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Mick Foley publishing Christmas book later this year

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw General Manager Mick Foley will be releasing a Christmas book later this year titled Saint Mick.

The book, in hardcover format, will be published by Polis Books and will contain 256 pages. It’s already available to pre-order from Amazon for $25.99.

The preview of the book reads, “Sailing into the Holiday season with the earnestness of George Bailey discovering how wonderful life can be, the dog-eared determination of Ralphie on his Red Ryder quest, and with the speed and precision of a Buddy Elf snowball barrage, Saint Mick from New York Times #1 bestselling author Mick Foley is a Yuletide tale like no other: part jolly memoir, part whimsical ode to a lifetime love affair with Christmas, part solemn tribute to the power of finding the best part of oneself in the unlikeliest of places.”

Foley is an accomplished author of several children books and his love for the Christmas holiday is no secret!

Chavo Guerrero Sr., passes away at age 68

By
Colin Vassallo
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Chavo Guerrero Sr., the father of former WWE Superstar Chavo Guerrero and brother of Eddie Guerrero, passed away at age 68.

Chavo made his professional wrestling debut in 1970 and wrestled for several promotions, including the Universal Wrestling Federation, the American Wrestling Association, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Championship Wrestling rom Florida, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and more.

The older Chavo worked for WWE in 2004, joining his son in his feud with Eddie and later was renamed to Chavo Classic, winning the Cruiserweight title by defeating his own son and Spike Dudley. His last appearance on WWE television was on an old school edition of Monday Night Raw that same year.

Last year, Chavo Sr., appeared on Lucha Underground and interfered in the Rey Mysterio vs Chavo Guerrero Jr., loser leaves Lucha match. Ironically enough it was Rey Mysterio who defeated Chavo Classic in 2004 to win the Cruiserweight title.

Both Chavo Sr., and Jr., are part of the brain injury class action lawsuit filed against WWE by attorney Konstantine Kyros.

Jeff Jarrett back running things in TNA

By
Colin Vassallo
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In the latest Wrestling Observer, Dave Meltzer says that Jeff Jarrett has now replaced John Gaburick as the top guy in TNA. Gaburick held the position of Executive Vice President of Creative & Talent Relations since his arrival in 2013 and was the number two guy behind Dixie Carter during the old TNA regime.

While there’s a change in the hierarchy, Gaburick is still with the company, although in what position remains to be seen. As Dixie’s right hand man, Gaburick had a lot of power but now with Dixie Carter completely gone, along with her husband, it will be interesting to see where Gaburick fits in the picture.

Jarrett will be running the creative department along with Dutch Mantel and Scott D’Amore from the next set of television tapings which will happen either late March or early April.

WWE stocks hit 52-week high after successful Q4 2016 results

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE stocks hit a 52-week high yesterday of $22.11, coming off a successful quarter which made Wall Street happy.

The day closed at $21.97, a 4.82% increase over Thursday’s closing, which itself closed over 8% in the green. With yesterday’s closing, WWE is listed as having a market cap of $1.6 billion.

Impact rating for 02/09/2017

By
Colin Vassallo
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Impact did 252,000 viewers this week, down from the 299,000 viewers the show pulled in last week. This was the lowest number of viewers for 2017 so far. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

MGM pays big money for worldwide rights for upcoming Paige family movie

By
Colin Vassallo
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Deadline.com is reporting that the upcoming movie about Paige’s family which is being produced by Dwayne Johnson and WWE Studios was scooped up by MGM, in a deal worth as high as $17.5 million for worldwide distribution.

Florence Pugh will star as Paige and Jack Lowden will play her brother Zak. Lena Heady will play the role of Julia, Paige’s mother while Nick Frost will play the role of Ricky, Paige’s father. The Rock will also have a role in the movie.

The film follows the story of reformed gangster and former wrestler Ricky, his wife Julia, daughter Saraya and son Zak, who make a living performing in tiny venues across the country. Ricky and Julia want a better life for their children, and when brother and sister get the chance to audition for the WWE, it seems the family dream is coming true and all their troubles will be solved. However, Saraya and Zak are about to learn that becoming a WWE superstar demands more than they ever imagined possible as athletes and siblings.

Several discounts at WWE Shop in time for Elimination Chamber

By
Colin Vassallo
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With Elimination Chamber around the corner, WWE Shop is running a promotion which ends at various times during the weekend featuring several discounts across the shop.

Using the code CHAMBER at checkout, you can benefit from 20% off select replica championship titles, 30% off sweatshirts, and 40% off select t-shirts. You can start shopping at http://w-o.it/wweshopcom.

The title belts discounts expires tonight at 11:59PM PST, the promotion on sweatshirts ends Saturday at 11:59PM PST, and the t-shirt offer ends on Sunday at 11:59PM PST.

The Elimination Chamber airs on the WWE Network and is free for first-time subscribers. Starting your subscription today will also get you Fastlane for free on March 5. Subscribe now at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.

WWE cancels Legends with JBL show on WWE Network

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Legends with JBL show on the WWE Network was not renewed for another run according to JBL himself, who announced the news in a post on Twitter.

“Thanks to all who enjoyed #LegendswithJBL. I loved it, wish I could do more-but not to be, maybe one day @WWE will bring it back,” the former WWE champion wrote.

The show made its debut on the Network on September 21, 2015 with a two-part interview with former WCW President and Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. Since then, JBL interviewed Brian James, Ron Simmons, Michael Hayes, Booker T, Sting, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, Bruno Sammartino, Alundra Blayze, and Stan Hansen. Hansen’s episode, which debuted this week, is the last Legends with JBL show.

In November 2015 JBL also hosted a two-part interview titled Undertaker’s Greatest Rivals which had Steve Austin, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels as guests.

294 million hours of content streamed on WWE Network in 2016

By
Colin Vassallo
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During the year 2016, WWE Network subscribers watched a total of 294 million hours of content, representing an average of 194 hours per household, according to George Barrios, WWE’s Chief Strategy and Financial Officer.

Barrios said that those statistics puts the Network among the top cable and broadcast networks in terms of viewer hours per household, ranking behind only the broadcast networks of CBS, NBC and ABC. The WWE Network is still the fifth largest streaming video on-demand service, with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and MLB.TV in front.

WWE added 300 hours of original content to WWE Network featured programming and more than 2,500 hours of archival content over the past 12 months. The library, now standing at over 7,000 hours, is more than quadruple the size of the library that the Network launched with back in February 2014.

The 1.5 million paid subscribers to the service today represents a 25% increase over what they had last year.

Vince McMahon hints at another separate tour involving the cruiserweight division

By
Colin Vassallo
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During the conference call with investors yesterday, Vince McMahon hinted at another tour with the cruiserweight division.

McMahon said that 205 Live will eventually have its own sources of revenue in terms of live events, merchandising, and licensing. The cruiserweight division is currently part of the Raw roster but then tapes a live show right after Smackdown exclusively for the WWE Network.

Branching off 205 Live would mean that WWE could potentially run Raw, Smackdown, 205 Live and NXT live events throughout the week.

Apart from that, the thought of having a tour specifically in the United Kingdom with the WWE UK Championship talent is also on the cards. “That’s an effort to localize more talent and localize more content for the United Kingdom and that will continue in a lot of other ways,” McMahon said.

A few weeks ago, Triple H – who was the brain behind the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament – said that the plan will be to start touring the UK but the timing is not ideal right now since they would have to put boots on the ground to start running those shows and eventually start weekly tapings for the WWE Network.

“It’s something that we are thinking about. Nothing we have announced yet. Our partners are very interested in that. The tournament and the buzz from the tournament was highly successful in the UK,” McMahon said. “And there might be other Europeans that might join in the future. There is a lot here in which the expansion which you are trying to get to and the expansion of that, it can be exponential.”

WWE stocks end day on a high after record year

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE stocks had a very good day today as Wall Street reacted positively to WWE’s Q4 2016 and year-end results, nearly hitting the 52-week high.

Stocks jumped 8.71% by the time trading closed, ending the day at $21.02 a piece after the company announced a record $729 million in revenue for 2016. WWE also had a record of $189 million in International revenue, an increase of 11%. The total revenue was 17.3% higher year over year, including a 22.7% increase in revenue in North America.

TNA champ Bobby Lashley wants to attend the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony

By
Colin Vassallo
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TNA champion Bobby Lashley is hoping to attend the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony during the WrestleMania 33 weekend to congratulate his friend Kurt Angle.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard, Lashley said that if his match at WrestleCon’s Supershow finishes early on Friday night, he is planning to attend the Hall of Fame.

“Hopefully I can get some tickets to the Hall of Fame,” said Lashley. “I want to be there to support Kurt and congratulate him. Kurt got me into the wrestling business. He saw me at the Olympic training center when he was doing a vignette, and he said, ‘Man, you’ve got a great look. You might want to really consider pro wrestling.'”

Lashley, who’s on his fourth reign as TNA champion, said that Angle is a star and really happy for him to be finally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. “It’s magic when Kurt is out there. If Kurt wasn’t in the Hall of Fame, then there was something wrong with the Hall of Fame,” he added.

All 9 WWE business segments register increase in Q4 2016

By
Colin Vassallo
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For the first time in a very, very, very long time, all of WWE’s nine business segments registered an increase compared to the prior year quarter.

Network revenues, including WWE Network and traditional pay-per-views increased to $43.7 million from $40.8 million; Television revenues increased to $68.6 million from $55.6 million; Home entertainment went up to $4.2 million from $2.6 million; Digital media did $8.5 million from $7.6 million; Live events did $38.6 million from $32.9 million; Licensing increased from $9.6 million to $10.1 million; Venue merchandise registered $4.9 million from $4.4 million; WWEShop.com sales increased to $12.8 million from $10 million; and WWE Studios had $2.4 million in revenue, up from $1.8 million.

When it comes to net revenues by region, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America also saw an increase, while Europe/Middle East/Africa saw a decrease of $2.9 million compared to the prior year quarter.

WWE Network hits 1.5 million paid subscribers

By
Colin Vassallo
-

In today’s Q4 2016 results, WWE revealed that the WWE Network has a total of 1,500,000 paid subscribers as of January 31, 2017. By the end of 2016, they had 1,473,000 total subscribers with 1,407,000 paid, so the Rumble moved nearly 100,00 new paid subscribers.

That number is up from the 1,440,000 they had by September 30, 2016, but slightly down from the 1,560,000 it had by June 30, 2016.

Out of the 1,500,000 paid subscribers, 1,100,000 of them are based in the United States while 400,000 are International subscribers. That represents a growth of 15% and 27% respectively, from January 31, 2016. The day after WrestleMania 32 remains the single most popular WWE Network day with a total of 1,820,000 subscribers.

WWE expects an average paid subscribers of 1,480,000 for the first quarter of 2017, predicting a slightly decrease until WrestleMania kicks in.

WWE reports Q4 2016 and year-end financial results

By
Colin Vassallo
-

WWE today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. For the quarter, the Company reported Net income of $8.0 million as compared to a Net loss of $1.2 million in the prior year quarter. Operating income increased to $13.9 million from an Operating loss of $1.5 million.

“During the past year, we continued to successfully execute our content strategy, which resulted in significant operational achievements and generated record revenue. We grew WWE Network to an average of more than 1.5 million subscribers, attracted record attendance of 101,763 fans at WrestleMania, and strengthened the global reach of our television programs, completing distribution deals in China, Australia, Germany and Spain, among other countries,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “The increased engagement with our brands across multiple platforms provides a foundation for achieving our 2017 and long-term financial objectives.”

You can read the full press release at http://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2017/02-09-2017.

New England Patriots celebrate with their replica WWE title

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE sending a replica title to Super Bowl winners New England Patriots paid off as the team celebrated with the title during their victory parade which was broadcast live on television.

The title was passed around from one member to another as everyone held it high in the air as they celebrated their fifth historic win. Big WWE fan Rob Gronkowski even did a Steve Austin by smashing two beers as he posed shirtless with two of his team mates holding up the WWE title behind him. The photo of Gronkowski doing the Austin pose even made it on the NFL on ESPN Twitter account.

The title-for-publicity stunt worked wonders again for WWE as many photos posted online of the team all include WWE’s most prestigious title in the picture.

Smackdown rating for 02/07/2017

By
Colin Vassallo
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Smackdown yesterday with John Cena vs Randy Orton in the main event drew 2,627,000 viewers, down 190,000 viewers from last week’s show. Smackdown was #1 on the cables chart in the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Darren Young undergoing elbow surgery tomorrow in Birmingham

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Darren Young is looking at several months on the sidelines as he announced in an Instagram post that he will be undergoing elbow surgery to repair the damage he suffered during a taping of Main Event in mid-January.

Young suffered the injury when he was wrestling Epico and took a bad bump on the apron, with the elbow looking like snapping in the wrong direction.

The former Prime Time Players member said that his elbow will be loaded “with some serious hardware like Lex Luger” tomorrow in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Jeffrey Dugas will be performing the surgery at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center.

“There is no time frame as to when I will be back but as always I will be keeping busy with rehab and my prior speaking commitments,” Young wrote.

Nikki Bella taking time off after WrestleMania, to return as part-timer

By
Colin Vassallo
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ProWrestlingSheet.com is reporting that Nikki Bella will be taking some time away from WWE after WrestleMania is done and will return as a part-timer, rather than a full-time wrestler.

The longest-reigning Divas champion still has pain in her neck according to Ryan Satin who wrote the report and she’s been trying to deal with the pain while keeping a full-time schedule as best as she can, however, the situation has pretty much worsened and Nikki has decided to scale down her wrestling career.

Nikki’s contract will expire in April and sources say that she will be signing a new deal with less appearances.

Former WWE announcer Mike Adamle suffering from dementia

By
Colin Vassallo
-

In an interview with NBC 5 Chicago, former NFL player who turned into a WWE announcer Mike Adamle revealed that he has been diagnosed with dementia and doctors believe he also suffers from CTE – Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy. CTE cannot be 100% proven until post mortem.

Adamle also suffers from seizures and epilepsy, and Dr. Michael Smith of Rush University, said that his seizures are post-traumatic epilepsy, attributed in large part to his football career.

During the sit-down interview with NBC 5, a place where he worked before going on medical leave, Adamle described the effects of dementia that he suffers from. “Here’s what happens. You come over and you can do an interview with me and you’ll leave and I’ll say, ‘Oh God who is that?'” Adamle told Peggy Kusinski who was conducting the interview. “Watching a movie last night – this happened last night – five seconds into it, I’ll say ‘What are we watching?'”

The progression of his condition has been fast and has prevented him from working and driving. Adamle now walks around with a fanny pack containing his ID, house keys and phone, just in case he gets lost or doesn’t remember.

After a successful NFL and broadcast career, Adamle joined WWE in January 2008 as a Raw interviewer. He was mocked for making several mistakes on air, especially his first live broadcast when he called Jeff Hardy by the name of Jeff Harvey during the Royal Rumble. He replaced Joey Styles on ECW on the announce team, teaming up with Taz. Later that year, Adamle was named as the Raw General Manager, but left the company a few months after that.

You can see part one of the heartbreaking interview at http://bit.ly/2kP0HP4.

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