March 10, 2020
March 8, 2020
Triple H Honored With Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award
Triple H was honored with the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.
WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger presented him with the award during the Finals of the Arnold Classic, an annual bodybuilding competition that recognizes Schwarzenegger’s iconic career in the sport.
The award has been presented annually since 2000 to an individual who has made notable contributions to the fitness industry and offered a lifetime of service to the enhancement of sports performance and promotion. Past honorees include Sylvester Stallone, Lou Ferrigno and more.
March 7, 2020
New Lawsuit Against WWE By Stockholders Over Saudi Arabia Ties, Executives Leaving The Company
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announced a class action suit against WWEover its relationship with Saudi Arabia and recent moves at the top that caused the stock to plummet, according to Business Wire.
The lawsuit also claims due to a series of events the WWE stock plummeted from $100 per share to $40.24 in early February.
Back in November, there were major flightdelays out of Saudi Arabia that forced WWE to re-write the following SmackDown due to talent not making it back in time. Initial reports said Saudi Arabia owed WWE money, which caused Vince McMahon to cut the live feed until the two sides apparently worked things out. WWE "swiftly denied" these allegations when asked about it in November.
Due to all of this, the rumor was Saudi Arabia then delayed the flight in retaliation for what WWE did. WWE maintained that the delays were due to mechanical failures. The lawsuit mentioned much of this in the Business Wire report.
The abrupt exit of WWE Co-PresidentsGeorge Barrios and Michelle Wilson in late January, followed by poor financial performance report (causing the stock to drop mightily) in early February was also documented in the lawsuit.
As noted, in a separate lawsuit filed by the Oklahoma firefighters pension fund in December, claimed there is "a credible basis to believe" Vince McMahon and other WWE senior officials are not keeping up with their WWE duties as they focus resources towards the XFL, which is run under McMahon's Alpha Entertainment, LLC.
Triple H's Bio From The WWE 2020 Proxy
Paul Levesque has served as our Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy Development since February 2020, and prior thereto was Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative since August 2011. In his current role, he oversees the Company Talent Relations and Talent Development departments. Additionally, Mr. Levesque plays an integral role in the Company creative process, helping shape the creative direction and storylines of WWE programming.
Mr. Levesque is revolutionizing the business with his global recruiting strategy and developmental training processes. In order to create a platform for future success, he established the Company state of the art training facility, the WWE Performance Center, which paved the way for the WWE third global brand, NXT. Mr. Levesque debuted as a WWE Superstar, in 1995 and has held the WWE Heavyweight Championship title 14 times. He has captured every major championship, headlined thousands of WWE events, and entertained millions around the world. Mr. Levesque is married to Stephanie McMahon and together they established Connor's Cure. Mr.Levesque is the son-in-law of Vincent McMahon.
March 4, 2020
WWE Issues Statement On The Coronavirus And WrestleMania 36 Week
WWE is moving forward with WrestleMania 36 plans despite multiple confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Tampa, Florida area.
WWE issued a statement to ESPN this afternoon and said they are monitoring the coronavirus situation closely with partners and government officials in the Tampa Bay area. WWE confirmed that there are no current plans to cancel or postpone any upcoming events due to the virus.
WWE Held Talent Meeting Over Coronavirus Concerns At RAW
According to PWInsider.com, WWE held a talent meeting before RAW last night regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. It was noted that the company wanted to review the latest information on the disease and what talents could do to avoid contracting the disease on the road.
Last week, Stephanie McMahon and other WWE officials were in Tampa for a business luncheon and spoke with the Tampa Bay Times about growing concerns over the disease. McMahon said WWE puts the safety of their performers and fans first but they’ll act if it comes to that point. “The health and safety of not only our fan base, but also our superstars, really does come first. We don’t want to put anyone in a bad situation ever, regardless of the circumstance. Those are not risks worth taking.” McMahon added that the company will “enact those measures” if necessary.
March 2, 2020
Record Number Of Fans Switch To WWE NXT After AEW Dynamite For Charlotte Flair Vs. Bianca Belair End
The closing segment of the Revolution go-home edition of Dynamite, which was the Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho weigh-ins, drew higher than the Flair vs. Belair match, but more than 227,000 viewers switched from TNT to the USA Network after Dynamitewent off the air, to catch the end of Flair vs. Belair in the overrun, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.
This was the largest switch from TNT to the USA Network since the Wednesday Night War began.
While more than 227,000 fans tuned in forthe final 5 minutes of Flair vs. Belair in the NXT overrun, there was reportedly a "giant switch" back to TNT for the AEW "Countdown to Revolution" special when Miz & Mrs. came on the USA Network.
Dynamite ended up drawing 865,000 viewers on TNT, topping the 717,000 viewers garnered by NXT on the USA Network by 21%. You can click here for last week's Dynamite vs. NXT viewership report, and you can click here for the report on the Countdown vs. Miz & Mrs. viewership.
February 25, 2020
WWE Suspends Samoa Joe For Wellness Policy Violation
From WWE.com:
XFL TV Ratings Drop Double-Digits In Week 3 While Attendance Continues To Rise
The drop in viewers is not as drastic as the first incarnation of the league, which saw ratings drop 67% from week 1 to week 3. FOX recently told Yahoo Finance that they see 2 million viewers "as satisfactory" for XFL games. This past Sunday's game on FOX averaged 2.051 million viewers, so it was right at the threshold.
Attendance was up for the third straight week, as the week 3 games posted overall attendance of 81,942, up 9.3% from the 76,285 fans the games drew in week 2. The weekend saw the league garner both its largest attendance with 29,554 fans in St. Louis, as well as its least-attended game with only 12,211 fans in Los Angeles.
February 21, 2020
WWE Reportedly Negotiating With ESPN For Content Streaming On ESPN+
WWE is reportedly having talks with ESPN.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the talks would be in regards to WWE content airing on the ESPN+ service. The deal that WWE is likely trying to broker would be similar to the deal UFC has with ESPN, where WWE would sell their rights to air pay-per-views, which would pay more money for the content than WWE could make on its own by selling the content directly to viewers with the WWE Network. The ESPN+ model with UFC is reportedly what opened WWE's eyes to the idea.
The ESPN+ deal could potentially bring more mainstream exposure to WWE's big events and their biggest Superstars. ESPN has proved that when they own rights to a product, they use their various shows to heavily market that product. There's no word yet on how far the talks with ESPN are, but The Observer noted that it looks like the deal has not been agreed on as of this week.
As noted earlier this month at this link, there was no truth to the rumors on WWE possibly talking to Amazon about selling content rights to them. While Amazon might not be interested in WWE, the company has been talking with other potential partners, which would include DAZN, and NBC's Peacock service. ESPN+ was also included in the original report on potential content partners.
The belief was that NBC's Peacock service, which is set to launch later this year, would be the best bet for WWE. TV industry sources recently reported to The Observer that Peacock would look at WWE to be its key initial programming to draw subscribers from the launch moving forward, which would be very similar to how ESPN+ did with UFC. With such a deal with one of these larger streaming services, WWE would be able to get significantly guaranteed money for their big money events, instead of being forced to rely on declining subscription money from the WWE Network.
February 20, 2020
How WWE started a sports tradition: 'Everything about it says you’re a champion'
If you were one of the roughly 102 million people who watched Super Bowl LIV earlier this month, it would have been hard to ignore WWE’s fingerprints on the biggest event in sports.
Sure, one explanation would be that Fox — which broadcast the game — recently signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Vince McMahon’s company, but the influence goes deeper than simple corporate synergy. Although commercials and promotional spots for “Smackdown” were present throughout the NFL season, the biggest example of the crossover came when former WWE star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson did the Super Bowl LIV pre-game introductions for both the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.
While no one would question handing this task to one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Johnson essentially going back two decades and cutting a vintage “Rock” promo for the two teams illustrates how much WWE has infiltrated professional sports. Just ask George Kittle, arguably San Francisco’s best and most recognizable player. His love for professional wrestling manifests itself on and off the field, earning him the nickname “The People’s Tight End.”
The rise in popularity didn’t happen overnight, but as WWE became more popular among a newer generation of athletes, the company leaned into it and began what has become one of the signature moments in sports.
“When you meet athletes over the years, they would see the championship belt and ask if they could hold it and ask if it was the actual title,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE’s executive vice president of talent, live events and creative, told Yahoo Sports. “You’d see these reactions and these moments and you had these opportunities. The WWE title started to symbolize being this over-the-top champion. It’s a little hard with a trophy, but with a title belt I can hold it up in the air, I can wear it around my waist, I can parade around with it. Everything about it says you’re a champion when you have one.”
The birth of a championship tradition
A 14-time heavyweight champion with WWE, Levesque described how the company reached the point where their championships have become like a second trophy for sports teams across the globe. It’s not the Lombardi Trophy or the Stanley Cup, but the WWE championship belt has become one of the most visible parts of celebrations in recent years.
What began as a simple, quiet gesture quickly evolved into a cultural phenomenon.
