UNDERTAKER 1 deadMAN SHOW comes to Nashville July 29

As first reported by the Tennessean, the UNDERTAKER 1 deadMAN SHOW will make its debut on Friday night, July 29 at Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tenn. as part of SummerSlam Week.

UNDERTAKER 1 deadMAN SHOW will feature “The Phenom” in an intimate setting, sharing never-before-heard stories from his Hall of Fame career and taking questions from the WWE Universe in attendance.

Tickets for UNDERTAKER 1 deadMAN SHOW go on sale this Tuesday, June 28 at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster.com.  A limited number of VIP tickets, which includes premier seating and a meet-and-greet with The Undertaker, will also be available. 

G4 And WWE Introduce New Series Titled “Arena”

G4 and WWE announce today they are teaming up for the release of new content series, in partnership with Xfinity, titled, “Arena,” a monthly show where the world of streamers, celebrities, pro-athletes and WWE Superstars will collide and enter the G4 Arena to hash out their personal/professional issues with a gauntlet of chaotic, and hilarious, challenges.

From the content studio that is home to Legacy shows like “Attack of the Show!,” “XPlay” and “Name Your Price” – G4 is no stranger to delivering fans content that resonates. Hosted by WWE Superstar Xavier Woods (AKA Austin Creed) and G4 Host Gina Darling, the series will feature major internet personalities including popular Twitch streamers QTCinderella and Myth who are stepping in to the Arena to air out their personal grievances for episode 1.

“WWE® is known for delivering quality entertainment to its loyal fan base and we are so excited to partner with them to bring this content to life and spotlight a mix of awesome talent" said G4 President Russell Arons. “The G4 network creates a fusion between the worlds of gaming and popular culture. With Arena, we're making a comical collision for fans of WWE, streamers, and celebrities with a monthly series on TV, YouTube and Twitch where rivalries will be resolved once and for all.”

“All of our work on UpUpDownDown over the past seven years has brought us to this moment where we will see the wrestling and gaming universes collide” said Xavier Woods, host of Arena. I’m psyched to partner with G4 and look forward to surprising our UpUpDownDown fans with some new faces in gaming each month.”

Fans won’t want to miss the premiere on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on G4’s Twitch Channel and WWE’s UpUpDownDown YouTube Channel. New episodes of Arena will air every month and feature two new guests to settle their qualms once and for all, with the help of WWE Superstars like Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins and more. During the first challenge of each episode, the Unbeatable Advantage presented by Xfinity will be awarded to the winning contestant and provide them with the precious gift of time for the final challenge.

“Just as Xfinity provides our customers Unbeatable Internet with supersonic Wi-Fi speeds and powerful connections, we are also excited to give contestants an unbeatable advantage during episodes of the Arena,” said Matt Lederer, Vice President of Branded Partnerships for Xfinity.  “We are looking forward to seeing how contestants utilize the time bonus in their competitions throughout the Arena Series.”

For more information on Arena, visit http://www.g4tv.com.

Triple H speaks at the WWE Performance Center

Paul "Triple H" Levesque was back at the WWE Performance Center on Wednesday.

John Pollock of Post Wrestling reports that Levesque was in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday and spoke at the Performance Center. Pollock notes that -- according to the people he's heard from -- Levesque stated that he's "back," but it's unclear what that means.

"According to multiple sources, Paul Levesque was in Orlando today and spoke at the Performance Center," Pollock tweeted.

"Of the people I heard from, Levesque stated 'he's back' - it is unknown what that entails but that was the wording I was given."

Bryan Alvarez confirmed Pollock's report on Wednesday's edition of Wrestling Observer Live. Alvarez notes that Levesque said during the meeting that he "was there for business reasons and he couldn't say why yet."

Five Law Firms Investigating WWE On Behalf Of Investors

After news broke that the WWE board of directors were investigating hush money payments made by Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon to cover up allegations of misconduct, both by former employees and by McMahon himself, a law firm announced it was investigating WWE on behalf of investors, looking into whether or not WWE violated securities laws. As of today, four other law firms have begun their own similar investigations. While none of these have yet gone far enough to be classified a “class” in a class action lawsuit, they are the preparatory stages for such a case. All of the investigations were announced through Business Wire.

Some of the investigations require investors that have lost a certain amount of money, while others only require investors to either have suffered losses from WWE stock or to currently own WWE stock. All share the same general purpose, to determine whether WWE mismanaged the company or neglected their fiduciary duties in a way that could be considered harmful to shareholders.

The issues began last week, when The Wall Street Journal announced that the WWE board of directors had been investigating the payments since April — one of which was allegedly paid out to silence a female employee with whom McMahon had had an affair. This led to the announcement that McMahon would step down from his corporate duties, while still overseeing the company’s creative direction. McMahon’s daughter Stephanie has stepped in as interim Chairwoman & CEO.

Bruce Pritchard Named New Interim Head Of Talent Relations To Replace John Laurinaitis

WWE issued a memo to talents Monday evening following “Raw” announcing that Senior VP Bruce Prichard will be taking over as the Interim Head of Talent Relations effective immediately, according to PWInsider.

The memo also informed talents that John Laurinaitis has been placed on “administrative leave” in light of the serious allegations made against him and Vince McMahon. The memo added that Laurinaitis will not be on the road with WWE “pending the conclusion of our Board of Directors’ internal investigation.”

As noted earlier, Laurinaitis hasn’t been on the road since the WWE Board of Directors’ investigation was publicly revealed last week.

In the explosive Wall Street Journal story that dropped last week, it was alleged that McMahon had a consensual relationship with a WWE paralegal, and later agreed to a $3 million settlement in January 2022 to bar the person from commenting on the affair. While the investigation, which began on March 30, initially focused on McMahon’s settlement with the 41-year-old woman, it has since expanded into NDA agreements involving misconduct claims made by other former female WWE employees about McMahon and Laurinaitis.

Vince McMahon and Oliver Luck Settle XFL Lawsuit

From Cageside Seats:

Settlement talks had broken down between McMahon and Oliver Luck, who had been commissioner of the rebooted XFL football league. Vince claimed the executive had been fired for cause; Luck believed it was a cost-cutting move ahead of shuttering the whole operation at the start of the pandemic.

Luck was suing for the roughly $24 million in compensation he said he was due. McMahon’s counter-claim focused on Luck’s signing of wide receiver Antonio Callaway, whose 2018 legal issues violated the league’s mandate to not sign players with any off-the-field issues. In depositions, Luck’s lawyers brought up McMahon’s own felony charge from his 1994 federal steroid trial, seemingly to demonstrate the mandate was hypocritical.

Last Wednesday (June 15), as we learned the Luck suit was headed to trial in July, the Wall Street Journal’s report on the WWE Board’s investigation into alleged misconduct by McMahon hit. Vince has since stepped down from his roles as CEO & Chairman, with his daughter Stephanie assuming those responsibilities on an interim basis.

Sports Business Journal now says a recent court filing shows that Luck & McMahon have agreed to settle. In a June 17 brief to the court requesting the remaining records in the case be sealed, Luck’s lawyer Paul Dobrowski wrote: ”The parties reached an agreement to resolve this case on June 16, 2022.” McMahon’s lawyer, Jerry McDevitt, does not oppose the motion.

Stephanie McMahon Named Interim WWE CEO And Chairwoman

WWE and its Board of Directors jointly released the following statement today:

Independent directors continue review of alleged executive misconduct Stephanie McMahon named interim CEO and interim Chairwoman

WWE and the Board of Directors today announced that a Special Committee of the Board is conducting an investigation into alleged misconduct by its Chairman and CEO Vincent McMahon and John Laurinaitis, head of talent relations, and that, effective immediately, McMahon has voluntarily stepped back from his responsibilities as CEO and Chairman of the Board until the conclusion of the investigation.  McMahon will retain his role and responsibilities related to WWE’s creative content during this period and remains committed to cooperating with the review underway.

The Special Committee has appointed Stephanie McMahon to serve as interim CEO and interim Chairwoman.

“I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the Special Committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation. I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are,” said Mr. McMahon.

“I love this company and am committed to working with the Independent Directors to strengthen our culture and our Company; it is extremely important to me that we have a safe and collaborative workplace.  I have committed to doing everything in my power to help the Special Committee complete its work, including marshaling the cooperation of the entire company to assist in the completion of the investigation and to implement its findings,” said Ms. McMahon.

WWE and its Board of Directors take all allegations of misconduct very seriously. The Independent Directors of the Board engaged independent legal counsel to assist them with an independent review. In addition, the Special Committee and WWE will work with an independent third-party to conduct a comprehensive review of the company’s compliance program, HR function and overall culture.

The Company and the Board do not expect to have further comment until the investigation is concluded.

WWE's board investigates secret $3 million hush deal from CEO

The board at World Wrestling Entertainment is investigating a secret $3 million settlement between longtime CEO Vince McMahon and a departing employee with whom he allegedly had an affair, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Since April, the board has been probing the January 2022 deal, which reportedly bars the former employee from discussing the McMahon relationship or disparaging him.

And the board may be looking at other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims of misconduct by McMahon and top executive John Laurinaitis, according to the report.

A spokesman told the paper that WWE is cooperating fully with the board inquiry, and that McMahon's relationship with the first employee in question - hired as a paralegal - was consensual.

Early findings by the board - which contains several company executives as well as members of McMahon's family - suggest that McMahon used personal funds to pay former female employees that signed the nondisclosure deals, the WSJ said.

source:  seekingalpha.com

WWE Hires New Marketing Executive

WWE today announced that Catherine Newman has been named Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing.

Newman brings more than two decades of executive experience to WWE including her most recent role as Chief Marketing Officer of Manchester United Media. She has also held senior positions at The Times of London and Financial Times, leading global marketing initiatives, developing strategic partnerships, and boosting subscription growth across various products.

As part of WWE’s senior leadership team, Newman’s oversight will include Marketing, Brand, Community Relations, Entertainment Relations, Creative Services and Photography.

She is a graduate of Loughborough University, a Chartered Institute of Marketing Postgraduate from Buckinghamshire New University and a Fellow & Mentor in the Marketing Academy, United Kingdom.

WWE, Fox Eye $100,000-Plus Haul Through ‘Hell in a Cell’ NFT Collection Sale

WWE stands to pin down some extra cash — and hopes to whip up fan enthusiasm — in its first sale of NFTs featuring the wrestling entertainment company’s top stars.

WWE, together with Fox Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs, on Friday, June 3, plans to launch its its first NFT (nonfungible token) sale on Moonsault, WWE’s official NFT marketplace. The limited-edition collection will comprise more than 10,000 “NFT Flips,” each featuring a WWE Superstar tied to the Hell in a Cell event, which in the U.S. will stream live this Sunday, June 5, on NBCUniversal’s Peacock.

The NFT Flips will be sold on WWE Moonsault in “Cases” of three, randomized at minting, for $30 per Case, meaning the sale could generate upwards of $100,000. In the days after Hell in a Cell, each NFT Flip will transform to reveal a 10- to 20-second video highlight of the featured WWE star...More?

source:  variety.com

Ric Flair And WWE Working On Documentary

Ric Flair and WWE will team up with film writer, producer, and director Tom Rinaldi to create a 2 hour documentary about “the never-before-revealed history” of the 16-time World Heavyweight Champion. Rinaldi has worked with ESPN to create several standout short films like 2019’s “The Return” and 2016’s “Jacob Jarvis: Why It Matters”.

Sasha Banks And Naomi Suspended Indefinitely, Women’s Tag Team Titles Now Vacant

Last night’s edition of “Smackdown” included a huge announcement regarding Sasha Banks, Naomi, and the future of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

At the announce desk, Michael Cole stated that Banks and Naomi had “let us all down”. He recounted the statement WWE had put out on social media earlier this week. He says the pair have both been suspended indefinitely and a tournament will be held in the coming weeks to crown new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Banks and Naomi had walked out of “Raw” on Monday night. The pair were reportedly not pleased about the creative plans for them. A “6 Pack Challenge” match was announced at the beginning of “Raw”, which included Banks and Naomi.

WWE said Banks and Naomi walked out during the broadcast. According to WWE’s statement, they went into Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office, gave him the women’s tag team titles, and left the arena.

The main event match was hastily changed to a one-on-one match between Asuka and Becky Lynch. Asuka won the match to earn a title shot against “Raw” Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at the upcoming “Hell In A Cell” event.