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All Eite Wrestling signs Kenny Omega in Executive Vice President role

By
Colin Vassallo
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All Elite Wrestling yesterday unveiled its latest major superstar signing: Kenny Omega.

Omega was introduced to the crowd at the Talent Pool at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas during the Double or Nothing ticket announcement party and was the surprise guest that was hyped in a press release issued last week. He is also billed as an Executive Vice President, the same role that Cody and The Bucks have.

Omega said that he only signed a deal with AEW yesterday morning and will now be a full-time member of the company. He was immediately confronted by Chris Jericho as the two rekindle their feud for Double or Nothing.

The former IWGP Heavyweight champion wrapped up his New Japan career at the end of January and was expected to join his Elite buddies in their new venture. Omega, who was targeted by WWE, refused their deal to join All Elite Wrestling.

The 35-year-old Canadian had a nine-year career at New Japan Pro Wrestling, winning the IWGP Heavyweight, Intercontinental, Junior Heavyweight, United States, Junior Heavyweight Tag Team and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team. His last match was against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4 of this year. Omega left by dropping the IWGP Heavyweight title after a reign of 209 days.

WWE’s Board of Directors authorize $500 million in stock buyback

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE’s Board of Directors has authorized a $500 million stock repurchase program. Stock buyback allows companies to buy back their shares from shareholders with excess cash, reducing the amount of outstanding shares in the market. The exercise typically raises the stock price.

WWE Co-President George Barrios said, “The authorization of a stock repurchase program underscores our commitment to the Company’s shareholders. The decision is supported by WWE’s strong financial performance and demonstrates our confidence in the Company’s future. We believe we can continue to invest for future growth, maintain financial flexibility and return excess capital to shareholders, all of which should keep us on the path toward building long-term value.”

While a stock buyback might lead to a boost in earnings per share, in the long term it might not be as effective.

India and Middle East getting their own WWE Performance Centers

By
Colin Vassallo
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While doing media rounds with the press in the United Arab Emirates, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque discussed the plans to open more Performance Centers around the world.

Talking to The National in Abu Dhabi, Levesque confirmed that two more Performance Centers will be opening and one more which is highly likely. “I can tell you there will be a Performance Center in India. There will be a Performance Center in the Middle East,” he said.

India is a big market for WWE and their television deal in the country is one of the biggest outside North America. The Middle East is also pumping a lot of money, mostly thanks to Saudi Arabia and their 10-year deal.

“There will, more than likely, be a Performance Center in Latin America. We will be replicating this process around the globe, all over,” he continued.

The Wrestling Observer is also reporting that WWE officials were in Japan to talk with business partners to plant seeds for NXT Japan, which will then lead to another Performance Center in the country.

The United Kingdom is so far the only place where there’s an NXT brand and Performance Center outside the United States.

WWE Network data and top shows from Q4 2018

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE Network

The WWE Network ended Q4 2018 with approximately 1.59 million paid subscribers, an increase of 7% over the prior year quarter but flat with Q3 2018.

WWE Network revenue was up $9.2 million, or 5% compared to prior year quarter and the company estimates that for Q1 2019, subscriptions will also remain flat at 1.59 million. WrestleMania this year falls in Q2 2019 so that’s where the spike of subscriptions for the year will be reported.

In its Q4 2018 financial results press release it was noted that international pay-per-views such as Super Show-Down and Crown Jewel, along with Evolution were the most-watched programs in Q4. NXT Takeover: WarGames II and NXT UK were also pretty popular with fans.

WWE added more than 100 hours of original content to WWE Network’s featured programming and nearly 450 hours of archival content. Around 11,500 hours of programming are available on the WWE Network.

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By
Guest Writer
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Double or Nothing ticket party at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
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It’s a big day for All Elite Wrestling today as the Double or Nothing ticket announcement party will be held tonight at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

The Talent Pool at MGM will play host for this party, just three months away from AEW’s inaugural show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Cody, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Brandi, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky will all be participating in the party which will be streamed live on the company’s social media accounts starting at 6PM PST.

A surprise guest will also be in attendance and it’s rumored to be none other than Kenny Omega. Brandi Rhodes, AEW’s Chief Brand Officer, wrote on Twitter that maybe she’ll bring a couple of newly-signed female talent to the party as well.

The company will also reveal new signings, new partnerships, and all the information regarding tickets for Double or Nothing.

WWE reports Q4 2018 financial results

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018.

“In 2018, WWE generated the highest level of revenue and earnings in the Company’s history by leveraging our brand strength to increase the monetization of our content worldwide,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our long-term growth strategy will continue to focus on content creation, digitization and international development.”

George Barrios, WWE Co-President, added “We increased revenue by nearly $130 million, and achieved a record level of Adjusted OIBDA and network subscribers. We expect to balance 2019 revenue growth with investment in strategic areas that extend the moat around our business, enabling us to continue our business transformation and maximize shareholder value.”

You can read the full press release with detailed numbers here.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Highlights

  • Revenues increased 29% to $272.5 million as compared to the prior year quarter
  • Operating income nearly doubled to $53.4 million from $27.0 million in the prior year quarter
  • Adjusted OIBDA increased 57% to $64.4 million, exceeding Company guidance and representing an all-time record quarter
  • WWE Network average paid subscribers increased 7% to approximately 1.59 million paid subscribers, consistent with Company guidance

Full Year 2018 Highlights

  • Revenue increased 16% to $930.2 million, the highest in the Company’s history
  • Operating income increased 51% to a record of $114.5 million
  • Adjusted OIBDA increased 31% to $178.9 million, exceeding Company guidance and representing all-time record performance for the second consecutive year
  • International revenue increased 58% to $317.8 million from $201.3 million in the prior year, the highest in the Company’s history and the first-time international revenue has exceeded $300 million
  • WWE completed agreements with USA Network (NBCU) and Fox Sports, effective October 1, 2019, which increase the average annual value (AAV) of its U.S. distribution to 3.6 times that of the prior deal
  • Produced new, large-scale international events (Greatest Royal Rumble, Crown Jewel and Super Show-Down) and compelling content across platforms, including the first all-women’s pay-per-view, WWE Evolution (WWE Network) and the launch of Miz & Mrs. (USA Network)
  • Digital engagement continued to grow with video views up 57% to 31.4 billion and hours consumed up 77% to 1.2 billion across digital and social media platforms

More WWE programming coming to FOX in Fall 2019

By
Colin Vassallo
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FOX Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier told the press at the Television Critics Association event that the network will have more wrestling programming once Smackdown moves to its property in October of this year.

Calling WWE “great storytellers” that fits beautifully in what they are doing, Collier said to expect more WWE-related programming across their multiple platforms.

“The FOX Sports networks, FS1, and others will have some other wrestling. Not live Smackdown, not Raw, but other ties to the WWE world,” Collier said.

He stopped short of mentioning what kind of programming will be added but when UFC was part of the FOX world, UFC programming dominated the sports channels so it could be that something similar is being done for WWE.

NXT is also rumored to be jumping to FS1 in the future.

WWE and FOX signed a five-year deal for Smackdown worth just over $1 billion. Smackdown will move to Friday nights in October and will remain live.

Smackdown rating for 02/05/2019

By
Colin Vassallo
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Smackdown drew a record low since moving live on Tuesdays, doing just 1,841,000 viewers going head-to-head against President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. That is down 296,000 viewers from the previous week.

Trump was indeed ratings, pulling in over 30 million viewers, taking a good chunk of the WWE audience as well. Smackdown was #10 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Full VIP and Premium VIP schedule for WrestleMania Axxess

By
Colin Vassallo
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The full list of WWE Superstars appearing at WrestleMania Axxess VIP and Premium VIP autograph signings has been published. This list is obviously subject to change.

For VIP sessions, The New Day will be there on Thursday at 6PM. Sasha Banks and Bayley will appear on Friday at 1PM and The Miz and Maryse will take the 3PM session. On Saturday, Daniel Bryan will do the 1PM session, Braun Strowman at 3PM, Asuka at 6PM, and then Tommaso Ciampa and Shayna Baszler at 8PM. There’s one session on Sunday which will be Dean Ambrose at 8AM.

Those with the more expensive Premium VIP tickets will have Charlotte Flair at 8PM on Thursday. On Friday, it’s Ronda Rousey at 6PM and then Shane McMahon at 8PM. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch will do the Saturday 8AM and 10AM sessions respectively, while AJ Styles will be there on Monday at Noon.

General admission, VIP, and Premium VIP tickets are available now via the pre-sale using DOTCOM as the code on Ticketmaster.com. They go on sale to general public on Friday.

WWE returning to Saudi Arabia in May 2019

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE logo

It’s being reported by Sean Sapp at Fightful.com that WWE will be returning to Saudi Arabia for their third show in the country on May 3.

No location or arena/stadium were given as to where this show will reportedly happen. WWE held their first two shows in Saudi at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah and then at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh last year.

While both shows were successful in terms of revenue for WWE, the second show, Crown Jewel, was especially very damaging as it happened after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Despite pressure to back out of the deal, WWE went ahead with the show but minimized the advertising of the location everywhere. Both John Cena and Daniel Bryan refused to travel to the country and WWE had to make changes to the card.

WWE is in a 10-year deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to hold shows every year as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative.

Jimmy Havoc signs with All Elite Wrestling

By
Colin Vassallo
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All Elite Wrestling announced the signing of British star Jimmy Havoc, who becomes the latest addition to the AEW roster.

Havoc, 34 years old, has been wrestling since 2004 and worked for Insane Championship Wrestling, PROGRESS Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling, Defiant Wrestling, and even TNA.

Just today, after AEW’s announcement, MLW sent out a tweet saying that Havoc is also returning to Major League Wrestling which might indicate that his deal with AEW is not exclusive.

Raw rating for 02/04/2019

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Monday Night Raw drew an average of 2,509,666 viewers this week, down 193,000 viewers from last week’s show. There was no sports competition head-to-head so it’s a bit of a disappointment to still pull that number.

Hour one had 2,656,000 viewers, followed by 2,552,000 viewers in the second hour, and 2,321,000 viewers in the third and final hour.

Raw was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #3 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Final two teams added to the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles Chamber match

By
Colin Vassallo
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Carmella and Naomi along with Sasha Banks and Bayley are the final two teams added to the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles Elimination Chamber match.

With these two teams, all six – three from Raw and three from Smackdown – have been announced for the match. The Raw tag teams had to go through a qualifying match to move on to the Chamber match while the Smackdown teams were just hand picked.

Joining Carmella and Naomi and Sasha Banks and Bayley are the teams of Nia Jax and Tamina, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, and Billie Kay and Peyton Royce.

The winners of this match will be crowned the new WWE Women’s Tag Team champions.

The original Hart Foundation set for Hall of Fame class of 2019

By
Colin Vassallo
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PWInsider.com is reporting that the original Hart Foundation will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2019 this year in Brooklyn, New York.

The team includes Bret “Hit Man” Hart, the late Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, and Jimmy Hart. This induction would make Bret and Jimmy two-time WWE Hall of Famers, joining Ric Flair as the only individuals with that honor.

The Hart Foundation was formed in 1985 and it was Bret who joined the other two as Jimmy Hart was already managing Jim Neidhart. It was Bret’s idea to form the tag team and was about to quit the company before he was eventually given what he wanted.

The two went on to become one of the most successful tag teams in the history of professional wrestling, winning the WWF Tag Team titles twice. Bret and Jim split after WrestleMania 7 with Bret concentrating on his solo career.

WWE usually announces the headliner of the Hall of Fame in the beginning of January but they’re very late this year as no announcements have been made yet. Tickets for the show did not go on sale either.

WrestleMania 35 Axxess location and ticket on-sale information

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Tickets for this year’s WrestleMania Axxess will go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 8 at 10AM EST on Ticketmaster.com. The pre-sale is live now and will end tomorrow, February 7 at 11:59PM EST, using the code DOTCOM.

Three types of tickets will be available: General admission, VIP, and Premium VIP. GA tickets are $55 each, VIP tickets are $125 while Premium VIP are $190.

This year’s fan interaction event will take place at the Brooklyn Pier 12 in Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn Pier 12 is one of the cruise terminals for the city. The 180,000 square foot facility opened in April 2006 after it was converted from a 1954 freight terminal and was earlier the site of the Atlantic Basin Iron Works. It’s nearly 3 miles away from the Barclays Center where NXT, Hall of Fame, Raw, and Smackdown will be taking place that weekend.

Axxess will run from Thursday April 4 through Monday, April 8. Usually, Axxess ends on Sunday before WrestleMania but this year WWE is adding an extra day for those staying over for Raw as well.

On Thursday, Axxess will run from 6PM to 10PM. On Friday there are two sessions, one from 1PM to 5PM and the other from 6PM to 10PM. Saturday will have three sessions, starting early at 8AM to Noon, 1PM to 5PM, and 6PM to 10PM. There’s one session on Sunday morning from 8AM to Noon and one on Monday from Noon to 4PM.

EC3 returns to the WWE main roster on Raw

By
Colin Vassallo
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EC3 returned to the WWE main roster last night on Raw, defeating Dean Ambrose in a match which was set up in an angle during Alexa Bliss’ Moment of Bliss talk show segment. The match was super quick as Ambrose continues to job on his way out.

This was EC3’s first match on the main roster since he returned to the company last year after a stint in NXT. EC3, using the name of Derrick Bateman, wrestled on the main roster during his first run with the company between 2010 and 2013.

EC3’s career took off after a successful time in TNA Wrestling which led him back to WWE in January 2018. He is a former two-time TNA champion.

Becky Lynch “suspended” pending medical clearance of her knee “injury”

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Becky Lynch’s invitation to Raw by Stephanie McMahon wasn’t anything nice…in fact it was the complete opposite as McMahon “suspended” Lynch until she is recovered from her knee “injury.”

The storyline suspension revolves around Lynch and the injury angle they have been running since the Royal Rumble. Lynch refused to get her knee checked out because she said that she cannot spend time on the sidelines anymore.

But Stephanie threw a speedbump in Lynch’s road to WrestleMania, telling her she will remain suspended until medical clears her and in return, Lynch threw a punch at Stephanie McMahon.

The number one contender for the Raw Women’s title was then escorted out of the arena by security but not before her opponent Ronda Rousey had a dig at her, telling her to stay home until WrestleMania where she will get another beating.

Ric Flair 70th birthday celebration to take place on Raw on 02/25

By
Colin Vassallo
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Ric Flair will be turning 70 years old on February 25 and that day happens to be a Monday…so what do you do? Party on television, of course! Wooooo!

WWE announced that there will be a big birthday party for the Nature Boy on the February 25 episode of Monday Night Raw which will be live from Atlanta. And that’s even better because the two-time Hall of Famer lives in the area so he can party hard and not need to drive! Hah!

WWE noted that Flair’s parties are never “modest” and hinted that some WWE Legends will be in the house as well to celebrate with Flair.

The last party WWE threw for Flair was for his retirement the day after WrestleMania 24, reuniting the 4 Horsemen in a long segment that had other WWE Superstars as well.

Three matches and two in-ring segments announced for Raw tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Three matches and two segments have been announced for tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw live from Portland, Oregon.

The three matches are Jeff Jarrett vs Elias, Finn Balor vs Intercontinental champion Bobby Lashley, and a Women’s Tag Team title Elimination Chamber qualifying match between Sasha Banks and Bayley vs Alicia Fox and Nikki Cross.

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle will also be in the house to address his future in the company and the number one contender for the Raw Women’s title Becky Lynch has been invited to appear on the show by Stephanie McMahon.

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