Here is your news for April 24 2020
We’re starting today with news from Vince McMahon and whilst the Boss has had a rough few
following the XFL going bankrupt and the
recent releases, McMahon presented the company first-quarter financial
report of 2020 this week, which was heavily affected by the ongoing global situation.
Speaking to investors, McMahon commented on how WWE has had to
change to adapt to the situation, saying:
“Now we are in the midst of unprecedented times, which require us to be
especially nimble, creative and efficient in order to ensure the long-term
value of WWE. We are taking precautions to protect the ******** and safety
of our performers and staff as we produce content in new ways, engage
fans with a much-needed diversion and operate effectively in this evolving environment."
Although the company has faced a lot of struggles recently, that didn't
stop this being a very profitable quarter for WWE, as they raked in
$291million over this past quarter, up 60% from the 2019 first quarter.
Net Income in the company reached $26.2 million, a stark increase on the
2019 Q1 report, which saw a huge loss of $8.4million.
As for the WWE Network, the company reported that there are currently
1.46 million paid subscribers, whilst WrestleMania 36 was touted as the
most social event in WWE history, up 57% in total interactions on
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter from last year's show.
Though WWE is currently unable to host live events and make any money
from ticket sales, or from merchandise at arenas, its clear that the
company is still making some serious dollar, meaning we can't help but
wonder whether these recent releases as part of cost- cutting measures
were entirely necessary.
During the financial report, Vince McMahon himself seemed to hint that
the cuts weren’t necessary, as when asked about the current global
situation and the recent releases, he said:
“we have no debt. We’re not looking to buy some crazy something, we’re
just making certain that we are being conservative… maybe overly cautious”
Whilst WWE’s conservatives moves may seem cold, it’s as WWE would say
for themselves ‘best for business’, as the company has made it clear that
they are going to continue creating content for as long as they can.
It’s been over a month since WWE held a show in front of fans, with the
last event ironically being a “fan appreciation night” in the performance
center, but that is something that McMahon is hoping to change.
On the call, the Chairman said how the company we’re hoping to bring
people back into the venue in some capacity, saying:
“Yes we’re looking at that. I don’t know what
it looks like. I don’t know if it’s six feet apart
and everyone is tested before hand. If anyone can know how to do it, it’s us.”
It’s unlikely that WWE will be allowed to let anyone in anytime soon , so
time will tell what the future holds for WWE and its fans who want to
attend shows live.
Vince continued by talking about WWE’s safety policies, and confirmed
that Talent are being sequestered in hotels during tapings, and that the
ropes and turnbuckles are being changed between matches.
Triple H added that they’ve been working with a company called Applied
Bio-Science, and said that a spray they are using to coat services lasts for 3-
4 months is helping them stay protected.
Vince finished these points by saying that they’ll take advantage of any
******** that comes out, as it’s clear that whilst closing WWE fully isn’t an
option, Vince and the company want to make sure that things are as safe
as possible for this who choose to compete.
Of course, all these measures are only useful as long as WWE is allowed to
film content, and whilst the company has been given the green light as an
essential business in Florida, they have plans if something changes.
When asked on the call about what would happen in Florida didn’t allow
them to tape anymore, McMahon gave an interesting reply, saying:
“We have a number of states that would welcome us”
The Chairman gave even more information on WWE’s procedures at
the moment, saying anyone entering the center must fill out a
weekly form, and can’t even come on the property if they have a *****.
It’s no secret that the WWE’s live event department was gutted
following last week’s releases, and not only does the company not
have any life events going on now, Vince McMahon isn’t sure they’ll
be many more anytime soon.
On the call, the CEO expressed doubt about whether the company
will do live events even after the current situation, saying:
“I don’t think we’re going to be in the live
event business like we were before.”
It’s hard to argue with the idea that people don’t want to fill up a 50,000
seat venue anytime soon, and McMahon said that the WWE’s future will
be more content oriented, and less focussed on live events.
Ever the shrewd businessman, McMahon kept quiet about how he feels
the entirety of the United States is doing, saying:
“"I don't want to comment on the future of the
country, but I just know we’re going to do well."
Ultimately, fans will have to wait and see how WWE fares, both during and
after the current situation, but one thing we know is that Vince McMahon
isn’t going to let an event like this stop him from making weekly wrestling content.
From the worrying real world to the video game world now, as last year’s
WWE 2K20 did not meet expectations, due to issues and glitches that
several patches still haven’t fixed.
Whilst it’s been previously reported that the future of the series was bleak,
this week’s first-quarter report confirmed that WWE 2K21 has officially
been cancelled.
Fans first speculated on their being no new game this year when no trailer
dropped during WrestleMania season, which usually takes place, and that
fact that last year’s instalment was critically panned didn’t help matters either.
This year will mark the first time since 1997 that fans haven’t had a home-
console WWE game, and on the official WWE 2K20 Twitter, it was revealed
that the future of the 2K franchise will be explained this coming Monday,
at 7am Pacific.
Whatever the news is, this is certainly an interesting time for fans and
gamers, as many are turning to video games to have a break from the very
real worrying situation going on at the moment.
We’re looking at the WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia now, as whilst the
company may not be able to travel overseas given the current situation,
this isn’t too bad for Vince McMahon.
On the financial report conference call, Vince was asked about how the
long-term-deal will be affected, as the deal calls for two shows in the
middle eastern nation a year, with the first already taking place in
February. McMahon responded by saying:
They are not too sure they’re gonna be able to give us the ok to
perform in November or December. They really want us to because
it represents a huge turn in what’s allowed, what’s not allowed, as far
as live events [are] concerned. But the good part about that is, if in
fact we don’t perform, we’ll just tack on that event on the backside of
our contract. So we’re not gonna lose the money
This agreement of extending the contract isn’t too different to how
McMahon handles the contracts of injured wrestlers, but once again, given
the big bucks WWE will be making this year, even if they don’t travel to
Saudi Arabia, it’s getting harder to argue that their recent cost-cutting
measures were necessary.
Back to the ring now, and it looks like Universal Champion Braun
Strowman’s title reign may already be in jeopardy.
On the latest Dropkick Diskussions, Tom Colohue said that WWE’s handling
of the monster has been a mixed bag, and whilst he’s seen as a draw, given
him being on the start of the second hour, the WWE doesn’t have faith in
him as a champion.
"They've shown faith in Braun Strowman, but there's a lack of depth at the
top of SmackDown. And that's why they've been bringing in John Cena and
Goldberg. Now without Roman Reigns, there aren't many people left that
Strowman can face, especially on the heel side. You've technically got
Daniel Bryan, but he's a face and he's involved in something else. So there
aren't that many opportunities. This, to me, looks like they're trying to
revert back to what their plan was in January - to put the title on Bray
Wyatt, again, and wait for Roman Reigns to be ready."
So, What's next for Braun Strowman?
This wouldn't be surprising, especially since Strowman appears to be a
placeholder at this point. We're not sure when Roman Reigns is going to
return, but the good news is that he indicated that the reason for him
missing WrestleMania this year wasn't due to ******** issues, but the fact
that his wife Galina Becker is expecting twins.
Wyatt might be the best option for WWE to go with right now, but there's
no doubt that Strowman deserves a decent run with the title, particularly
after all the missed opportunities in 2017 and 2018.
What SmackDown needs more than anything now is an injection of top
talent into the roster. Colohue was right in pointing out the lack of depth in
SmackDown's main event scene. If it centers around only three men
(Strowman, Wyatt, and Reigns), then it'll be problematic for WWE in the long run.
We’re taking a break from wrestling to look at the XFL now, as more
details have surfaced regarding Oliver Luck’s lawsuit against Vince
McMahon for Wrongful termination.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, it was reported that Luck was promised an
estimated 20-25 million dollars over five years, and that this money didn’t
depend on the league surviving.
What McMahon did next was very interesting, as he fired Luck the day
before the league closed, and ceased all communication with him, then
sent a letter explaining why Luck had been fired.
Another interesting twist is that though McMahon said he was putting in
$500million to keep the league going over three years, he only lost
$44million, not including the debt he now owes.
Meltzer also reported that McMahon loaned the XFL money himself, so
the company could make the last two payrolls before it was announced
that the league had fired everyone, and we’ll give more updates on this
lawsuit as it develops.
Back to the ring now for news from NXT, as this week’s show saw two
And finally today we have some news from SmackDown, and whilst Cesaro
has seemingly everything needed to be pushed to the moon in WWE,
including a great look, immense power and technical prowess, that hasn’t
quite worked out for him.
Instead, the Swiss Cyborg has spent the majority of his career in the mid-
card or tag team division, and according to former WWE producer Arn
Anderson, there are many higher-ups who don’t like Cesaro, and have
even banned some of his more impressive moves. He said:
He’s not a favorite guy, as you know, of the front office, for whatever
reason that is. They’re the only ones that know because everyone else
across the planet seems to think he’s a Superstar. But he continued to get
leaned on to stop doing all that stuff [impressive moves] as a heel. It was
just too flashy and all that stuff.”
After nearly eight years on the main roster, it doesn’t look like Cesaro will
ever receive that main-event push fans have been hoping for for years,
and many have been left wondering whether he’d do better in another
company, such as AEW.