WrestleMania 35 generated $165.4 million in economic impact for the New York/New Jersey region

WWE and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy today announced that WrestleMania 35 generated $165.4 million in economic impact for the New York/New Jersey region this past April, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks a more than 60 percent increase from the $101.2 million generated for WrestleMania 29 in New York and New Jersey, and the eighth consecutive year that WrestleManiagenerated more than $100 million in economic impact for its host region.

Over the past 13 years, WrestleMania has generated more than $1.3 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania 35 also generated approximately $27.1 million in federal, state and local taxes.

“New Jersey is proud to have hosted WrestleMania35 in April, the fourth time our state has been host to this great event,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. “This data underscores what we already knew -- bringing large-scale events that draw fans from all over the world brings significant economic benefits to our state and the region. I thank WWE for choosing New Jersey and hope to continue this partnership in the future.”

“We are thrilled that WrestleMania’s return to our ‘front yard’ generated a significant economic increase for our partners in New York and New Jersey,” said John P. Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events. “This success would not have been possible without the tireless support of Governor Murphy, Barclays Center, NYC & Company, Meadowlands Chamber, New York Jets, New York Giants and the rest of our public and private sector partners throughout the region. We now turn our attention to next year for what will be a historic WrestleMania debut in Tampa Bay.”

A sold-out crowd of 82,265 fans from all 50 states and 68 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza this past April, making it the highest-grossing entertainment event in the history of MetLife Stadium.  Key highlights from the study include:

• $165.4 million in direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by visitors to the New York/New Jersey region for WrestleMania 35.
• 52% of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the New York and New Jersey region and stayed an average of 4.6 nights.
• $23.9 million was spent on hotels and accommodations within the New York/New Jersey region.
• The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week was equal to the creation of 1,534 full-time jobs for the area.
• $6.6 million was spent by visitors to the region at area restaurants.

AEW Dynamite Barely Tops WWE NXT Viewership This Week

AEW Dynamite has topped WWE NXT in viewership for the sixth week in a row, however it was by the smallest margin to date.

Wednesday's Full Gear go-home edition of Dynamite on TNT drew 822,000 viewers, topping NXT's 813,000 viewers on the USA Network by only 1.1%, according to Showbuzz Daily.

AEW ranked #8 in the Cable Top 150, while NXT ranked #12. AEW ranked #31 in viewership, while NXT ranked #32 in viewership.

For NXT, it was the best number for the show since its two-hour premiere on October 2nd. It was the second lowest number for Dynamite behind last week's show which averaged 759,000, however that episode was against Game 7 of the World Series.

Last week's Dynamite episode drew 789,000 viewers and ranked #6 in the Cable Top 150, and #28 in viewership, so the audience was up 4.2%. Last week's NXT episode drew 580,000 viewers and ranked #32 in the Cable Top 150, and #42 in viewership so NXT saw a much larger 40% increase.

AEW drew a 0.35 rating in the 18-49 demographic while NXT drew a 0.30 in the same demo this week. Last week's AEW episode drew a 0.33 in that demographic while NXT drew a 0.18.

WWE and The Saudi General Entertainment Authority Expand Event Partnership

STAMFORD, CONN. and RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, November 4, 2019 – Following the historic Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, WWE (NYSE: WWE) and the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) have expanded their live event partnership through 2027 to include a second annual large-scale event.  WWE and GEA also continue to work towards the completion of a media agreement in the MENA region. This long-term partnership demonstrates WWE and GEA’s commitment to bring sports entertainment to the region and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

WWE Hires A New Coach For WWE Performance Center

WWE has hired a new coach for the WWE Performance Center.

According to PWIniser, Christopher Guy has signed a deal to join WWE as a coach at their training facility in Orlando, Florida. Guy has worked with the likes of CM Punk, Colt Cabana and promotions such as Impact Wrestling, Ring Of Honor and Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Guy, has reportedly relocated his family for the job. 

WWE officials were said to be impressed with his work back over the summer for them on their new Netflix project Main Event.

WWE’s Net Income Drops 83% Sparking Concern

WWE’s third-quarter report was released today and the big story is that WWE’s net income dropped by 83%! This news got analysts talking and drilling down the numbers, to find out why this is the case.

The Wrap's Tony Maglio had the following to say on the big drop.

"WWE Network had 1.51 million average paid subscribers in #Q3, down 9% from the prior year.

That 20,000 fewer than management expected. WWE now expects a decline to 1.43 million in Q4, which would be a 10% drop year over year.

I charted every quarter of #WWENetwork’s average paid subscribers since in launched in Feb. 2014 here if you wanna see that WWE’s net income dropped 83% from last #Q3 to this one. That’s due to performance and fewer tax benefits.

That’s a big number on a percentage basis, but we’re dealing w/ relatively light income to begin with ($33.6 million to $5.8 million), which makes it look so dramatic.

NXT Will Be Part Of Survivor Series This Year For The First Time

During tonight's WWE Crown Jewel event an advertisement confirmed Survivor Series this year will include Superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT.

This is also an indication that NXT is being adopted more as a main brand, rather than a "developmental" one as it has been since inception.

Survivor Series takes place on November 24 at the Allstate Arena in Illinois.

WWE To Hold The First-Ever Women's WarGames Match

Tonight's WWE NXT episode saw NXTGeneral Manager William Regal announce the first-ever women's WarGames match for "Takeover: WarGames" next month.

We're still waiting for confirmation on the participants, but based on what happened during tonight's episode, it looks like the WarGames match will see NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir, Io Shirai and Bianca Belairtake on Candice LeRae, Rhea Ripley, Dakota Kai, Tegan Nox and a fifth partner, likely Mia Yim.

Women to Perform for WWE for First Time in Saudi Arabia

For the first time, women will be allowed to perform at a WWE event in Saudi Arabia.

Lacey Evans and Natalya will take part in a first-of-its-kind match at WWE’s “Crown Jewel” event in Riyadh on Thursday, the company announced Wednesday.

WWE and the Saudi government entered a 10-year partnership in 2018 to bring large-scale wrestling events to the country. The agreement has been a controversial one, given the country’s history of human rights abuses and its treatment of women. Last year’s Crown Jewel show was nearly called off after the Saudi government murdered dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at an embassy in Turkey.

Women have previously been banned from performing at WWE’s shows in Saudi Arabia. The government issued an apology after women appeared in a promotional video shown on an in-stadium screen during the first event under the 10-year deal in 2018.

WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque said before that first show that he hoped women would be permitted to compete at events in Saudi Arabia in the future.

The absence of women had loomed large over the first three events under the new partnership. The shows had been presented as helping to modernize Saudi culture as the country attempts to shed its regressive public image. But the all-male card stood in contrast to WWE’s highly publicized efforts to highlight female talent after years of treating women unequally.

Women have performed at other WWE events in the Middle East. In 2017, Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss wrestled in Abu Dhabi wearing specially made ring gear that covered their entire bodies.

source: si.com

WWE Releases Statement On Jordan Myles T-Shirt Design

NXT star, Jordan Myles called out both Vince McMahon and Triple H over his t-shirt design on social media. Myles was angry about his first t-shirt design because of how racially insensitive it was.

Jordan Myles had tweeted, "They'll regret making this...#ForTheCulture I will keep posting this till my voice is heard. I'm not sorry for anything I say or do. Representation is important. If this is @VinceMcMahon & @TripleH 'vision' of me then this is a slap in the face to EVERY African American performer, fan, and supporter."

According to PWInsider, WWE has just released a statement about the incident:

Albert Hardie Jr. (aka Jordan Myles) approved this t-shirt for sale. As always, we work collaboratively with all of our performers to develop logos and merchandise designs and get their input and approval before proceeding. This was the same process with Albert, and we responded swiftly once he later requested that the logo/t-shirt be redesigned. No t-shirts were sold.

CM Punk Thinks AEW Should Focus On Themselves And Stop Talking About WWE

CM Punk was asked about Jon Moxley's recent interviews, where he has been ripping WWE. Moxley recently said that while he was with WWE he would watch the product backstage thinking, "This show sucks." Punk feels that the WWE bashing is doing AEW a disservice.

"I think AEW needs to focus on themselves and stop talking about WWE," Punk advised. "Cody and The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, all those guys have something great going on. I just think it lessens and cheapens what they are doing when they constantly attack WWE. There hasn't been an alternative to WWE in so very long, and I think they do a disservice to themselves when they're trying to be the alternative but constantly bring up WWE.

"But I understand, when people ask you the questions during the interviews you have to answer them. But that's just part of life. You have to learn how to navigate that. I would like them to just try to focus on their product and building it up and making it better. I think that would benefit all the fans."

Happy Anniversary Paul and Stephanie

October 25, 2003

WWE Announces 50 Million Subscribers On YouTube

Below is the full announcement from WWE:

WWE's YouTube channel hits 50 million subscribers

WWE's official YouTube keeps on climbing, as the channel surpassed the 50 million subscriber milestone.

With more than 50 million total subscribers, WWE ranks as the No. 1 Sports channel on YouTube, ahead of the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, ESPN and NASCAR. WWE's YouTube channel is also the fourth most-viewed channel in the world with 36.6 billion video views, behind only T-Series, SET India and Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes.

To put that eye-popping number into context, the 50 million following would make up the biggest state in the U.S. and outnumbers the population of countries such as Spain, Canada and Australia. To date, only six other channels have crossed the milestone, and WWE currently has more subscribers than other top-ranking channels such as Justin Bieber, Dude Perfect and Ed Sheeran.

The channel combines premiere in-ring action highlights from Raw, SmackDown, pay-per-views, NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live, incredible access with exclusive interviews, the latest news from WWE Now and live event coverage with WWE Kickoffs, Watch Alongs and WWE's new Wednesday morning show The Bump.