Former WWE Champion Apparently Done With The Company, WWE Issues Statement

Former WWE Champion Rey Mysterio has been moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com. I reached out to WWE, who issued me this statement:

"Rey Mysterio is no longer under contract with WWE."

Mysterio signed with WWE in June of 2002 and went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship twice, and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship once. His last match in the company was against Bad News Barrett the night after WrestleMania 30.

WWE Elects Stephanie McMahon, Paul Levesque and Robyn Peterson to Board of Directors

WWE today announced that WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative Paul Levesque and Chief Technology Officer and Head of Product for Mashable Robyn Peterson have been elected to its Board of Directors.

“The appointments of Stephanie, Paul and Robyn to WWE’s Board of Directors will be invaluable to the company as we continue to transform our business and look toward a new era of unprecedented growth,” said WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Vince McMahon. “I am confident that our Board of Directors and senior management team is stronger than ever and well-positioned for future success.”

Stephanie McMahon, WWE’s Chief Brand Officer, is responsible for leading the company’s efforts to further enhance its global brand reputation among key constituencies including business partners, advertisers, media, investors and the public sector. She serves as the company’s brand ambassador and works with WWE’s business units to support key growth initiatives. McMahon is the primary spokesperson for WWE’s corporate social responsibility initiatives and is participating in the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship, an international leadership exchange program for outstanding professionals. She began her career with WWE in 1998 as an Account Executive for WWE’s sales office in New York City, in addition to being a TV personality, and she has overseen multiple business areas including WWE’s Creative, Talent Relations, Talent Brand Management, Live Events, Digital, Social and Mobile businesses.

Paul Levesque has more than 20 years of experience at WWE as an executive and performer. Well known as WWE Superstar Triple H®, Levesque is also WWE’s Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative, leading the talent development and talent relations departments responsible for recruiting and training the company’s Superstars and Divas. He recently oversaw the development and launch of the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, which serves as the home to WWE’s talent developmental system, NXT. Levesque also oversees all business operations for the more than 320 annual live events, including scheduling, ticket pricing strategy and promotion, and continues to play an integral role behind-the-scenes as a director and producer shaping the storylines in WWE’s programming.

Robyn Peterson, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Product for Mashable, is a seasoned technology executive with more than 15 years of experience in web, mobile and video product development. Peterson is a member of Mashable’s Operating Committee, where he directs product strategy and development and manages the product, design and engineering teams. Peterson led the redesign of Mashable.com in 2012 which ushered in a 100 percent increase in mobile page views, pages-per-visit and ad engagement, and oversees the development of Mashable’s Velocity platform, a technology that predicts and tracks the viral life cycle of digital media content. Prior to Mashable, Peterson was the head of product at Next Issue Media, the magazine and newspaper consortium funded by News Corp., Conde Nast, Time Inc., Meredith and Hearst. Earlier in his career, Peterson served as Vice President for Technology and Product for NBCUniversal.

WWE Launches Campaign To Benefit Special Olympics International and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stamford

WWE Surpasses NBA as Number One Sports Channel on YouTube

With more than 4.2 billion video views in the last 12 months, WWE has become the No. 1 Sports channel on YouTube ahead of the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, ESPN and NASCAR. In addition, WWE on YouTube has more than 5.2 million subscribers, which is more than MLB, NFL, NHL, ESPN, NASCAR, MLS and NBC Sports COMBINED.

WWE continues to remain a leader in social media, with more than 450 million combined social media followers globally. During the past year, WWE’s social media channels added more than 194 million followers, a nearly 75 percent increase year-over-year. WWE’s network of Facebook pages has more followers than the NFL and its 32 teams’ pages combined, and WWE Superstar John Cena is the No. 1 most-followed active American athlete on Facebook, with more than 36 million “Likes.”

Since launching in 2008, WWE’s YouTube channel has featured award-winning original short-form programming, including popular shows such as WWE Inbox, WWE Fury, 5 Things and WWE Top Ten. In addition, WWE uses its YouTube channel to promote its monthly WWE Network and pay-per-view events by airing live pre-shows that include exclusive matches and commentary.

WWE Network Could Reach 3-4 million Subscribers In The Next Few Years

WWE's Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George Barrios appeared on CNBC's Closing Bell today to talk about the WWE Network's one year birthday. Full video is above. Barrios said that in the next 3-5 years, the WWE Network could reach 3-4 million subscribers. He said:

"We've got, in our view, about 100 million broadband homes, top 16 markets, if we can get 3-4 percent penetration we can transform the company."

Vince McMahon Comments On #GiveDivasAChance

After the "GiveDivasAChance" hashtag trended last night and after AJ Lee called out Stephanie McMahon on Twitter for how WWE Divas are treated, Vince McMahon tweeted the following tonight:

We hear you. Keep watching. #GiveDivasAChance

Stephanie McMahon Responds To AJ Lee's Tweets

Stephanie McMahon tweeted the following tonight in response to AJ Lee:

Thank you @WWEAJLee, I appreciate your opinion. #UseYourVoice

WWE Superstars and Divas Wish WWE Network a Happy Birthday

Rumor Mill - Did Brock Lesnar Walk Out of WWE Raw Last Night? Champion Reportedly Upset w/ “Business Relationship”

It’s been reported that Brock Lesnar was kept off Monday Night Raw last night due to some sort of backstage incident. Dave Meltzer noted there was more to the story regarding the WrestleMania headliner, but that those inside WWE did not want it told “until whatever it is is settled.”

Mike Johnson of PWInsider is shedding a bit of light on the mysterious situation, noting that Brock Lesnar was visibly angry backstage, and may have even walked out of the Raw taping before it went off the air. Johnson was told it has nothing to do with creative plans heading into WrestleMania, but “something regarding his business relationship with WWE”.

Vince McMahon reportedly acknowledged the issue during a Smackdown production meeting earlier today, but didn’t say much. Regarding the WWE Champion, Lesnar flew into Nashville for Raw last night on his private plane, but returned home to Minnesota and will not be at tonight’s taping event.

AJ Lee Responds to Stephanie McMahon’s Tweet on Women’s Rights; Says WWE Divas Earn a “Fraction of the Wages” That Men Do

Earlier this week, Stephanie McMahon sent out the following Tweet in response to Patricia Arquette’s inspiring words at the Oscars, moments after winning the Best Supporting Actress for her role in Boyhood:

Thank You @PattyArquette for having the courage to fight for #WomensRights on such a grand platform. #UseYourVoice

Former Divas Champion AJ Lee, who hasn’t been seen on television since December, apparently thought McMahon’s words were a bit hypocritical:

@StephMcMahon Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times, and yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster. #UseYourVoice

This comes after #GiveDivasaChance trended worldwide on Monday Night Raw this week, causing a wide range of responses from WWE Superstars, Divas and fans alike. AJ’s responses to Stephanie McMahon were re-tweeted collectively over 4,000 times within 30 minutes of being posted.

Corey Graves Responds to #GiveDivasaChance Twitter Backlash

Early today, NXT announcer Corey Graves commented on the #GiveDivasAChance hashtag that trended worldwide during Monday Night Raw last night.

While I dig #GiveDivasAChance, I truly believe that our divas will make their own chances in time. Have you watched @WWENXT lately?!

Since then it seems Graves has caught quite a bit of grief over his opinions.

Remember that time I tried to speak rationally to the Internet? Yeah, that'll never happen again. #sicksadworld I’d be willing to bet that most of the people blowing up my Twitter right now also believe everyone should get a trophy for playing. You make a point. I make a point. Repeat until issue is resolved. They call it conversation. Try it. It’s less exhausting. What you all have done, is take a guy (me) trying to DEFEND your cause, and turned me off by being idiots. I hope you all fail.

#GiveDivasAChance Trends Worldwide

As seen on Raw last night, Paige & Emma were defeated by The Bella Twins in a 30 second match which saw Brie Bella pin Emma following one offensive maneuver. After the match was over, the hashtag #GiveDivasAChance was trending worldwide, and names such as Renee Young, Mick Foley, Havok and The Bella Twins either favorited Tweets with the hashtag or sent out Tweets of their own.