Here is your news for February 1, 2020.
We're starting off with some big news from WWE's corporate side, as apparently an
impulse decision led to WWE stock plummeting and the company losing it's co-presidents.
PW Insider reports that Michelle Wilson and George Barrios recent departure was
down to quote "irreconcilable differences", and that the two apparently conflicted
with Vince McMahon's vision. The report says:
"PWInsider.com is told that an internal announcement released by the company to its
employees was even more direct, alluding to irreconcilable differences in the
company’s strategic priorities. Barrios and Wilson had one vision and Vince
McMahon had another. Vince’s vision will always win. He’s Vince McMahon. The end."
The atmosphere at WWE's Stamford HQ is reportedly very uncomfortable right now,
and Brad Shepard has said that Barrios and Wilson's departures may have been down
to their open opposition to the rebooted XFL.
It's no secret that the company is currently involved in a lawsuit as people are wanting
to see where the XFL money is coming from, and it'll be very interesting to see where
the WWE goes from here.
One thing we do know is that next week's 2019 fourth-quarter earnings will be a very
interesting read, and according to sources, the departure of Wilson and Barrios was an
impulse decision by the Boss.
WWE COO Paul 'Triple H' Levesque and Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon were
apparently left in the dark about this decision, and Dave Meltzer has said that Wilson
and Barrios are being used as scapegoats, ahead of the 2019 Q4 earnings, which are
said to be lower than expected.
This is a very complicated situation, and things will get more complicated after the
earnings report, as after the Co-Presidents left, WWE stock took a huge tumble, and
continued to fall past a 20% loss after trading ended.
This bad press is the last thing Vince McMahon needs, mere days away from the
relaunch of the XFL, and another thing the Boss doesn't need is investors wanting
answers about how the company is handling their money.
On December 26th, a lawsuit was filed that aims to prove whether WWE senior
officers kept WWE resources in the company, as a report by Bloomberg says:
“The lawsuit, filed Dec. 26 in Delaware Chancery Court by an Oklahoma firefighters
pension fund, claims there is “a credible basis to believe” that McMahon and other
WWE senior officers breached their duties to investors by diverting valuable resources to the XFL.”
Brad Shepard also noted that according to his sources, big investors are considering
pulling out, which seems to be in line with the writing on the wall.
One person who can tell you a lot about Wilson and Barrios' time in the company, is
Zach Linder, a former WWE digital producer, who shared a story about his time in the company.
In a tweet, Linder spoke about a parking issue at the Headquarters he worked at, and
how the company chose not to fix it, saying:
"I will never forget the WWE all- hands meeting when staff – frustrated with limited
parking at the office – asked about renovations to the garage, and George Barrios said
they had considered it, but decided to buy a new private plane instead. Anyway, I wish him well."
In layman's terms, the case in Delaware chancery court is seeking to find out how
McMahon is keeping his two companies separate, and the plaintiff is someone who
owns 107 shares of WWE stock, valued at over $6,500, according to Forbes.
The Oklahoma Firefighters Pensions and Retirement fund is seeking to discover how
WWE is being compensated for any owned trademarks, as there's a question whether
Vince had deals secured when he made his XFL-re-launch announcement in 2018.
Another topic of interest is whether McMahon has WWE's interests at heart when
making deals as part of Alpha Entertainment, the parent company of the XFL.
Among the list of questions for the Boss, people are trying to find out whether Alpha
paid a fair market value to WWE for the intellectual property of the original XFL, as if
they didn't, then this could be a serious breach of trading standards.
This case is just getting going, and it could be a long time until we hear anything, but
what we do know is that WWE's stock fell from $62 a share to a meagre $45, after the
departure of Wilson and Barrios.
Expect more news to come out about the case over the coming months and maybe
years, as Vince McMahon's transition from the squared circle to the gridiron, may see
the boss end up in a court room.
Now onto some sad news, as two-time WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart has revealed that
he has skin cancer.
In an Instagram post, the Hitman said that he has scheduled for the cancerous part of
his shoulder to be removed soon, and urged fans to get checked if they see any signs
of any kinds of cancer.
This, unfortunately, isn't the first time the Hitman has fought with the Big C, and we
here at Slat Rock would like to send our best to the excellence of Execution.
From one medical report to another now, as Santino Marella shocked a lot of people
when he appeared in this year's Women's Royal Rumble, but nearly didn't make it to the ring.
Appearing as the number 29 entrant Santina, Marella didn't eliminate anyone, and
revealed on the After the Bell podcast that he wasn't exactly feeling right. He said:
"The thing is, I got sick. Like two days before [the Rumble] I started feeling it coming
on. And the day before I had like a 15 hour day... But when you go through that
curtain, you are oblivious to anything that is wrong with you. That audience
completely electrifies you and saturates you with all this energy that’s incredible. But
yeah, it was a tough day.”
Given that Santino didn't appear on RAW the next night, it seems this was a one-off
appearance for the former Intercontinental Champion, who has plenty of
commitments outside of WWE to keep him busy.
Though Santino didn't eliminate anyone at this year's Rumble Pay Per View, one
person who did leave an impression was the returning Edge, who was assaulted the
next night on RAW by Randy Orton.
With a new contract, it's almost certain that Edge will battle the Viper at
WrestleMania, and this return may also lead to the return of Chrisitan, someone both
men know well.
On Twitter, Brad Sheprd commented that a source in WWE has said that Chrisitan
being involved in the storyline is a possibility, and that this may even lead to a match
for Captain Charisma, if he is medically cleared.
Though Edge had a memorable retirement from in-ring competition in 2011, Christian
quietly retired with little fanfare in 2014, but it looks like the leader of the Peeps may
have one more match after all.
Though everyone is focussed on WrestleMania 36 on April 5th, the road to the
granddaddy of them all does run through Riyadh, as WWE will host Super Showdown
in Saudi Arabia on February 27th.
At the show, the New Day will defend their SmackDown Tag Titles against the Miz and
John Morrison, after the dirt sheet hosts defeated the Revival, Lucha House Party and
Heavy Machinery on this week's SmackDown, in a number one contenders match.
It's been approximately a year since Miz last held gold in WWE, and over a decade
since Morrison was a champion in WWE, and both men will be hoping to break these
streaks later this month.
Speaking of SmackDown, this week's show recovered nicely from the Royal Rumble,
and three segments have already been announced for next week.
On the February 7th show, the Dirt Sheet will return with The Miz and Morrison,
whilst the Firefly Fun House will also return, hopefully to lay out some plans for the
Fiend at Super Showdown.
Daniel Bryan will also have a segment on the show, as fans will get to hear from the
former World Champion, following his brutal loss to the Fiend in their strap match at
the Royal Rumble.
More news from SmackDown now, as this week was a good show for Alexa Bliss and
Nikki Cross, who became the number one contender for the Women's Tag Team
Championships.
Defeating Fire and Desire, the win was a hard-fought affair for the pair, but Bliss didn't
have the best of luck exiting the ring, as she accidentally crotched herself on the ring apron.
The pint-sized powerhouse was able to see the funny side of things, as she took to
Twitter to joke that the apron got "right up there", and hopefully she will have better
luck when Bliss and Cross meet the Kabuki Warriors for the Tag Titles, sometime down the line.
This week's show also saw the WWE finally get around to a loser eats dog food match,
as Roman Reigns and King Corbin hoped to settle their beef.
After the stipulation was used at WWE Live events, it was only a matter of time before
it came to TV, and after the Usos and Roman defeat Corbin, Robert Roode and Dolph
Ziggler, the Big Dog made Corbin eat the slop, fit for a King Charles Spaniel.
This may be the end of the feud between the pair, which has been going on for
months, but there's no telling what WWE has planned on the road to WrestleMania.
Whilst last night was a terrible night for the King, the same can't be said for Braun
Strowman, who captured the Intercontinental Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura.
With this win, Strowman captures his first official singles title in WWE, after being a
RAW Tag Champion and the Greatest Royal Rumble winner, and the second man to
hold this new design of the historic title.
As for Nakamura, his Intercontinental title reign, much like his United States
championship reign, was lengthy, but lacklustre, so here's hoping the same doesn't
happen with the Monster Among Men.
One man who knows all about lengthy title reigns is John Cena, and though the 16-
time World Champion hasn't competed in over a year, he still remains a popular figure
in wrestling.
This week, Cena gave his review of the Royal Rumble to Sports Illustrated's Jimmy
Traina, and when asked, claimed that Brock Lesnar was the best in-ring performer of
all time. He said:
"I thought his performance at the Rumble was a clinic on how to establish yourself,
how to establish those around you, establish the championship, establish the
importance of one event. He did so in less than 30 minutes, and I certainly don’t have
the skill set to do that."
Whilst Cena may be a fan of the Beast, not everyone was pleased with Lesnar dumping
out a total 13 Superstars, before being eliminated by Drew McIntyre, whom he will
face at WrestleMania, with the WWE Championship on the line.
Now, it's been no secret that The Revival haven't exactly been pleased with their WWE
run for a while, and it seems that Dash and Dawson want out yet again.
According to Bodyslam.net, the pair reportedly turned down deals which would pay
each man $700,000, and the contracts of both men are set to expire in a few months.
On Twitter, Scott Dawson added fuel to the rumors that the pair is leaving, as he
tweeted out a quote about WWE not seeing Tag Team Wrestling, as a money-drawing
part of the company.
This tweet quickly got the attention of AEW star Joey Janela, who replied saying that
tag wrestling is seen better in the opposition company.
In January 2019, both Dash and Dawson requested their release from WWE, which
was turned down, but it seems like WWE may not have a choice but to let them go
this time, much to the delight of those in charge of AEW.
One man who knows all about making money in wrestling, as well as outside of the
ring, is The Rock, who is currently preparing for another electrifying performance, this Sunday.
This weekend, the Brahma Bull will be a part of Superbowl 54, and gave a teaser on
Instagram, showing himself walking out with a mic in his hand.
As someone who has conquered both the wrestling world and Hollywood, it looks like
The Great One is set to make an impact with Fox at the Superbowl, where the San
Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will compete this Sunday on FOX.
Back to SmackDown now, and a with Valentine's day being less than two weeks away,
Romance is in the air on team blue.
On the February 14th, Valentine's Day edition of SmackDown, Otis will finally have his
date with Mandy Rose, after asking the Golden goddess out on this week's show.
The budding relationship between the two has been building for a while, with Otis
even saving Rose from elimination during the Women's Royal Rumble, though this has
caused friction in Fire and Desire, as Otis inadvertantly cost Sonya Deville a match recently.
The Valentine's Day edition of SmackDown will take place at the Rogers Arena in
Vancouver, British Columbia, and it looks like the WWE Universe may be only a matter
of weeks away from the roster's latest power couple.
Now, we previously reported on WWE cutting down on the number of Live events in
the coming months, and though this will allow Superstars to spend more time with
families, some of the people not happy with the change is the Superstars themselves.
A report by the Wrestling Observer revealed that several stars are concerned about
the loss of earnings from competing less, and that these changes will mostly affect
those already earning less than the top stars. It said:
"There was a good amount of talent who had no idea about the cutback in house
shows until they got their February booking sheets and saw how much it was cut
down. While the top guys are making a lot of money these days, the rest of the crew
will have their income affected by working so many fewer dates."
Another downside of fewer house shows, is that these untelevised events is where
many lower-card stars are able to improvise with their characters, and Superstars are
reported to have more fun, when the show isn't being filmed.
Hopefully WWE will be able to come to some sort of agreement, as this is just the
latest in a string of bad news that has been following the company recently.
We're looking at WWE Backstage now, and CM Punk's next appearances has been
announced for the February 11th edition of the show.
On Twitter, Punk said he was already packing to appear on the show, as the Best in the
World will no doubt be his vocal self, as he reflects on the Royal Rumble, the road to
WrestleMania, and everything that has been happening behind the scenes.
Though Punk will be on the February 11th show, that doesn't mean that next week's
show on February 4th will be lacking in star power, as Drew McIntyre will make an
appearance this coming Tuesday
Since winning the Men's Royal Rumble, McIntyre has become one of the most popular
Superstars in WWE, so expect the Scottish Superstar to have plenty to say on
Backstage in just a few days.
We're taking a break from wrestling to go to the movies now, as next week will see the
release of the latest movie from DC Comics: Birds of Prey.
Telling the story of Harley Quinn and her team of heroes, including Black Canary,
Huntress, Renee Montoya and Cassandra Cain, early reviews of the film have been
good, and wrestling fans will have another reason to see it.
Newly released footage from outtakes in the shooting of the film have shown former
WWE Superstar Shad Gaspard sharing the screen with Robbie, as it looks like he plays
some sort of shirtless goon.
This isn't the only example of the worlds of DC Comics and WWE crossing over, as
Edge and Eve Torres have both had roles in the combined DC TV Universe, which
combines shows like Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl under one umbrella.
John Cena and The Rock also have upcoming roles in DC properties, with Cena playing
a role in the upcoming Suicide Squad 2 film, whilst the Brahma Bull is set to take on
the mantle of Black Adam, the DC anti-hero and sometimes adversary of Shazam.
We’ll have to see how big of a part the former Cryme Tyme member was able to snag
in this DC Cinematic Universe film, and it’s a pretty cool addition to his resume.
And finally today we've got news from WWE developmental branch, as the company
has announced five new Superstar signings.
Levi Muir, Candy Floss, Dani Luna and the tag team of Pretty Deadly have all signed
contracts with WWE, and all five new Superstars were recently at the WWE’s United
Kingdom Performance Center in North London.
A former powerlifter, Muir certainly has the strength to make it on the NXT UK roster,
whilst the international experience of Floss, who is still just 20-years old, means she
also brings a lot to the table.
Fans may best know Luna for working in promotions such as Progress, whilst the team
of Pretty Deadly, comprised of Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley have impressed at recent
WWE NXT UK events.
Time will tell how all five fare in the WWE, but with the NXT UK brand growing
stronger each year, the future looks bright for all of these new signings.