Former Disney Executive Joins WWE Board Of Directors

Ignace Lahoud has taken up a role in WWE as a Director, according to an SEC filing. 

Lahoud is CEO of Majid Al Futtaim which is an Emirati holding company based in Dubai, that as of 2015 owned and operated shopping malls, retail, and leisure establishments in the Middle East and North Africa, with operations in 13 countries. 

Lahoud has also worked for The Walt Disney Company an executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer for Disney Consumer Products in November 2011 and for Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media in 2015.

Stephanie McMahon Taking A Leave Of Absence

WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon announced this afternoon that she is stepping away from WWE for the foreseeable future. McMahon released a statement on Twitter announcing the move, while also signaling she would eventually return to her post.

“As of tomorrow, I am taking a leave of absence from the majority of my responsibilities at WWE,” McMahon tweeted. “WWE is a lifelong legacy for me and I look forward to returning to the company that I love after taking this time to focus on my family.”

This Day In Wrestling History

Happy Birthday to Andre the Giant

May 19, 1946

Nick Bockwinkel named AWA Heavyweight Champion as he was #1 contender when Verne Gagne retired.

May 19, 1981

The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWE Unified Heavyweight title

May 19, 2002

WWE Announces NXT Live Event Tour Schedule

 

WWE announced on Tuesday that NXT will return to live event touring across the state of Florida.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NXT has not held any live events since 2020.

The touring will begin on Friday, June 10 at the UACDC Complex in Tampa, Florida.

Below is the announced schedule so far:

* Friday, June 10 – UACDC Complex in Tampa, Fla.

* Saturday, July 11 – Largo Event Center in Largo, Fla.

* Friday, June 24 – Jacksonville Armory in Jacksonville, Fla.

*  Saturday, June 25 – Venice Community Center in Venice, Fla.

* Friday, July 8 – Citrus Springs Community Center in Dunnellon, Fla.

*  Saturday, July 9 – Engelwood Neighborhood Center in Orlando, Fla.

* Friday, July 22 – Melbourne Auditorium in Melbourne, Fla.

*  Saturday, July 23 – Cocoa Armory in Cocoa, Fla.

Tickets for the first eight events are set to go on sale this Friday, May 20 at 10 am ET.

WWE Files New Argument Against MLW Antitrust Lawsuit

WWE filed another argument for a court to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit brought against the company by Major League Wrestling (MLW), according to a report by PWInsider.

World Wrestling Entertainment filed its first motion to dismiss the lawsuit in March, and MLW argued against the motion in April. In response, this latest filing by WWE argues that MLW has failed to provide any evidence that WWE has “monopoly power” over the professional wrestling industry. It also states the allegation that WWE interfered with MLW’s contract negotiations is not supported by facts.

An excerpt from WWE’s court filing reads:

“First, MLW’s monopolization claim(s) remain unviable. MLW has not and cannot plead the core elements of a monopolization claim: (1) a relevant product market, (2) monopoly power, (3) anticompetitive conduct, and (4) antitrust injury. Confronted with WWE’s motion to dismiss and the deficiencies of its own Complaint, MLW now tries to reframe its Complaint through its opposition (Opp.), asserting that WWE’s exclusive contracts with Fox and NBCUniversal foreclose MLW from the “market” by cutting off its access to key distributors or purchasers. However, MLW’s complaint is silent on (1) WWE’s use of exclusive contracts, (2) whether these exclusive contracts substantially foreclose the proposed market, or (3) the existence of “key” networks, cable, and streaming services that control access to this proposed marketplace.

MLW originally filed its lawsuit in January, alleging WWE’s “ongoing attempts to undermine competition in and monopolize the professional wrestling market by interfering with MLW’s contracts and business prospects.” Part of WWE’s most recent argument against MLW’s monopoly claim is that WWE is just one of a vast amount of programming options available to its broadcast partners.

WWE vs. AEW: Analyzing the top wrestling companies’ live-event experience

WWE Issues Statement On Sasha Banks and Naomi Walking Out Of RAW

WWE has issued the following strongly-worded statement on the Naomi and Sasha Banks walking out of Monday's WWE RAW broadcast:

“When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw. During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out.

They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.

Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.”

Sasha Banks And Naomi Walk Out Of WWE RAW Mid-Show

Reports from PWInsider reveal that Banks reportedly went into Vince McMahon's office and raised concerns about how the booking was set to go down concerning The 6-Pack Challenge that was announced at the top of the show.

After McMahon rejected Sasha's concerns, Banks stormed out of the arena with Naomi.

The report reads:

The word making the rounds backstage at the taping is that Sasha Banks took issue with some of the planned creative for the original main event, a Raw Six Pack Challenge to determine Bianca Belair's next challenger at Hell in A Cell. Banks had a meeting with Vince McMahon and the belief among those we've heard from is that when McMahon didn't choose to change direction on the plans, Banks wouldn't back down on her issues and made the decision to leave the taping.

WWE reportedly shot several new segments with Adam Pearce and Becky Lynch to instead set up Asuka vs. Lynch as the new main event. Corey Graves officially addressed the situation on commentary, stating the duo of Sasha and Naomi had "unprofessionally left the arena" which is being viewed as a direct line from Vince McMahon who is known not to take too kindly to talent who act in this manner.

Banks also reportedly unfollowed a number of WWE Superstars and Vince McMahon on Twitter recently.

This Day In Wrestling History

Bruno Sammartino defeats Buddy Rogers for the (WWWF)WWE Championship at Madison Square Garden.

May 17, 1963

Vince McMahon Sr. died of cancer at 69.

May 17, 1984

Marty Jannetty defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWF(E) Intercontinental title.

May 17, 1993

"British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith died of a heart attack at 39.

May 17, 2002

WWE Will Have Major Presence At Upcoming NBCU And FOX Advertiser Presentations

According to Deadline, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair headline a list of major WWE stars that’ll speak at the upcoming NBCUniversal and FOX advertisers presentation.

The NBCU presentation, set for Monday, May 16 will feature RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair as well as former WWE Champion, The Miz, who will both speak at the event. NBCU’s presentation is set to emanate from Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York.

FOX’s presentation will also take place on Monday, May 16, but will take place at Skylight on Vesey in New York, New York. It will feature WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and former SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair.

On May 5, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, as well as Chief Revenue Officer/President Nick Khan, Chief Financial Officer Frank A. Riddick, and the company’s Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations Seth Zaslow hosted WWE’s First Quarter of 2022 Earnings Call. The company reported a quarterly record of $333.4 million in revenue and announced that WrestleMania 38 generated 2.2 billion social media interactions, which was more than the 1.8 billion impressions that this past February’s Super Bowl LVI generated.

WWE NXT Reportedly Set To Resume Touring

It was reported via Wrestling Observer Radio how there have been talks of NXT resuming a touring schedule of live events, and now POST Wrestling’s John Pollock reports that a schedule has been put together.

The NXT brand is set to resume non-televised live events in the state of Florida beginning in June.

NXT has not held any non-televised live events since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. At one point NXT had two groups touring, one for the state of Florida, and another in various states across the country.

The current plan is for the NXT roster to tour just the state of Florida beginning next month, but it’s possible that they resume the NXT Road Trip tour across the country in the near future.

WWE To Unveil Second “NEXT IN LINE™” Class At Inaugrual NIL Summit In June

WWE will announce the second class of athletes entering its “Next In Line” (NIL) program at the inaugural NIL Summit on Monday, June 13. The class of 15 athletes will be in attendance and unveiled live during the NIL Awards ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

WWE will join Meta, Wasserman and Invesco QQQ and others as founding Partners of the inaugural NIL Summit and will also serve as the exclusive Presenting Partner for the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award. Additionally, WWE is nominated for the Brand of the Year Award which recognizes creative excellence by a brand or organization for collaboration with a student-athlete.

Four of the 16 initial members of WWE’s “Next In Line” program are nominated for awards including Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (University of Minnesota) for Male Athlete of the Year, Haley & Hanna Cavinder (University of Miami) for Female Athlete of the Year and Jon Seaton (Elon University) for the Hustle Award.

“We are excited to unveil our next class of NIL athletes at the inaugural NIL Summit which brings together the brightest minds across this emerging industry for the first time,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development. “WWE’s ‘Next In Line’ program has already proven to be transformational for our talent pipeline. We have forged many incredible partnerships with student athletes during the first six months of the program and look forward to ushering in the next wave of talent.”

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