How Much of the WWE do Vince, Linda, Shane, Stephanie and Triple H Own in 2021?

Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.com revealed  information about WWE’s shareholders. According to him, the McMahons own class B shares, which give them ten times more voting power than other shareholders. These class B shares can only be transferred to Vince and Linda McMahon’s descendants, i.e. Stephanie and Shane McMahon.

Paul Levesque, Vince’s son-in-law, owns 67,571 class A shares, valued at $3.7 million. These class A shares aren’t like class B, which the McMahons own.

What is shocking is Shane McMahon used to own over a million class B shares but hasn’t been listed as a shareholder since 2013. Rumour has it that he sold his stock a while ago.

According to Thurston’s assessment, Vince owns 38% of the shares and 81% of the voting units. Other major shareholders include Lindsell Train Limited, The Vanguard Group, Stephanie McMahon, and Linda McMahon.

From WWE's 2021 Proxy Statement:

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT.

The following table sets forth certain information known to us with respect to beneficial ownership of our Common Stock as of March 30, 2021 by (1) each stockholder known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of either Class A common stock or Class B common stock; (2) each of the Directors and named executive officers; and (3) the Directors and executive officers as a group. 

Class B1  Vince McMahon         92.3%

Class B1  Linda McMahon           1.0%

Class B1  Stephanie McMahon   6.0

Stephanie McMahon Named to Variety's 2021 New York Impact Report

New Vince McMahon TV Project In The Works

“No Chance: The Vince McMahon Story and The Rise of the New Wrestling World Order” is the working title for the project. Joseph Krueger is the director.

The only position they are casting for as of now looks to be the “Host” role, indicating what kind of TV show this may be, something along the lines of a for-TV-documentary. The production synopsis noted that this is a “review retrospective” and not a movie.

It should be noted that this does not appear to be affiliated with WWE.

Stay tuned for more on the project. Below is the production synopsis provided with the casting call:

“For decades, there were many professional wrestling territories across the United States. Each regional promotion was locally owned and offered it’s own distinct brand of wrestling and home grown superstars . Promoters would often cross-promote their wrestlers with other wrestlers in other promotion under the cooperation of the National Wrestling Alliance which made it easy for wrestlers to go from one territory to the next to improve their craft.

The territories had this system in place that worked well between the 1950s to late 70s. Then by the early 1980s, the rise of cable television began to raise the bar on wrestling territories in putting out a product that would appeal to a large audience. Few tried and had limited success until one third-generation entrepreneur saw the power of Cable TV as his weapon to turn his regional promotion into a national promotion .

Fueled with a bold creative flair of re-imagining pro wrestling as sports entertainment gave Vincent Kennedy McMahon the esteem edge over his adversaries. It was his art of the hustle that led him to raging war on the top territories (AWA, Jim Crocket Promotions, WCCW Mid-South, and many others) and stunting their growth by raiding all of their top talent . It was his novel and bold approach to pitch the Super Bowl of Wrestling Shows , ‘WrestleMania’ into the Pay-Per View stratosphere that wrestling would forever be changed forever.

This isn’t a movie but a review retrospective that will dig deep in learning not only about Vince McMahon’s adversaries but how he outsmarted them all in associating USA Pro Wrestling with the World Wrestling Federation. Learn more about other noteworthy promoters who dared tried to oppose the Young Conqueror in which we will focus on each territories noteworthy plays and embarrassing mistakes made on their wrestling shows.”

Chris Jericho Refutes Triple H Saying AEW vs. NXT Ratings War Was 'Imaginary'

EW star Chris Jericho fired back at WWE NXT founder Triple H on Tuesday regarding the Wednesday night ratings battle between AEW and NXT.

During a recent appearance on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg, Triple H referred to the rivalry between AEW and NXT as an "imaginary war" on Wednesday nights:

"The promotional opportunity for us is much better on a Tuesday. And also then not having to have a narrative where it's just constantly about an imaginary war, or this imaginary battle. And, you know, people can say what they want, but the truth of the matter is you compete against everything. If you are creating a television product or content—that is the world we live in is content not television, not internet. It's everything. So you're constantly competing for eyeballs and time against everything under the sun, including sleep and time to do other things, and video games, and TikTok and everything else that's out there."

In an interview with Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post, Jericho suggested Triple H created the "imaginary war" narrative only because AEW had higher ratings the vast majority of the time:

"It will be there for the rest of time, it was an 'imaginary war,' and if it wasn't a war why did they take Wednesday night the exact same time that we had? It was there to take away our ratings and for us not to get re-signed. Three months after that started we were re-signed to a hundreds-of millions-of-dollars extension. They failed."

After more than a year of AEW and NXT going head-to-head on Wednesday nights, NXT moved to Tuesdays on April 13, marking the end of the Wednesday night wrestling war regardless of whether it was real or imagined.

Jericho added: 

"That's typical WWE. It's typical rhetoric. Because I believe that they congratulated us the first week and said, if you remember, 'It's a marathon, not a sprint.' We won the marathon, right? So now it's an imaginary war. Well then why were they saying it's a marathon, not a sprint a year-and-a-half ago when our first rating came out?"

WWE NXT Viewership Rises, But Its Demographic Number Dips

WWE NXT suffered a decline in viewership last week, but the show somewhat bounced back on May 4.

According to ShowbuzzDaily, the viewership climbed up to 761,000 this week, a slight increase from last week’s 744,000.

As for the 18-49 demographic, WWE NXT drew a 0.18 rating, a notable drop compared to last week’s number of 0.22. Overall, the show ranked 21st among the top 150 original programs on cable.

The May 4 episode included an NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match, a Falls Count Anywhere Match between Leon Ruff and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and the return of Finn Balor.

NXT VIEWERSHIP YEAR-TO-DATE RANKINGS

Apr. 20: 841,000 – 2021 High

Jan. 14: 551,000 – 2021 Low

May 5: 761,000 – This Week

Titus O’Neil Announced For Another Hall Of Fame

Boys & Girls Clubs of America will induct six new Club alumni into their Alumni Hall of Fame tonight during the youth advocacy organization’s virtual 115th Annual Conference. The ceremony will honor six Boys & Girls Club Alumni, who have made major contributions in their fields, including sports, government, and music.

This year’s inductees, the “Class of 2021,” include: Tara August, Vice President of Turner Sports Talent Relations and Special Projects; Ciara, Grammy-winning recording artist; The Honorable Jerry Demings, Mayor of Orange County; Ricardo Lockette, retired NFL special teams player and wide receiver; Titus O’Neil, WWE Global Ambassador, philanthropist and author; and Alex Rodriguez, entrepreneur, philanthropist and MLB All Star.

The honorees have forged unique, successful paths as adults, but a shared Boys & Girls Club foundation of education, support and community brought to them through invaluable programs, attentive staff, and the connections made with other Club youth.

Titus O’Neil

Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, Florida

WWE Global Ambassador Titus O’Neil, aka Thaddeus Bullard, attended Delray Beach Boys & Girls Club at the age of 8 as a safe place to go after school. When he couldn’t afford to sign up for a local youth football league, a Club counselor paid his registration fee. He excelled on the gridiron, earning a scholarship to the University of Florida, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in administrative education. After a stint in the NFL, O’Neil pursued a career in sports entertainment, and eventually signed with WWE where he has become WWE Tag Team Champion, the first-ever 24/7 Champion and was recently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as the Warrior Award recipient, an award given to an individual who exhibits unwavering strength and perseverance and who lives life with the courage and compassion that embodies the indomitable spirit of The Ultimate Warrior. He is known for his humanitarian work outside the ring as much as his work inside WWE and created the Bullard Family Foundation to provide children and families in need with programs and resources to help build character, develop relationships, and strengthen the communities around them. In addition to the Boys & Girls Clubs, O’Neil also supports The Special Olympics and Pop Warner Football.

Rumor Mill - WWE In Talks With Major League Wrestling

WWE is reportedly in talks with Major League Wrestling, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

The deal would allow some NXT developmental wrestlers appear on MLW TV, and would be a very similar deal to what they had with EVOLVE. 

The deal would also help talent they have signed have further exposure, instead of sitting on the sidelines while the company is currently off the road due to the COVID19 pandemic.

We recently reported, WWE filmed a new pilot for a show titled, "NXT EVOLVE" with the idea that it would air weekly on Peacock and feature some of WWE’s developmental talent. It remains unknown if this idea will materialize into something.

WWE also wants to be viewed as forward-thinking and open to working with other promotions, given the fact AEW has partnerships with the likes of IMPACT Wrestling, New Japan and AAA.

Peacock signs up 9 million after adding WWE and The Office

WWE Most Wanted Treasures Viewership Up

Sunday’s second episode of WWE Most Wanted Treasures drew 769,000 viewers on A&E at 10pm. The one-hour show drew a 0.27 rating like the Biography on Piper, tying for the #10 spot on the Cable Top 150.

This is up from last week’s Most Wanted Treasures premiere, which drew 766,000 viewers. Last Sunday’s premiere drew a 0.29 rating in the key demo, ranking #11 on the Cable Top 150.

Supreme Court declines to hear wrestlers' brain damage cases against WWE

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the appeals of several former pro wrestlers who claimed in lawsuits that World Wrestling Entertainment failed to protect them from repeated head injuries that led to long-term brain damage.

The former wrestlers asked the high court to review lower court rulings that dismissed the lawsuits because they were filed too late. The plaintiffs include William "Billy Jack'' Haynes, Russ "Big Russ'' McCullough, Ryan Sakoda, Matthew "Luther Reigns'' Wiese and the wife of the late Nelson "Viscera'' Frazier, also known as Big Daddy V, who died in 2014.

Monday's decision, which the Supreme Court did not explain under its usual practice, put an end to the last remaining lawsuits in an array of litigation originally filed six years ago in Connecticut against the WWE over concussions and other injuries. The WWE is based in Stamford.

More than 50 former wrestlers, most of them stars in the 1980s and 1990s, sued the WWE, saying they suffered repeated head injuries including concussions that led to long-term brain damage. They accused the WWE of knowing of the risks of head injuries but not warning its wrestlers.

Other wrestlers who filed suit were Jimmy "Superfly'' Snuka, Joseph "Road Warrior Animal'' Laurinaitis, Paul "Mr. Wonderful'' Orndorff, Chris "King Kong Bundy'' Pallies and Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara, known as Mr. Fuji.

Snuka and Fujiwara died in 2017 and 2016, respectively, and were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, after their deaths, according to their lawyer. Pallies and Laurinaitis died in 2019 and 2020, respectively, of undisclosed causes. Other plaintiffs have dementia and other illnesses, the lawsuits said.

Several lawsuits were dismissed in 2018 by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant in Hartford, Connecticut. Bryant ruled there was no evidence the WWE knew while the plaintiffs were wrestling that concussions or head blows during matches caused CTE or other long-term injuries.

She also ruled the lawsuits that were the subject of Monday's Supreme Court decision were filed after the statute of limitations expired.

The rulings were upheld last year by a federal appeals court in New York City. The WWE denied wrongdoing and said the lawsuits had no merit.

"We're glad it's finally over,'' Jerry McDevitt, a lawyer for the WWE, said Monday. "We were completely vindicated.''

More?

John Cone’s WWE Termination Rescinded

Throughout the past week, WWE has been in the midst of some major changes in the executive department.

Previous reports stated that Mark Carrano and Dan Engler, among others, had been relieved of their duties. One of the employees in this group has reportedly been reinstated.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that the departure of John Cone, who serves as a Senior Manager in the WWE Talent Relations department, has been nullified.

“PWInsider.com has learned that John Cone’s termination from the WWE Talent Relations department has been rescinded,” Johnson writes. “Cone is already back as Senior Manager for the department under John Laurinaitis.”

Cone’s dismissal had been met with displeasure, and in a tweet, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley asked WWE to reconsider the move. 

Departures In WWE Talent Relations Shake-Up

PWInsider is reporting that WWE has been undergoing somewhat of a corporate level housecleaning this week, with the departures centered around the Talent Relations department.

Nicole Zeoli, who was working as Director of Talent Relations, is no longer with the company. She had been with WWE for more than 11 years, and moved into this Director’s role in February 2018.

Longtime WWE referee John Cone has been released from his role as Senior Manager of the Talent Relations department. He remains with the company as a referee.

John Laurinaitis recently took over as head of the Talent Relations department.