WWE Touts Nearly 90M U.S. Fans as CEO Says “It’s Time to Monetize” With New TV Deals

WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik passes away

From WWE.com:

WWE is saddened to learn that Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, known the world over as WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik, passed away on Wednesday, June 7, at age 81. 

With his imposing physique, curled boots and dreaded Camel Cutch finishing hold, The Iron Sheik’s larger-than-life personality and natural gift for inciting crowds across the globe helped him become one of the greatest villains in sports-entertainment history. Yet, over time that awe-inspiring showmanship not only earned the respect of his peers, but the WWE Universe as a whole, making him a beloved figure.The Iron Sheik first excelled in the world of Greco-Roman Wrestling, competing in the Amateur Athletic Union and becoming a gold medalist at 180.5 pounds in 1971.

 The Iron Sheik became WWE Champion the day after Christmas in 1983 when he defeated Bob Backlund in Madison Square Garden. The victory was a controversial one, as Backlund's manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel when Backlund refused to submit to the Camel Clutch.

 After losing the WWE Championship to Hulk Hogan, The Iron Sheik engaged in a heated rivalry with Sgt. Slaughter culminating in their famous Boot Camp Match at Madison Square Garden. Soon after, The Iron Sheik teamed with Russian strongman Nikolai Volkoff. The anti-American pairing went on to win the WWE World Tag Team Championship in 1985 at the first WrestleMania.

The Iron Sheik left WWE in 1988 but reappeared in 1991 by the side of former enemy Sgt. Slaughter as Colonal Mustafa. His last in-ring appearance was at WrestleMania 17, as The Iron Sheik returned for one night only, winning a Gimmick Battle Royal and re-igniting his rivalry with Slaughter in the process.

The Iron Sheik remained a pop culture icon due to his bombastic online persona and appearances on “The Howard Stern Show,” “The Eric Andre Show,” and more.

WWE Announces Multi-Year Partnership With TWITCH

WWE today announced a multi-year partnership with Twitch that will see the return of the official WWE channel and popular WWE Superstar channels, featuring live and exclusive content.

In addition to the launch of the channel, WWE will debut today a companion sidecast to Monday Night RAW, bringing the WWE Universe behind the scenes and closer to the in-ring action. The weekly viewing experience will be led by a rotating cast of hosts and will regularly feature appearances by WWE Superstars, unique and exclusive content such as backstage interviews, and more. Viewers can stream the sidecast live every Monday beginning at 8 p.m. ET via https://www.twitch.tv/wwe or the Twitch App.

Additionally, the official WWE channel will be home to other live productions and will serve as an alternate live streaming feed for all of WWE’s premium live event press conferences.

WWE Legend Billy Graham Dead At 79

WWE Hall of Famer "Superstar" Billy Graham has died ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Billy's family tells us he died Wednesday after being taken off life support. We're told Billy's wife and daughter were by his side when he passed. As we reported, Billy's wife Valerie announced Monday he had been in the ICU for three weeks as a result of various health issues. She said doctors wanted to take Billy off life support Monday night, but she initially refused.

Known for his prowess as a wrestler and a bodybuilder, Billy rose to fame back in the day wrestling for the American Wrestling Association and later the World Wrestling Federation.

Billy mentored big-time wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner, Ric Flair and Jesse Ventura ... and in 2004 the WWE inducted Billy into its Hall of Fame.

Billy's recent health issues took a toll on his body ... his family says he lost 45 pounds while suffering from congestive heart failure, diabetes, hearing loss, and a significant infection in his ears and skull. We're also told his kidneys were failing.

Tributes are now pouring in from across the wrestling world ... with Ric tweeting, "THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR INFLUENCE On My Career!"

Billy was 79.

Merged UFC And WWE Will Reportedly Be Called TKO Group Holdings

The New Whale has been knocked out and a new, permanent name has been chosen for the soon-to-be-merged WWE and UFC hybrid company.

CNBC is reporting that what was temporarily known as New Whale Inc. will now be known going forward as TKO Group Holdings, with the TKO acronym meaning "technical knockout," paying homage to both UFC and WWE's shared combat sports lineages. While the two companies have an agreement to merge under this new name, WWE is still to be run by Vince McMahon out of its headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, while UFC is still being run by Dana White out of its headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The new company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as TKO. The merger between the two companies will make TKO Group Holdings worth an estimated $20 billion.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel secured Chairman Vince McMahon to oversee WWE during negotiations with a new revision made to WWE's term sheet which says McMahon must remain in charge of the company until he either retires or is physically unable. McMahon was also granted five of the eleven seats on the WWE Board of Directors, as well as veto power. In exchange for the request to make McMahon executive chairman, WWE shareholders get a higher percentage of voting power under the new terms. Despite McMahon's newly cemented authority, Endeavor has been adamant that WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque will continue to oversee the creative direction of the company.

WWE Delivers Record-Breaking Backlash In Puerto Rico

WWE today announced that WWE Backlash®, which emanated from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-viewed Backlash in company history.

Viewership of Backlash saw a 28 percent increase versus the record set in 2022. The event, which featured Bad Bunny, the most-streamed music artist in the world, marked the largest gate ever for any WWE event held in Puerto Rico and the largest gate in the history of Backlash.

More than 34,800 fans descended on San Juan, Puerto Rico, for back-to-back sellout nights of SmackDown (16,896 attendees) and Backlash (17,944 attendees). It also marked the most social Backlash of all-time, led by over 40 million views of the San Juan Street Fight featuring Bad Bunny vs. Damien Priest. The hashtag #WWEBacklash, accompanied by a custom Bad Bunny emoji, trended No. 1 across the entire evening of sports.

In addition, Backlash broke merchandise and sponsorship records. As the first-ever WWE event under the expanded partnership with Fanatics overseeing the on-site event retail experience, top-selling items included the WWE Backlash and LWO Puerto Rico t-shirts. Sponsorship revenue surpassed any Backlash event in history, breaking last year’s record with a 98 percent year-on-year increase through partnerships with Netflix’s FUBAR, Mike’s Harder Lemonade and Xfinity.

Lawsuit Brought Against Vince McMahon Has Been Dropped

WWE shareholders dropped a lawsuit recently, according to Bloomberg.

Shareholders leading the consolidated lawsuit agreed to drop it Wednesday, saying their claims became moot when McMahon agreed in late March to repay $17.4 million the company wracked up investigating him. Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster granted the motion the same day.

The payment appears to cover only the cost of the probe, not the nearly $20 million McMahon allegedly paid his accusers since 2007. Counsel for the WWE investors indicated they plan to seek a “mootness fee” as a reward for their role in forcing McMahon’s hand.

A different group of shareholders is already seeking a mootness fee after dropping a related case when McMahon walked back some bylaw changes he’d pushed through as part of his corporate coup in early January. McMahon had left the board in mid-2022.

Vince McMahon, WWE Sued by Ex-Writer Over ‘Racist’ Scene Scripts

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., Vince McMahon, and other executives allegedly discriminated and retaliated against a Black female writer for objecting to “offensively racist and stereotypical jargon” used in the scripts of Black wrestlers including Bianca Belair and Apollo Crews, according to a new lawsuit.

Britney Abrahams’ multiple complaints were ignored, and she was pretextually terminated for taking home a WrestleMania-branded chair, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Monday.

The lawsuit includes Stephanie McMahon, Chris Lubrando (SVP, Creative Writing Operations at WWE), WWE creative team members Chris Dunn, Ryan Callahan, Jen Pepperman, and former team member Mike Heller.

Abrahams began writing for WWE SmackDown! and WWE Monday Night RAW in 2020, according to the complaint. She complained of racial and gender stereotypes in scripts, including ones instructing Belair to say “Uh-Uh! Don’t make me take off my earrings and beat your ass! " and Crews to speak with a “stereotypical and exaggerated Nigerian accent,” but was rebuffed, she said.

WWE didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s request for comment.

‘Harmful Stereotypes’

She was allegedly subject to a number of racist pitches after complaining. On a Slack thread that McMahon and his daughter Stephanie McMahon were included on, other writers suggested a Black male wrestler should dress in drag. Only when a White writer noted that doing so could “perpetuate harmful stereotypes that would offend viewers” was the pitch scrapped, she said.

On another occasion, a writer allegedly proposed that a Muslim’s wrestler’s secret in a script be that he was “behind the 9/11 attacks.”

Abrahams and other writers complained about the comments, to which Vice President Christine Lubrano allegedly responded, “Wacky things are said in the writer’s room all the time!” and “I know but look at the waves we’re making in the company. 4 years ago, no woman worked on the writer’s team!”

Abrahams continued to opposed racist, sexist pitches, she said, and was fired in retaliation in April 2022. WWE fired her for taking with her a WrestleMania 38 branded chair, but the practice was allegedly a common practice that White male writers weren’t punished for.

She is seeking reinstatement, damages, declaratory judgment, and an injunction restraining defendants from engaging in such unlawful conduct.

Cochran Firm represents Abrahams.

The case is Abrahams v. World Wrestling Ent., Inc., E.D.N.Y., No. 23-cv-03109, complaint filed 4/24/23.

source: Bloomberg Law

Triple H introduces the World Heavyweight Championship

In a stunning announcement on Monday Night Raw, Triple H revealed the addition of the World Heavyweight Championship to the WWE title picture.

Expressing the need for two top champions, Triple H announced that the new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. Roman Reigns will remain the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and bring that title to his respective brand following the WWE Draft.

WWE Clash At The Castle Generated Over $27 Million For Wales Economy

WWE Clash at the Castle in 2022 brought in £21.8 million ($27,118,328) to the economy in Wales, according to BBC.

The stadium event took place at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on September 3 and had an attendance of 62,296. A report on the impact of the big event revealed 75% of fans traveled to Wales from outside the country, the majority from England.

A reported 57% of non-locals said the event made them want to explore Wales further.

Welsh Rugby Union Interim CEO Nigel Walker said: "[Cardiff] stepped up to the challenge. Clash at the Castle had a global audience of millions, and with all eyes on Principality Stadium, we showcased what a magnificent venue we have here in Cardiff."

Wales’ economy minister Vaughan Gething added: "In addition to the direct economic impact the event delivered here in Wales, it provided us with a huge boost to our profile internationally. This included opportunities to showcase Wales’ vibrant language and culture through bespoke content creation shared globally on WWE’s social media channels."

New WWE-Twitch Agreement To Allow WWE Talent To Stream With 'Almost No Restrictions'

WWE disappointed both talent and fans in the fall of 2020 when Vince McMahon issued an edict that talent had to seize operations on third party platforms such as Cameo and Twitch. There was reportedly widespread frustration among the roster, and select talent even met with McMahon in an attempt to change his mind. Additionally, Zelina Vega was released as a result of continuing to stream on Twitch following the ban.

Over two years later, it appears the Twitch ban has been lifted. Fightful Select reported on Tuesday that "WWE and Twitch have reached an agreement to allow WWE wrestlers back on Twitch with almost no restrictions." The small caveat is that they must get clearance first before streaming with people from other companies.

Those that spoke to Fightful were "very happy" about the deal and also revealed that the revenue will be split three ways, with Twitch and talent earning "the vast majority." This has been in the works since April 2022 when WWE informed those in a talent meeting that the ban on third party platforms was changing, although things on the Twitch end took longer than expected.

There have been plenty of conversations in the last few years regarding WWE and third party platforms seeing as though WWE talent are classified as independent contractors. In addition to Vega's controversial firing, Mandy Rose was reportedly terminated this past December for the content she was posting on her FanTime page. The attention that the news received ultimately led to Rose earning $1 million on the platform within a month following her departure.

WWE Breaks Record For Non-WrestleMania Stadium Ticket Sales With SummerSlam 2023

Tickets for this year's WWE SummerSlam went on sale this past Friday, and the numbers aren't just looking promising — they're looking historic. On Twitter, Sports Business Journal reported that WWE has already sold more than 32,000 tickets for the event. That figure breaks the company's record for day-one sales on any non-WrestleMania stadium show.

Detroit's Ford Field was announced as the home of this year's SummerSlam in February, alongside a new logo for the event to go with the location, with the press release for the announcement noting Detroit's special place in WWE history. WWE previously held WrestleMania 23 at Ford Field in 2007, but more significantly, Detroit was home to WrestleMania III — although that show took place in the larger Pontiac Silverdome.

WWE's rapid sale of tickets for their premiere summertime event is no surprise, as tickets for 2021's SummerSlam sold at a similarly speedy pace. The pace of their current sales measure well against perceivable advantages that the sale of 2021's tickets had, such as being their first full capacity stadium show in over a year and the then-rumored blockbuster main event of John Cena vs. Roman Reigns. No significant matches or plans are currently known for this year's SummerSlam, but there are reports that a dream match between Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus is planned for the show. WWE CEO Nick Khan noted in the lead-up to WrestleMania 39 that the company had WrestleMania plans in place months in advance, as well as plans for the months after, further suggesting the SummerSlam card is already well under construction.