Vince McMahon Reportedly Planning To Make WWE Comeback Amid Allegation Demands

The Wall Street Journal released a new report about McMahon and he is facing legal demands from two women who allege that he sexually assaulted them, per internal documents and people familiar with the legal negotiations. On 11/3, the lawyer of Rita Chatterton, former WWF referee who accused McMahon of rape, sent a demand letter to McMahon’s attorney Jerry McDevitt. 

She is asking for $11.75 million in damages. The letter was reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. McMahon has denied Chatterton’s allegation. 

In a separate email sent to McDevitt, the lawyer of a former spa manager is claiming that McMahon assaulted his client in 2011 at a California resort. Per the Journal, those familiar with McMahon’s reaction have shared that he refuses to pay settlements to Chatterton and the spa manager. 

In addition to those notes, it is noted in the piece that McMahon has told people he intends to make a comeback to WWE. He feels he received bad advice from those close to him to step down and he believes the allegations and investigations would have blown over if he stayed in his position. McMahon remains the largest shareholder of WWE. 

Axios Highlights WWE Business Success Following Vince McMahon's Exit

For most companies, the departure of a CEO would usually result in a wave of uncertainty from investors, and can often even result in the stock price tanking. However, that simply hasn't been the case for WWE in 2022. The company has performed exceedingly well in the aftermath of longtime CEO Vince McMahon's departure over the summer, and news website Axios has now declared WWE "2022's media winner."

Nearly every major publicly traded entertainment company has seen its stock plummet this year, except World Wrestling Entertainment.

The company now has a market capitalization of nearly $6 billion, up from a little under $4 billion when it signed a landmark five-year streaming distribution deal with Peacock in 2021.

Why it matters: Investors are bullish on WWE as an acquisition target, especially in light of a hush money scandal that led to the retirement of the company's longtime leader and controlling shareholder Vince McMahon in July.

Details: WWE, along with other independent sports entertainment companies, could be hot targets for streaming companies looking to bolster subscriber numbers and global followings.

While WWE's exclusive U.S. streaming rights deal with Peacock doesn't expire until 2026, its two biggest live TV deals with Fox and Comcast are set to lapse in 2024.

Between the lines: Earlier this month, WWE ended its monthslong investigation into alleged misconduct by McMahon, concluding that he made nearly $20 million of previously undisclosed payments, most of which went toward settling sexual misconduct claims.

But the company has had a relatively smooth leadership transition in the wake of the scandal, keeping investors optimistic about its long-term growth strategy.

The return of live events following COVID-era lockdowns this year has been a boon for WWE.

The bottom line: Much of WWE's revenue is tied to long-term media contracts and big events, which has helped the company dodge much of the advertising-driven headwinds plaguing other media firms.

Stephanie McMahon Discusses Triple H’s Creative Vision For The White Rabbit Project

During the Wells Fargo 2022 TMT Summit (via Fightful), Stephanie McMahon spoke about the success of the White Rabbit Project in WWE and Triple H’s creative vision for it. The project caused TV viewership and live event attendance to go up and eventually led to the return of Bray Wyatt.

She said: “In terms of in-ring content, under Paul Levesque, it’s one of the key strengths that he was one of the biggest performers in the history of our business. He understands what it takes to be a successful superstar, one of the most successful. He understands audience connection and how to create content in a way I don’t think many do. When you think about the changes he’s made, the talent he’s brought back, not only bringing back stars, but how he’s doing it. For example, we were bringing back one of our biggest stars, Bray Wyatt, whose character is a bit of a cult-type leader. We used a multi-media approach and hired a horror writer to help us craft this narrative so fans were engaged. We started doing QR codes randomly in the background. It’s what we called the White Rabbit Project. There were interactive games, there were different misleads. We had one puzzle that was coordinated to a record store in Corbin, Kentucky that was White Rabbit Records. It happened to be that the people at the store played along. Our fans would call and ask, ‘What’s going on? Is someone returning? What’s happening at WWE?’ They would use some of the language we were using in the campaign and then hang up the phone. One of the codes drove us to a date, and that date happened to be the SmackDown that was happening. It looked like it could be a date or a time code, September 23 or 9:23. At 9:23, we saw viewership increase 20% over that time period. It’s strategies like that, that work because the audience is different and they’re growing and evolving. Some people want to have a lean-back experience, and that’s great, but a lot of people want to engage deeply and have fun and have misleads and misdirections. The worst thing in the world is when things are predictable from a content perspective. We want to make them unpredictable.“

WWE Plans To Bring Stadium Show To Major International Market

WWE's global expansion is set to make another big splash. In the company's presentation at this week's Wells Fargo TMT Summit in Las Vegas, WWE Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon talked about WWE's top priorities heading into 2023 and revealed its recent streaming deal in Australia is expected to lead to a major stadium event there.

While speaking about the company's plans to continue pushing its global expansion, McMahon noted that WWE's deal with Australia's Foxtel Group includes plans to host a major live event in the country. "We need to bring a stadium event to Australia as well," she said.

WWE signed its deal with Foxtel Group in September. The deal will see the WWE Network get folded into local streaming giant Binge much like how the service has been integrated into Peacock in the U.S., according to Deadline, which first reported the news.

"International is a focus for us," McMahon said this week. "We have discussed in the past, but now we really have the opportunity to create what we call global localization — or 'glocal' — where we can create local performance centers with local talent and replicate the lines of business that we have here in WWE, but do it on a much smaller scale and hopefully that will ladder up into the bigger product and eventually creating a World Cup-type product that would be very fun and exciting."

McMahon added that expanding globally "also .. is an opportunity for talent to rotate throughout and we can have local stars that ultimately come up to the main roster of WWE."

This year, WWE held its Clash at the Castle event in Cardiff in September and continued its annual Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia last month.

WWE's 20th Anniversary of "Tribute To The Troops"

WWE will honor U.S. military servicemembers later this month with its 20th anniversary of "Tribute To The Troops."

The event will take place on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX. A star-studded slate of superstars is expected to be on the card.

Braun Strowman, current SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Imperium and others are set to be in action for the special, WWE said.

"In what is considered WWE’s most patriotic and heartwarming show of the year, the company began ‘Tribute To The Troops’ to honor our servicemen and women and their families and thank them for their continued sacrifice to our country," the company said in a news release obtained by Fox News Digital.

Shawn Michaels announces the Iron Survivor Challenge for NXT Deadline

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels returned to NXT to announce the brand new Iron Survivor Challenge, a new match type that will pit NXT superstars against each other to determine the No. 1 contenders for both the NXT Championship and the NXT Women’s Championship.

Five superstars will compete in this unique 25-minute Match as they battle each other and the clock.

Two superstars will start the match and every five minutes a new superstar will enter the match until all five are in the ring.

The goal is to have the most falls when the clock hits 25 minutes.

Falls can be won at any time via pinfall, submission or disqualification.

When a superstar scores a fall they will earn one point.

However, when a superstar loses a fall, that superstar must pay the penalty. They are forced out of the ring and into a penalty box for 90 seconds.

Once the 90 seconds are up, the superstar can re-enter the match.

The superstar who has scored the most falls when the clock hits 25 minutes will be named the Iron Survivor and become the No. 1 Contender for the NXT Championship and NXT Women’s Championship respectively

WWE Internal Memo Touts Crown Jewel 2022 As Most-Viewed International PLE In WWE History

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that WWE sent out an internal memo to company executives in which it stated that Crown Jewel surpassed Clash at the Castle to become WWE’s most viewed international Premium Live Event of all time.

Per Sapp, the top five most-viewed events WWE has held in Saudi Arabia are as follows:

1) Crown Jewel 2022

2) Greatest Royal Rumble 2018

3) Elimination Chamber 2021

4) Crown Jewel 2021

5) Super ShowDown 2019

WWE also highlighted Crown Jewel’s seven-figure viewership number on Peacock in the United States.

WWE’s Vince McMahon Investigation Ended Up Costing $19.4M In Expenses

The WWE, led by co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan, handily beat Wall Street expectations on revenue in its third quarter, delivering net revenue of $304.6 million, and operating income of $58.9 million.

The bump in revenue was “primarily due an increase in both domestic and international media rights fees related to the Company’s flagship programs, Raw and SmackDown,” the company said.

Indeed, the majority of the revenue, some $233 million, came from media rights, with live events accounting for $35.2 million, and consumer products $36.4 million.

But while many entertainment companies are beginning to lower expectations for the rest of the year amid an uncertain economic environment, the WWE appears bullish on its prospects, telling investors that it now expects full year 2022 Adjusted OIBDA to be at the “upper end” of its $370 million – $385 million range from just a few months ago, including fourth quarter 2022 Adjusted OIBDA of $83 million – $90 million.

In its earnings report, the WWE also provided an update into the board investigation into former CEO Vince McMahon. McMahon retired amid the probe back in July, but he remains the company’s controlling shareholder.

“The Special Committee investigation is now complete and the Special Committee has been disbanded,” the company said in the earnings report. “Management is working with the Board to implement the recommendations of the Special Committee related to the investigation.”

The company says it spent $17.7 million on costs associated with the investigation in Q3, and $19.4M so far this year. 

WWE Bringing ‘Elimination Chamber’ to Montreal

WWE is returning to Canada for a pay-per-view.

Elimination Chamber will be held on Feb. 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Sports Illustrated has learned. It is the first PPV in Canada since 2019 when SummerSlam took place in Toronto.

This will mark the first pay-per-view—which WWE now refers to as a premium live event—in Montreal since Breaking Point in 2009. That card, headlined by CM Punk against The Undertaker in a submission match, featured a loaded roster, including current stars Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, MVP, and Randy Orton.

Last year’s Elimination Chamber was held in Saudi Arabia and ended with Brock Lesnar regaining the WWE championship in an Elimination Chamber match. That show also featured Bianca Belair punching her ticket to a women’s title match at WrestleMania by winning the women’s Elimination Chamber match, as well as Roman Reigns defeating Bill Goldberg. Like last year, this is expected to be the final major event prior to WrestleMania.

Shawn Michaels Gets Emotional Talking About Paying Triple H Back

With the monumental news of Vince McMahon retiring beginning to fade into the past, the WWE is currently in a great spot, with Triple H running the main roster side of things and his best friend Shawn Michaels taking over his duties down on the developmental side with "NXT." The two have experienced it all together in the WWE and are now steering the ship for the company that helped 

"Hunter was there for me at a time in my life when I really needed it, obviously it's been 25 years since that time, but I guess for me it's always been how could I pay him back for that?" Michaels said during a recent appearance on the WWE After the Bell Podcast.

The answer to Shawn's question came last year when Triple H suffered a cardiac event that caused him to take the year off and undergo heart surgery. The former WWE Champion has been on the record stating it was a life-threatening situation and his absence from "NXT" would be something the company would have to deal with. While he was away, his best friend came to his aid, repaying the favor Triple H did for him, as Michaels took over his role with the developmental brand.

'It was absolutely not a moment's hesitation, it wasn't even difficult to do.' "For me, that's what I feel like some of this was, this was a way for me to be there for him and that means a lot to me," said Michaels. "I can get emotional, I'm all about the romance of this job. Even [taking over for Vince McMahon] has been pulling that out of him, another side of him that not many people get to see. To be able to be there for your friend in the best way you can, it was not easy by any stretch, the situation wasn't great at all, but it was absolutely not a moment's hesitation, it wasn't even difficult to do. Again because of the love, the respect, the care that I have for him."

"I appreciate the pats on the back but my goodness, it was nothing more than what he's done for me many many years ago. I was just happy to at least put a little dent in what he did for me in hopes that I helped him through a hard time in his life and that's all that really matters to me."

Triple H Discusses 'The White Rabbit Project' Leading To Bray Wyatt's Return

Speaking to The Wrap, WWE’s Chief Content Officer Triple H discussed how WWE used social media to build up Bray's return.

“We asked ourselves how we could bring back Bray Wyatt in the most engaging way possible. So we created ‘The White Rabbit Project,’ intended to lead our audience down this literal rabbit hole of content to help build anticipation for Wyatt’s return at ‘Extreme Rules’ on Peacock,” he said. "It started with flickering lights in arenas and continued with the release of other easter eggs, like hidden QR codes within episodes of ‘SmackDown’ and ‘Raw’ that led viewers to more clues that kept them guessing, and tuning in, each week. It culminated in what we believe was a massive pay-off for our fans – and for WWE. This is a great example of how WWE is uniquely positioned as a sports and entertainment property to harness the power of our shows and our social following to develop multimedia, long-term storytelling that can help produce meaningful aggregated audiences."

WWE stock hits 52-week high, defying market trends, in aftermath of McMahon scandal

WWE is defying broader market trends this year.

The company’s stock is up more than 50% in 2022, hitting a 52-week high Monday, and trading at levels it hasn’t seen since summer 2019. The S&P 500, by comparison, is down more than 20% this year.

The stock’s strong performance this year occurred as WWE’s live wrestling events business came roaring back after months of Covid restrictions and the company increasingly became the subject of sale talks. The stock continued to do well after WWE’s longtime leader and biggest shareholder, Vince McMahon, retired from the company over the summer in a cloud of scandal.

Shares of WWE were effectively flat Monday after hitting $76.90. The company’s market capitalization is more than $5.6 billion.

Industry insiders believe WWE could be an acquisition target. A deal could come before the company’s next U.S. TV rights renewal — likely to be announced in mid-2023. WWE’s current U.S. streaming deal with NBCUniversal’s Peacock expires in 2026.

Analyst John Healy of Northcoast Research, who covers WWE, sees the stock’s success as a confluence of successful ratings, upcoming media deal opportunities and the speculation about a possible acquisition.

“That speculation has been going on for a long time, and I think will always be around this company given the unique asset that it is and the ownership structure,” Healy told CNBC on Monday.

He also noted that WWE is relatively insulated from consumer trends, saying that “two-thirds of the revenue is coming from locked-in relationships” with media companies. Given a highly saturated media market, Healy expects high bidding for the rights to “Raw” and “Smackdown,” which are set to be renegotiated in the coming year.

source:  cnbc.com