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Alexa Bliss and others react to the release of Bray Wyatt

By
Colin Vassallo
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The wrestling industry was in shock yesterday at the release of Bray Wyatt from WWE. A homegrown talent who pretty much started his wrestling journey under WWE, Wyatt was a very successful Superstar who reinvented himself a couple of times with captivating gimmicks.

Alexa Bliss, who has been working with Wyatt since late 2020, wrote that she was shocked at the news.

“I really am at a loss for words,” Alexa Bliss wrote. “Thank you so much Windham for everything you’ve done for this company. The most fun I’ve had is working with you. Such an amazing talent & the most kind person. I’m just in shock.”

In a scathing tweet, Mickie James “rewrote” WWE’s statement and took a dig at Bliss, although later clarified her tweet.

Retweeting WWE’s announcement, James wrote, “I think what you meant to say was: Thank you so much for coming up with such an incredible gimmick (time & time again) one so cool & over, we really didn’t know how to book it right. So we just gave it to someone else so we can still make ALL the money off of it & let you go.”

She then clarified that the tweet was not against Alexa Bliss. “This isn’t against Alexa. I love her. She’s an incredible performer who is killing it in a role she was given. She always does. We as artists take every role we’re given & turn it into gold. He, she, they both did that. Like it/not. Facts are facts. So sorry if that offends you,” Mickie added.

Several other WWE Superstars also were vocal on Twitter about Wyatt’s release while Mick Foley wrote that “The company has lost a true visionary and a creative genius,” calling him one of the most innovative makers of mayhem pro wrestling has ever seen.

With Wyatt’s release, this marks the first time that all members of the Wyatt Family are no longer with WWE. The late Luke Harper was released in December 2019, Erick Rowan was released in April 2020, Braun Strowman was released in June 2021, and Wyatt yesterday.

Impact Homecoming 2021 results

By
Colin Vassallo
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Here are the results from last night’s Impact Homecoming event which aired on Impact Plus from the Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

Drama King Matthew Rehwoldt and Deonna Purrazzo defeated Hernandez & Alisha in the QF match; Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green defeated Jordynne Grace and Petey Williams in the QF match; Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering defeated Brian Myers and Missy Hyatt in the QF match; Crazzy Steve and Rosemary defeated Fallah Bahh and Tasha Steelz in the QF match; Deaner defeated Willie Mack; Drama King Matthew Rehwoldt and Deonna Purrazzo defeated Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green in the SF match; Crazzy Steve and Rosemary defeated Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering in the SF match; Josh Alexander defeated Black Taurus to retain the X Division title; Drama King Matthew Rehwoldt and Deonna Purrazzo defeated Crazzy Steve and Rosemary in the final match of the tournament to become the Homecoming King and Queen; Eddie Edwards defeated W. Morrissey in a hardcore match.

Smackdown rating for 07/30/2021

By
Colin Vassallo
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Friday Night Smackdown on FOX yesterday did 1,909,000 viewers in the overnight ratings, down 98,000 viewers from last week’s overnight number. Last week’s show ended with 2,137,000 viewers when the final numbers came out on Monday.

Smackdown started with 1,920,000 viewers and then dropped to 1,898,000 viewers in the second hour. The show had a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demo and was second to the Olympics coverage. The Olympics head-to-head with Smackdown did 9,400,000 viewers in the first hour and 11,250,000 viewers in the second hour. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV.com)

Bray Wyatt released from WWE

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE today announced that Bray Wyatt has been released from the company effective immediately. “WWE has come to terms on the release of Bray Wyatt. We wish him the best in all his future endeavors,” read a small statement on WWE’s website and social media properties.

The 34-year-old Windham Rotunda started his wrestling career with WWE, beginning with Florida Championship Wrestling in 2009. In 2010 he started in NXT as Husky Harris with Cody Rhodes as his Pro. After a short stint in The Nexus and a trip back to FCW, Wyatt found fame while teaming with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper as The Wyatt Family in NXT.

The Wyatt Family enjoyed a successful run in the main roster and Bray eventually went solo and later teamed up with Matt Hardy. Then things got interesting…

After a hiatus of a few months, Bray Wyatt returned on television as The Fiend, wrecking havoc everywhere. The Firefly Fun House were popular segments on WWE television, showing Bray portraying a totally different character interacting with puppets. As The Fiend, he had some memorable feuds and matches, the most recent one with Randy Orton.

The Fiend was set on fire by Randy Orton at the TLC 2020 pay-per-view and apart from a couple of appearances and a match at WrestleMania 37, he has not been seen on WWE television. Alexa Bliss also teamed up with Wyatt during his latest run and Bliss retains the same gimmick she had with him despite his absence.

In his 12 years with WWE, Wyatt won the WWE title once, the Universal title twice, the Raw Tag Team titles once, and the Smackdown Tag Team title once.

Homecoming 2021 tonight on Impact Plus streaming service

By
Colin Vassallo
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Impact Wrestling is back with an Impact Plus streaming-only event tonight from the Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee for Homecoming. For the first time in Impact, a mixed tag team tournament will crown a Homecoming King and Queen. The card is as follows:

Quarter final matches: Hernandez and Alisha vs Deonna Purrazzo and a mystery partner; Petey Williams and Jordynne Grace vs Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green; Crazzy Steve and Rosemary vs Fallah Bash and Tasha Steelz; and Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering vs Brian Myers and mystery partner; Semi final matches will see the winners of Hernandez/Edwards vs Purrazzo/TBA against the winners of Williams/Grace vs Cardona/Green; and winners of Steve/Rosemary vs Bahh/Steelz agains the winners of Dreamer/Ellering vs Myers/TBA.

The other two matches scheduled on the card include Josh Alexander vs Black Taurus for the Impact X Division title and Eddie Edwards vs W. Morrissey in a hardcore match.

Reigns vs Cena for Universal title made official for SummerSlam 2021

By
Colin Vassallo
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The match between Universal champion Roman Reigns and John Cena is official for SummerSlam after a contract signing between Reigns and Balor went sideways.

During a segment which involved Reigns and Balor signing the contract, Baron Corbin came out and attacked Finn Balor before he could put pen to paper. Corbin was going to sign the contract instead but Cena ran out and threw Corbin out of the ring. Cena then picked up the contract as Reigns looked on from his chair at the head of the table.

Cena took out a blue sharpie and wrote his name on the contract, signed it, and handed it over to Adam Pearce who was at ringside with Sonya Deville. Despite objections from Paul Heyman, Pearce and Deville said that the signature is good enough for them, making the match official.

Natalya undergoes leg surgery

By
Colin Vassallo
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One half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team champions Natalya underwent surgery to fix an injury she suffered in her leg last week on Monday Night Raw. The surgery was done in Birmingham, Alabama at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center.

“Today my surgeon told me that I’m an anomaly. All I asked was to be put back in the fight and FAST. Surgery will fix me, defending our championships will drive me,” she wrote in a post on social media.

Natalya did not reveal the exact type of injury she suffered. The incident happened when Natalya and Tamina were wrestling Eva Marie and Doudrop and the match went to a quick finish after Doudrop appeared to fall on Natalya’s leg.

Sasha Banks returns on Smackdown

By
Colin Vassallo
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Sasha Banks made her return to Smackdown last night, running in to save Bianca Belair from a two-on-one attack…but later in the night turned on Belair during a tag team match!

Both Carmella and Zelina Vega requested title shots against Belair during an in-ring segment and the two eventually beat down the champion until Sasha’s theme song kicked in to a thunderous ovation from the crowd. Sasha cleaned house and then hugged Belair who had a confused look on her face.

Later in the main event, Sasha and Bianca teamed up to take on Carmella and Zelina. The faces won after Carmella tapped out to the Banks Statement and then things got interesting. Banks and Belair danced in the ring and as soon as Belair turned, Banks hit a backstabber on her.

Banks continued to beat down Belair and eventually locked in the Banks Statement. The fans popped huge for the heel turn as well although there were some boos mixed.

Sasha has been absent from WWE television ever since she lost the Smackdown Women’s title to Belair during the main event of night one of WrestleMania 37.

AEW sells over 10,000 tickets in pre-sale for Rampage at the United Center

By
Colin Vassallo
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All Elite Wrestling moved over 10,000 tickets during the pre-sale for The First Dance Rampage at the United Center in Chicago today, another successful ticket day that will only get better on Monday.

Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Monday at 10AM CT where the rest of the tickets will be put on sale. The arena holds nearly 21,000 seats in a basketball setting and if sales continue at this rate, AEW will be able to configure for upwards of 18,000.

This show will – for all intents and purposes – feature the debut of CM Punk with the promotion. Darby Allin’s “best in the world” drop and MJF’s “pipe bomb” during Wednesday’s Dynamite were all hints as to what is coming. The fans popped huge for the United Center announcement and chanted for CM Punk, a chant which AEW cameras made sure to get on screen.

This will be the fourth AEW show in the state of Illinois in the span of a couple of weeks, with Rampage on August 20 in Chicago, and Dynamite, Rampage, and All Out in Hoffman Estates on September 1, 3, and 5 respectively.

All Out is already sold out and the Dynamite and Rampage leading up to the pay-per-view will receive a good boost in sales with CM Punk there. A clean-sweep of four sellouts in the same market is not a far fetched idea and certainly doable.

Dwayne Johnson’s Jungle Cruise movie for Disney opens today

By
Colin Vassallo
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It is a big weekend for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as his Disney Jungle Cruise movie opens in theaters nationwide today. The highly-anticipated movie, delayed by a year due to COVID-19, is also streaming on Disney+ for a premium price.

Joining Johnson in this blockbuster are Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti in the leading roles. It’s directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and it had a budget of a cool $200 million.

The movie, based on the much-loved Disneyland ride of the same name, is about the two main stars – Johnson and Blunt – going on a mission into a jungle to find the Tree of Life, which is believed to possess healing powers that could be of great benefit to modern medicine.

Jungle Cruise is opening in over 4,200 theaters and it costs $30 to stream on Disney+. Expectations are high for a big box office weekend but in reality a good number for the pandemic-era Hollywood is different from what would have been a great weekend in 2019 and before.

WWE pay-per-views viewership get a big bump on Peacock

By
Colin Vassallo
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Explaining the latest financial numbers with investors, WWE President Nick Khan explained how they noted in jump in viewing figures ever since they made the switch to Peacock for the WWE Network in the United States.

Citing a few pay-per-view numbers, Backlash in May was up 26% compared to 2020 while Hell In A Cell was up 25%. A big jump was registered to Money In The Bank which had an increase of 46% in viewership compared to last year. Khan also said that the numbers were also up from 2019 but he did not provide any numbers for comparison.

Comcast this week announced that it has over 50 million subscribers for Peacock although only a fraction of that number are paid subscribers while the rest are on the free tier. The WWE Network is part of the $4.99 paid tier. Comcast also said that the service will be rolling out to the United Kingdom via Sky in a few months and globally via third party providers after.

Khan also said that the company is actively seeking international partners for the WWE Network similar to what they did with Peacock in the United States. “As we begin our efforts to license WWE Network internationally, we’re encouraged by the trends we saw this quarter, and are confident we will continue to see success as we engage with our partners internationally. More on that to come in the future,” Khan said during the call.

The most Invincible WWE wrestlers

By
Daniel Street
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Everyone has a hobby. How else would you spend your free time? Some people like watching films, riding a bike, swimming, or providing writing services. These days, sport is also trendy.

In every sport, numbers are what normally matters the most. In wrestling, the most significant numbers are the duration of the wrestler’s contract, the number of victories and defeats, and the number of days the champion reigned supreme. Today we take on the most significant streaks in the wrestling industry.

  1. Goldberg

Bill Goldberg has one of the most popular streaks in the industry. Goldberg’s undefeated streak in WCW ran a total of 173 and lost his first match to Kevin Nash. This was all the way back in the distant days of the WWE and WCW Monday night wars.

  1. CM Punk

In recent decades, the most serious streak of a title defense is owned by CM Punk, who held the WWE title for 434 days. This is the longest world title holding figure in the past 25 years. After winning it at the end of 2011, he held the title until 2013, where he lost to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in January. Now rumors are that CM Punk is going to All Elite Wrestling. Will he be able to replicate his WWE title streak?

  1. Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan had a total of 2,185 days as WWE champion over six different reigns with many successful defenses. It all started with a win over the Iron Sheik, an event which sparked the birth of Hulkamania. Hogan became a pop culture icon and managed to land a few movies in Hollywood too.

  1. Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino wore the WWE champion belt for a full 2803 days, 7 years while being the second champion in the company’s history. And this was only his first reign with title, which turned out to be longer than the careers of some wrestlers. He followed it with a second reign of 1027 days. In total, he carried the title for 11 years, still the longest-combined reign in WWE history.

  1. The Undertaker

Mark Calaway had the greatest and most famous streak in wrestling – this is, of course, The Undertaker’s unbeatable WrestleMania streak. He was 21-0 at WrestleMania, a streak which will likely be never replicated again. That came to an end in 2014 at WrestleMania XXX when Brock Lesnar shocked the world by defeating Taker.

  1. The Rock

Now, this guy has had an illustrious career overall, not only in the ring but on big screens. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a former popular American wrestler and now a famous Hollywood film actor, who has worked on the set of films “Fast and Furious,” “Jumanji,” and many others. The Rock had 8 WWE title reigns in his career spanning a total of 367 days as champion. He now is the highest-paid actor in Hollywood and who knows, maybe a future President of the United States of America!

Wrestling is great entertainment. Sure, maybe, it is sometimes brutal, but famous athletes can be your role models. They are successful, strong, have an admirable work ethic, and are very influential. As an added benefit, being able to protect yourself or your family is not that bad either. No one would even dare cross any of the guys mentioned above.

Kurt Angle says he turned down Impact and AEW offers

By
Colin Vassallo
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Speaking to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle revealed that he turned down offers from both Impact Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling regarding a return to the ring.

Angle has not wrestled since he lost his final match in WWE against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 and has stayed true to his word about retirement.

The Olympic gold medalist said that AEW offered a seven-match deal while Impact had a one-match offer for him on the table. Angle explained how he’s in pain at the moment with injuries stemming from his wrestling career, and admitted he’s just trying to take it easy. Angle also added that both Impact and AEW offered him non-in-ring appearances but has been sitting idle at the moment.

Angle continued to say that in his last WWE run, he was off a little bit in his game and being 52 years old doesn’t help. He admitted that he was not the same as he was before in his prime and he didn’t like the person he was. He said that if he can’t perform at the same level he was in his prime he was not going to do it anymore.

AEW trading cards by Upper Deck coming in November 2021

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Upper Deck, the premier global sports and entertainment trading card, memorabilia, and collectibles company, announced today a brand-new addition to the company’s ever-growing trading card and memorabilia portfolio through an exclusive, multi-year deal with All Elite Wrestling. The first edition of Upper Deck AEW trading cards will be released in November 2021, offering fans and collectors autograph and memorabilia cards from AEW’s most revered icons and talented performers.

This marks the first time in company history that Upper Deck will offer sets of professional wrestling trading cards. The new product line will feature wrestling legends Chris Jericho and Sting as well as AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks, AEW Women’s World Champion Dr. Britt Baker, and TNT Champion Miro. Past AEW Champions Cody Rhodes, Darby Allin, Nyla Rose and Hikaru Shida will also be featured along with the popular AEW current and future rising stars.

“We are excited to offer professional wrestling trading cards to our collectors and AEW fans for the first time,” said Upper Deck Sports Brand Manager, Paul Zickler. “AEW is a prominent organization in the industry with a passionate fan base, and we look forward to building a long-lasting relationship and a robust wrestling product portfolio.”

“Upper Deck is the premier collectibles company in the world for trading cards and memorabilia, and we’re thrilled to work with them in expanding our engagement even further with fans around the world,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Since day one, we’ve made it a priority to listen to our fans and connect with them in new and immersive ways. This includes the new AEW RAMPAGE on Friday nights on TNT, our action figures that fly off the shelves, a next-gen console game that incorporates fans’ feedback, and now these amazing trading cards and memorabilia. AEW has the greatest fans on the planet, and we hope they love this new way to engage with our stars.”

The inaugural AEW set will also include rare autographs and memorabilia cards showcasing items like wrestler-worn shirts and mats used in matches. Fans can also look for serial numbered inserts like Exclusives and High Gloss, colorful parallels printed on patterned foil board, and printing plate cards.

Upper Deck AEW trading cards will be available starting November 2021 at hobby shops nationwide and with Upper Deck Authorized Internet Retailers (AIRS). They will also be available on Upper Deck e-Pack®, a robust online platform that allows collectors to buy, open, collect and trade digital and physical cards with fans around the world. Fans can visit www.UpperDeckEpack.com to sign up for new announcements, including AEW trading card releases.

Domino’s threatens to pull out all AEW advertising after pizza cutter spot on Dynamite

By
Colin Vassallo
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It looks the pizza cutter-to-the-head segment from the Jericho vs Gage match on Dynamite did not go over very well with AEW sponsor Domino’s, who use pizza cutters to, well, cut pizzas rather than foreheads.

In a story on frontofficesports.com, Domino’s denied that it had any involvement or knowledge of the planned spot after their ad – which involved Domino’s employees cutting slices of pizzas with a pizza cutter – aired shortly after the match. Now, the popular pizza company is threatening to pull out all of its advertising from All Elite Wrestling.

“We share the concerns expressed about this incident and the content of this TV-14 rated program, and are assessing our advertising presence on it going forward,” said Domino’s spokeswoman Jenny Fouracre-Petko.

Gage, who is a popular hardcore wrestler brought his usual violence to the match and the AEW core audience ate it up. The company also promoted the slicing of Jericho’s forehead with the pizza cutter with a 12-second video on its social media.

Dynamite rating for 07/28/2021

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The Fight for the Fallen episode of Dynamite drew a total of 1,108,000 viewers this past week, down slightly by 40,000 viewers from last week’s episode. In the 18-49 demo, the show drew a 0.45, which was actually up from 0.44 of last week for a solid number considering it went against the Olympics. This was the third straight week in a row that Dynamite did over 1 million viewers. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)

Pre-sale for Rampage at United Center kicks off today

By
Colin Vassallo
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The pre-sale for the highly-anticipated AEW Rampage from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, kicks off today on Ticketmaster.com.

Starting at 10AM CT, fans can head over to Ticketmaster to purchase tickets ahead of the general on-sale by using the code PWTUC. This pre-sale will end on Sunday, August 1 at 10AM CT and the general public sale will then start on Monday, August 2 at 10AM CT as well.

The Rampage at United Center was announced on Dynamite and is named The First Dance, a take from the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan documentary with the name The Last Dance.

Wrestling is back, but better than ever?

By
Daniel Street
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WWE over the years has certainly changed but it wasn’t until the last year and a half or so that they faced their biggest challenge. The pandemic cut live crowds from the show and although a tonne of hard work was put in place to make Thunderdome as spectacular as possible, it was only ever going to be a band-aid over a bigger and more gruesome wound. Thankfully, live shows are back as the road trip for WWE begins again after a 70-week hiatus.

And as sports betting is becoming bigger and more accessible in the states, more and more WWE fans will look to not just add some further excitement to their sport, but make some decent coin on the side. And if that is your thing and you are looking to make some real money casino Canada is another great way, like this site.

So, if you’ve been a fan of wrestling over the last few decades like we have been, you’ll have amassed plenty of warm and fuzzies to cherish along with plenty of new memories that will be in store soon. But just how does today’s wrestling compare to the glory days of the 90’s?

The Glory Days

In the early 90’s the buzz that came from Friday night wrestling was not just looked forward to the whole week, but lingered long after the weekend had finished. There was figurines and playing cards, you could make our own rings and spend hours trying to perfect your hero’s finishing moves on your friends. It’s not to say that the buzz has diminished, but with so many distractions for kids these days online, it’s definitely changed.

Yes, the Hogans and Warriors and Million Dollar Men were just as menacing as the Cenas and the Lashleys, but they were global stars outside of the sport, too. Their fame rose well above the WWE and with less competition for fans than what there is these days, they were true superstars.

Like most things, it has come down to money as now you can watch wrestling every night of the week to make the most of ratings and the availability of fans. In the 90’s, Friday night was it and although there were less people watching over all when you take the full seven days into account, the ratings from that one Friday night was immense.

WWE Today

Not to compare apples with oranges, but apart from Cena and the Rock, you couldn’t really ask non-fans the names of wrestlers anymore and expect a correct answer. And even then, Cena is possibly only known as an actor. It’s all that competition again, with kids having their noses in their phones 24 hours a day and only pulling them out for the two hour pay-per-view they make their parents purchase.

There’s no more figure fours in the playgrounds at school, no body slams with your mates on the weekends, it’s watching the show and then going back to Fortnite.

What the WWE have done amazingly well is add a healthy dose of cinematic tech into the mix, which is visually stunning. It’s made events like Money in the Bank be a true visual spectacle and certainly no kids were checking in on their phones in that crowd. It’s the way of the future and it’s definitely going to rope in some new fans.

The Future

Now that some level of normality looks to be returning to our world, things are looking very exciting for the upcoming Raw, Smackdown and especially, Summerslam. Cena is back, but more importantly, the buzz that only a live crowd can generate is back, and that is absolutely terrific news for all fans.

If WWE can survive these last tough years, there’s going to be no stopping them in the future. Let’s just hope we can see the glory days of the 90’s if not back, some decent resemblance.

McMahon dismisses AEW as their biggest competition

By
Colin Vassallo
-

During the conference call with investors yesterday, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon dismissed the idea that AEW are their biggest competition and that the tide is turning in professional wrestling.

McMahon said that their biggest challenge was WCW when Ted Turner and the Turner organizations threw everything at them, calling it a different situation than what they have today with All Elite Wrestling.

“I really don’t know what their plans are. All I know is what our plans are,” McMahon said. “I don’t consider them competition in the way that I would consider WCW back in the day, not anywhere close to that.”

WWE President Nick Khan then intervened and said that he considers WWE as being a horse with blinders on in a horse race, considering everything that is on television as competition. “We don’t look at any organization particularly as competition. Yet we see everything as competitive with what we’re trying to do in terms of eyeballs,” he continued.

WWE announces Q2 2021 financial results

By
Colin Vassallo
-

WWE announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2021.

“During the second quarter, we generated solid financial results as we continued to focus on building fan engagement,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “With the announced return to live event touring and robust ticket demand, we believe we can further consumption across platforms, maximize new business opportunities and drive long-term growth.”

Kristina Salen, WWE Chief Financial Officer, added “In the quarter, Adjusted OIBDA results reflected an increase in television production expenses to enhance the viewing experience of WWE’s fans. Although Adjusted OIBDA declined, key performance metrics demonstrated positive trends and we continue to realize better than expected television production efficiencies, stronger sponsorship sales and heightened demand for our live events.”

Among the key highlights:

– Revenue was $265.6 million, an increase of 19% or $42.2 million, primarily due to an increase in Media segment revenue driven by the increased monetization of content and, to a lesser extent, an increase in Live Event segment revenue reflecting ticket sales from WrestleMania, the Company’s first ticketed live event since the first quarter 2020

– Operating income was $46.3 million, a decrease of 17% or $9.4 million, primarily driven by higher television and event-related production expense related to WWE ThunderDome and WrestleMania 37 and, to a lesser extent, increased personnel expense, including $8.1 million in severance and $3.2 million in higher compensation expense as employees returned from furlough

– Adjusted OIBDA1 was $68.1 million, a decrease of 7% or $5.4 million

– WWE announced its return to live event touring beginning July 16, 2021, with tickets for events on sale through the end of September 2021. The five events that aired through July 26 have been at or close to full capacity with current demand for future events at least on par with 2019

– Digital video views were a record 11.2 billion, an increase of 13%, and hours consumed were a record 394 million, an increase of 5%, across digital and social platforms

– Return of capital to shareholders totaled $27.9 million, including $18.8 million in share repurchases and $9.1 million in dividends paid

You can read the full press release at corporate.wwe.com.

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