TMZ.COM broke the story just minutes ago that WWE Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper has passed away at the age of 61.
Piper died from cardiac arrest at a home in Hollywood around Noon earlier today.
“Rod was a good friend as well as a client and one of the most generous, sincere and authentic people I have ever known. This is a true loss to us all,” Piper’s rep told TMZ.COM, adding that he was devastated at the news.
Piper, real name Roderick Toombs, is survived by his wife Kitty and his four children, daughters Anastacia Shea, Ariel Teal, and Falon Danika, and son Colton Baird.
Episode 4 of season 4 of Total Divas drew a total of 1,083,000 viewers this week for the episode titled Divas on Overdrive.
The number is up from the previous week’s 995,000 total and drew the same 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo as episode 3. (Ratings credit: TV By The Numbers)
TNA Knockout Angelina Love is six weeks pregnant after her husband, fellow TNA wrestler Davey Richards, announced it on his Facebook with a photo.
Love, real name Lauren Williams, started dating Richards in January of this year and the two announced their engagement in April and got married last month. This will be the first child for both.
The former six time TNA Knockouts champion posted on Twitter that last night’s Impact tapings were her last show for now. “My last show for a long while! It’s baby time,” she wrote.
Episode 6 of Tough Enough this week drew 980,000 viewers as not only there was no interest from viewers on who the new judge was going to be or how they will handle to Hogan situation, but the show lost 164,000 viewers over last week.
The show did a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo and saw the elimination of Mada after new judge The Miz used his save “to spice things up” to save Amanda. After results were revealed, Amanda was shown to have gotten the lowest number of votes by a wide margin. (Ratings credit: TV By The Numbers)
Hulk Hogan’s attorneys told a Florida judge that their client’s wrestling career “is done” and the judge is Hogan’s last chance of justice according to The Tampa Bay Times.
During the emergency hearing, Hogan’s team asked the judge for time to prove that Gawker were directly involved with this leak to damage Hogan’s reputation and to strengthen their case, preventing Hogan from having a fair trial which is set to start on March 2016.
Gawkers’ attorney have refused the allegations saying that the company had nothing to do with the leak and there were a long list of names who knew about the contents of the tape and Hogan’s use of racist language way before Gawker learned about it.
“This is the last refuge of a desperate litigant,” said Gawker attorney Seth Berlin.
Hogan appeared in court wearing an all black jacket, trousers and shirt, a bandana and sunglasses, along with a silver watch and a cross pendant on his chest.
Daniel Bryan’s popularity isn’t just shown in the ring but also in the book world as his autobiography titled ‘Yes! My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania,’ made it on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
The book, which covers Daniel Bryan’s career as a WWE Superstar culminating with the amazing WrestleMania XXX journey, made the list at number 18 for adult nonfiction. It’s WWE’s 25th book to reach the New York Times Best Sellers list since 1999.
In his first public comments to the media following Hulk Hogan’s fall from grace, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said that he was pretty disappointed with what happened.
Talking to TV critics to discuss the HBO show Ballers, Johnson said, “I’ve known Hulk a lot of years. My uncle helped train him. I’ve not known the man to be racist.” However the former WWE champion, who wrestled Hogan at WrestleMania 18 in one of the most memorable WrestleMania moments in its 31 year history, didn’t hide his disappointment.
“I was pretty disappointed with what I heard… Not justifying what he said, we’ve all talked trash – in private.”
Bad news keeps piling up on Hulk Hogan as Bay News 9 in Florida went back to listen to the 2008 jail audio conversations that Hogan had with his son Nick and released transcripts of calls that were never released to the public before. Nick was serving an eight month sentence for a car crash that left his friend John Graziano, permanently disabled.
“You and me been sitting on some serious phone, phone dialogue here ni**a,” Hogan said. His son does not say the N word himself and refers to it as “nibbah” instead. His father then corrects him. “Ni**a, ni**a, that means, that means you (are) my best friend,” Hogan says.
Hogan then goes into a weird rant about reincarnation saying that both of them are going to live forever. “I just hope we don’t come back as a couple, I don’t want to say it, blizz-ack gizz-uys, you know what I’m saying?” Nick laughed with his father before responding, “Brutal!”
When Hulk told Nick about maybe being transferred to a juvenile hall instead of an adult jail, Nick told him that “it’s mixed-race and we get along with everybody, so that’s fine.” Hulk then said, “Your mom went there and said it was mainly blizz, you know what I’m sizz-aying? And that some of the ladies there that, you know, run the school are nice blizz lizz-adies, you know?”
Meanwhile, the judge presiding over Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker has set a March 7, 2016 date for the trial to start, pushing it again from October. Hogan also pushed a motion seeking more time to determine who leaked the transcripts to the National Enquirer, a motion that the judge has not ruled on yet.
WWE lost over half a million subscribers after WrestleMania up until June 30 as the latest key performance indicators chart shows a decrease of 508,000 subscribers during the second quarter of 2015.
The 508,000 lost subscribers were partially offset with 337,000 new subscribers however WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George Barrios noted the high churn during the conference call earlier today.
“It was one of the higher levels of churn that we had post WrestleMania and as I mentioned in the prepared remarks it kind of coincides with that event-driven legacy pay-per-view business model,” Barrios said.
Barrios added that the free month trial continues to be an important offering and is an incentive for fans to check out the Network for the first time.
“We believe one month is the minimum amount of time required for a consumer to fully understand the scope of the breadth of the networks content,” Barrios added.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon has been named to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation board of trustees. The press release issued says that McMahon, her family, WWE, and its fans have been strong supporters of pediatric cancer care and research at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC over the past two years, mainly due to the bond with Connor Michalek.
“We are honored to have Stephanie join our Board of Trustees. She and her family formed a very special bond with Connor, and she quickly demonstrated a passion for putting her talents and resources to work in the fight against pediatric cancer,” said Greg Barrett, president of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. “In the relatively short time she’s been involved with Children’s Hospital and our cancer program, Stephanie has already made a significant impact and I’m excited to see how her ideas and leadership will further enhance our goals and mission.”
Stephanie said that she’s extremely humbled and privileged to join the Board of Trustees and help play a role in their continued efforts to further pediatric cancer research.
“Connor Michalek had such a profound impact on so many people, including my husband and me. Through the tremendous work at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, I hope we can help find a cure for pediatric cancer, and ensure no other child has to endure Connor’s fate.”
WWE Network cards will soon be available in stores as it was announced today during the conference call with investors that WWE is planning to push these out to continue increasing their subscribers base.
The cards will be similar to those such as iTunes and Amazon and no credit card will be required to activate your subscription. The plan is to sell 3 month WWE Network subscription access on these cards and all is required to activate them is to put whatever code is found on the back of the card.
There was no timeline given when these cards will start being distributed to stores.
During the earnings conference call earlier today, one of the callers asked Vince McMahon about Hulk Hogan, who last week was fired from WWE for racial rants which were shot on a sex tape video eight years ago but released just now by The National Enquirer.
The caller did not mention Hogan by name but went the diplomatic way saying that there was a lot of noise in the media about severing ties with this long-term legendary marketing talent.
“I mean there was a recent situation with Hulk Hogan who’s no longer with the organization and that doesn’t have any material effect,” McMahon said. “So again we were keen on individuals who can actually compete in the ring and derive benefit from that.”
While Hogan got the Chris Benoit treatment on the WWE.COM website, searching for his name on the WWE Network still returns all the results, unlike for Benoit, which returns just one result.
Former WWE champion Brock Lesnar will be returning to Madison Square Garden for the first time since WrestleMania XX as he will make a rare non-televised appearance at the October 3 house show in New York.
Lesnar has not participated at a house show which will not be screened on television in over 12 years. Earlier this month he traveled to Japan for the WWE Network special The Beast In The East and wrestled Kofi Kingston on the show.
Pre-sale for the show is on right now through Ticketmaster.com and you can use the code GARDENWWE to purchase tickets. Prices are $25, $35, $60, $80, $105, and $130 plus additional fees. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday, August 1, at 10AM EST.
Four departments within WWE registered an increase compared to Q2 2014 while the other five registered a decrease, mainly due to WrestleMania being in the second quarter last year while this year its revenues were added to the first quarter.
Television revenues increased 19% to $52.1 million from $43.8 million in the prior year quarter; Licensing revenues increased 105% to $11.3 million from $5.5 million; WWEShop revenues increased 45% to $5.8 million as compared to $4.0 million in the prior year quarter; WWE Studios increased to $2.1 million as compared to revenue of $1.7 million in the prior year quarter.
Home Entertainment net revenues decreased to $3.1 million from $5.4 million in the prior year quarter; Digital Media net revenues were $3.8 million compared to $5.2 million in the prior year quarter; Live Event revenues decreased 34% to $26.4 million from $40.3 million in the prior year quarter; Venue Merchandise revenues decreased to $4.7 million from $6.5 million in the prior year quarter; Network revenue, including WWE Network and PPV, decreased 7% to $40.1 million.
The three pay-per-views that occurred during the second quarter of 2015 did a total of 167,000 traditional buys.
Extreme Rules did 56,000 buys, Payback did 54,000 buys, and Money In The Bank did 57,000 buys compared to 108,000, 67,000, and 122,000 respectively in the prior year. The difference is obviously due to more fans subscribing to the WWE Network rather than paying full price for a pay-per-view.
Meanwhile the Elimination Chamber, which was broadcast on the WWE Network around the world and on traditional pay-per-view in markets where the Network is not available did 97,000 buys.
WWE today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2015. For the quarter, the Company reported net income of $5.1 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to a net loss of $14.5 million, or $0.19 loss per share, in the second quarter last year.
“The performance of WWE Network demonstrates our ability to transform our legacy pay-per-view business into a global subscription business with high growth potential,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “We have made meaningful progress executing our key strategic initiatives, including the achievement of significant international growth and increased engagement across our digital and social media platforms.”
George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, added, “Our strong earnings growth was driven primarily by the expansion of WWE Network subscribers, the escalation of our television rights fees as well as strong sales of our franchise video game. For the quarter, our OIBDA surpassed our expectations. The ramp-up of WWE Network subscribers, while exhibiting a seasonal pattern, continued to show strong year-over-year growth. Our success in developing WWE Network, maximizing our television rights fees and driving revenue growth from our global markets reinforces our long-term potential.”
WWE announced today that it had 1,227,000 active subscribers on the WWE Network as of June 30, 2015, down 100,000 subscribers from what the company reported right after WrestleMania 31. Compared year over year, WWE added over 500,000 subscribers from June 30, 2014.
There’s an average of 1,216,000 paid subscribers in total which generated $36.6 million in revenue. Out of the 1,227,000 subscribers worldwide, 217,000 of them are International and 939,000 are located in the United States.
In terms of programming, WWE intends to add 180 hours of original content till the end of 2015. New programming includes a reality series following NXT stars, a new series titled Table for 3 where viewers get to sit at a table with Superstars and Divas, and studio show highlighting current events in the WWE.
New episodes of WWE 24, The WWE List, and Stone Cold Podcast will also be added while themed programming collections being added to the library are The Raw Attitude Era Part 2: Austin/McMahon, WCW Nitro: Accelerating the War, and
The 20th Anniversary of Monday Nitro.
WWE announced that The Beast In The East special from Tokyo earlier this month was the network’s most watched program to date excluding pay-per-views. NXT, Too Hot for TV with Jerry Springer, Swerved, and Stone Cold Podcast are the highest rated programs on the Network.
38 year old Layla has announced her retirement from the world of professional wrestling after a 9 year stint with the company.
Layla started with the WWE in 2006 when she was a contestant in the WWE Diva Search contest, a contest that she eventually won. She worked backstage interviews before transitioning to the ring and eventually being part of Extreme Expose` in ECW with Brooke and Kelly Kelly.
After moving back to Smackdown, she teamed up with Michelle McCool to form one of the most successful Diva pairing in the history of WWE, Team LayCool. In 2012 she she won the WWE Divas championship at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, a title she lost to Eve Torres after a reign of 140 days.
Following a brief angle where she was Fandango’s dance partner, she teamed up with Summer Rae to form the Slayers but the team disbanded shortly after Layla had to undergo surgery earlier this year.
“I feel like deciding to retire from the ring has been a hard decision to make because I’m passionate and I love performing. I’ve known everybody in that company now for nine years. They’re family. I spend more time with crew and Superstars and Divas on the roster than I did with anybody else,” Layla told WWE.COM.
When asked what’s next for her, she said she might do some TV stuff in the United States or United Kingdom or maybe go back to the Miami Heat and start choreographing their cheerleaders.
“I’d like to tell WWE Universe “Thank you” for always being loyal to me. They’ve seen me through my good times and in my bad times. In one of the first interviews when I won the Diva Search, I said to the fans, “I won’t let you down,” and I truly feel like I can walk away saying I have attained anything that any Diva was able to attain,” Layla said.
Hulk Hogan has filed new court documents pertaining to his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker asking the judge to launch a full investigation into Gawker head Nick Denton and former Gawker executive AJ Daulerio to prove that they were the ones who leaked the confidential transcripts to The National Enquirer, leading to his dismissal from WWE.
In the newly filed documents in a Pinellas County court, Hogan asks that if the investigation turns out to be that Gawker was indeed behind the leak, he wants everyone involved to be jailed and wants an automatic win to his $100 million lawsuit according to TMZ.
Hogan is claiming that Gawker leaked the story to the media to make him look bad and damage his reputation before the case starts in October as Gawker’s Denton already claimed that if they lose this lawsuit it could be the very end of his company.
Gawker’s President and general counsel Heather Dietrick denied the accusations saying Hogan is the only one to blame for what he said. She said that no one from Gawker had any role in leaking the information.
Variety is reporting that WWE Studios has acquired worldwide rights to the faith-based comedy The Resurrection of Gavin Stone from the Harvest Bible Chapel’s Vertical Church Films.
The movie has already wrapped production with Brett Dalton, star of ABC’s Agents of SHIELD, portraying the lead character. Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, D.B. Sweeney, Neil Flynn and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels are in the movie as well.
The plot revolves around Dalton’s character who portrays a former child star turned washed-up and troubled actor. After receiving a 200-hour community service sentence, Stone pretends to be a Christian so he can play Jesus in a mega-church Easter production to fulfill his hours of service, but then discovers that his most important role is far away from Hollywood.
“It is a privilege to be working with the Harvest Bible Chapel and Vertical Church Films, as they share our understanding of the importance of a strong foundation for storytelling,” WWE Studios president Michael Luisi said. “‘The Resurrection of Gavin Stone’ is a heartwarming tale of faith and redemption that will allow us to continue growing our audience as we expand into new genres.”
