WWE (NYSE: WWE) is poised for transformative growth in important areas, including the renegotiation of its four largest television rights agreements, the potential launch of a WWE Network, expansion in key international markets, distribution of content on emerging platforms and new strategic partnerships. Michelle D. Wilson, George Barrios and Stephanie McMahon have been promoted to lead WWE in the execution of these strategic growth initiatives.
Michelle D. Wilson, formerly Chief Marketing Officer, has been promoted to Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer and will now oversee all of the company’s revenue lines and assume responsibility for WWE’s $900 million retail consumer products business. Wilson retains her current revenue generating responsibilities for Sponsorship Sales, Pay-Per-View and New Business Development and will continue to oversee all WWE Marketing and Corporate Communications. Wilson is also spearheading the company’s efforts to launch a WWE Network and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products will report to Wilson.
George Barrios, formerly Chief Financial Officer, has been promoted to Chief Strategy and Financial Officer and will now oversee all of the company’s strategic planning processes and take over management of WWE’s day-to-day Television Operations. He will retain his management of Financial Planning and Investor Relations. With Wilson, Barrios is co-leading WWE’s television rights negotiations and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. Will Staeger, Executive Vice President, Television Production will report to Barrios.
Stephanie McMahon, formerly Executive Vice President, Creative, has been promoted to Chief Brand Officer and will lead WWE’s efforts to further enhance its brand reputation among key constituencies including advertisers, media, business partners and investors. McMahon will serve as the company’s brand ambassador and work with WWE’s business units to support key growth initiatives. McMahon will also lead WWE’s targeted youth and moms marketing programs and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon.
Kevin Dunn will serve as Executive Producer of all WWE programming, including Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, WWE Main Event and Total Divas and will continue to report to Vince McMahon.
“WWE is entering a new era of unprecedented growth,” said WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vince McMahon. “I am confident that my senior executive team is now organized more effectively to capitalize on the wealth of opportunities.”
Additionally, Perkins Miller, Executive Vice President, Digital Media will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon, and Eddie Feldmann, Senior Vice President, Creative Writing will report to Paul Levesque, Executive Vice President, Talent and Live Events.
Looks like Triple H may finally get to run the creative department.
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December 4, 2013
WWE Promotes Key Executives to Lead Future Growth
The Full List Of WWE Slammy Awards Revealed Including "Hashtag Of The Year"
WWE have updated the full list of Slammy Awards that fans will be able to vote on the WWE app on Monday night.
The full list is:
Superstar of the Year
Match of the Year
Diva of the Year
Insult of the Year
Double-Cross of the Year
"LOL!" Moment of the Year
"This Is Awesome" Moment of the Year
Extreme Moment of the Year
Trending Now (Hashtag) of the Year
Beard of the Year
Fan Participation of the Year
Breakout Star of the Year
Update on the Sin Cara WWE Character
WWE may have parted ways with Luis Ignascio Urive Alvirde, the real Sin Cara, on Monday by informing him just a few hours before RAW. We're still waiting on confirmation of his departure.
Hunico will be working as Sin Cara going forward but may not be behind the mask permanently as there's already talk of bringing someone up from NXT to play the character.
WWE chose not to kill off the Sin Cara character completely because his merchandise has done well and there's a feeling that they have built up a character that pays into the colorful personality of WWE. The feeling is that the character didn't fail but the performer who played the character failed.
December 2nd Edition of WWE Raw Draws Lowest Viewership of the Year
The 12/2 edition of WWE Raw had the lowest viewership of any Raw this year. Monday's show drew 3,541,000 viewers overall, which is the lowest dating back to the 2012 Christmas Eve episode. It's the lowest number since October 1st of last year if you take out holiday shows. In comparison, the New Orleans Sants vs Seattle Seahawks dominated ratings on Monday with 15.5 million viewers. To make matters worse, Raw gradually lost viewers as the night went on, starting out with 3,616,000 before dropping to 3,447,000 for the final hour.
Chris Hero Talks About Getting Released by WWE, Current NXT Stars, the Indies and More
The Masked Man of Grantland.com has a lengthy new article up asking if indie wrestling can survive WWE. It features an interview with Chris Hero, formerly known as WWE NXT star Kassius Ohno. Here are some highlights:
The pressure of going back to the indies: "I'm the prettiest girl at the dance for the moment. I know it's not going to last forever. I have to be on my toes. One very real thing is people asking, "Does he still have it in him? Can he bring to the table what he brought to the table years ago?" It's inspiring for me. I want to show people that I have as much to offer as anyone in the history of wrestling. That sounds a little grandiose, but I feel like I have something different."
Whether WWE prefers homegrown talent to hiring wrestlers with indie buzz: "I don't think they give a shit about buzz. They only care about their own buzz, which makes sense. You can't solely cater to the niche fan base — it's a tricky demographic to deal with. But you can see somebody get over with those fans and think maybe they can do it in WWE, too. And they see someone who has the passion to chase the dream, traveling around the world. If you have passion, if you're a good performer, those are two of the most important things in wrestling, and they're things you can't manufacture. Some people are naturals. Take Big E Langston; he has such a perfect match of athleticism and charisma, and he looks like an action figure."
Being released by WWE: "I'd been employed for 21 months. They knew what I was. They had a certain perception of what I brought to the table, and I guess they thought I wasn't going to be called up anytime soon. They had a pecking order, and certain guys who were going to be the next ones called up, and I wasn't in that group. It was a little vague, but I was told, "This isn't good-bye forever; this is good-bye for now.""
"Getting fired sucks for anybody, even if it's a job you hate. So the gut instinct is to be mad, but none of that will serve me. None of that will put any money in my bank account. It's not hard to be positive because I do what I love. When I was 8 or 9 years old my mom would take me to Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, to see Ultimate Warrior versus Andre the Giant or to watch Demolition versus the Rockers or to see the very first Survivor Series in Richfield. It would be completely different if I landed on my head and got injured so I couldn't wrestle anymore — that would be hard to deal with. But what was taken from me? A weekly paycheck?"
His fellow developmental wrestlers: "The guys in NXT now — Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Tyler Breeze, Scott Dawson — when they get called up, they could set the world on fire just like Daniel Bryan did. But Bryan did more than that — he set the locker room on fire. He was in the ring in the main event every week with so much intensity that everybody else realized they had to step things up. Randy Orton, for instance. He looks like he's wrestling with a new inspiration, and he doesn't need to do that."
WWE Possible WrestleMania XXX Match for Triple H
There has been a lot of changes to WrestleMania XXX plans within the last week. Word now is that they are building to a Triple H vs. CM Punk match either leading up to WrestleMania or at the big event itself.
WWE Is Hosting A 2014 CES Event
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which in recent years has been pursuing technology and social media like never before, is planning some type of event at 2014 International CES, according to a “save the date” that went out to the media Tuesday night.
The invite, featuring the WWE logo, touts an “exclusive event,” hosted by WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, which is set to take place Wednesday night, Jan. 8, at the Wynn Las Vegas, during the 2014 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show.)
It’s unclear if McMahon will be announcing some type of product or initiative at the annual electronics confab, although presumably some wrestling superstars will be present.
WWE has not had any type of major presence at CES in the last several years, although then-WWE superstar The Rock was on hand to help Bill Gates unveil the original Xbox, at CES back in 2001. And of course, WWE has held many memorable events in Las Vegas over the years, including Wrestlemania IX at Caesar’s Palace, in 1993.
December 3, 2013
Will Big Show vs. Triple H Happen?
WWE has dropped the idea of doing a Big Show vs. Triple H match and are “forgetting” about that feud for now. Show worked last night’s RAW but before that, the plan was for him to stay off WWE TV and make a return at the 2014 Royal Rumble.
Update on Sin Cara’s Future in WWE, Who Will Play Him?, Hunico News, Unhappiness with Mistico
The original Sin Cara, the lucha libre star known as Mistico in Mexico, did NOT work last night's Raw broadcast as Sin Cara, but rather Hunico dawned the mask and was working as the character he has played in WWE in the past.
In an update to this developing story, PWInsider.com reports the decision was made within WWE to move forward with Hunico as Sin Cara, and last night was somewhat of a re-introduction of the character as he got a big win over Alberto Del Rio, and WWE went back to using the old Sin Cara lighting for the bout.
The original Sin Cara, known as Mistico in Mexico, is currently at home in Mexico and the feeling in WWE is that he will not be brought back to the company and not re-signed when his deal expires. This has yet to be confirmed, however.
There has been an unhappiness with Mistico as Cara within WWE, and it established itself right from the get-go when Cara made his WWE debut. The feeling in the company is that he underachieved, did not bring his star power with him to WWE from Mexico, was too hurt too often, and carried himself backstage in WWE as a bigger star than he actually was. Because he was Triple H's first signing, however, there was a lot of pressure on Cara to make an impact in WWE.
In what's a very ironic situation, additionally, there was a story line battle between Hunico and Mistico for the Sin Cara name in WWE, and in real life, Hunico was actually given the name Mistico in Mexico before Mistico was given the name, so the roles have completely reversed in WWE.
December 2, 2013
Michael Hayes Update
According to prowrestling.net, Michael Hayes returned to work at the WWE Raw show today. Back on October 10th, Hayes took "a leave of absence for personal reasons." Rumor has it that Hayes was in rehab at the insistance of WWE.
