded shares of World Wrestling Entertainment from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note to investors on Friday...More?
source: zolmax.com
August 5, 2013
