I’m a massive fan of the WWE Network. I’ve been a subscriber since day one, I truly believe it’s a great value, and do not think fans should cancel the service. However, if fans are truly dissatisfied with the current state of the WWE, there is absolutely no better way to voice displeasure with the company than by cancelling service.
Since becoming a publicly traded company, the WWE has had to deal with an entity that is even more demanding and impatient than hardcore fans: shareholders. Indeed, the company could be on top of the world one day and hit rock bottom the next. With the WWE Network, the company has essentially put all (or at least most) of its eggs in a single basket.
By offering the company’s monthly pay-per-view for only $9.99, the WWE has decimated their former pay-per-view model. Who’s going to buy those $14.99 DVDs anymore when you can see the content a week later (along with thousands of hours of additional content) for only $9.99? In short, aside from television deals for Raw and Smackdown, merchandise sales, and live shows, the WWE Network, for all intents and purposes, is now the WWE.
The WWE fans are not idiots. Following the disastrous Royal Rumble, you didn’t see #DontWatchRawTomorrow or #StopBuyingWWEMerch trending. No, instead they went right for the heart with #CancelWWENetwork. It was trending during and after Sunday’s Rumble, and I can imagine Vince McMahon thought he was hallucinating when he woke up the next morning and saw it was still a top trend.
Needless to say, the WWE went into full-on damage control mode yesterday, releasing the latest WWE Network subscriber numbers a few weeks early. It was originally announced that the company would release the latest numbers on February 12th as part of the latest earnings report.
They clearly wanted to stop the bleeding, announcing they have surpassed one million Network subscribers. The news was well received too, as WWE stock shot up almost 20 percent on Tuesday following the announcement.
– Sunday’s episode of WWE Total Divas, which went up against the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, drew 1.207 million viewers. This is down from the previous week’s 1.253 million viewers.
– As of last week, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has not been contacted about being involved with the new season of WWE Tough Enough on the USA Network. Former coach Bill DeMott and other NXT coaches from the WWE Performance Center will be part on the show.
– WWE Diva Lana will be appearing in an upcoming issue of Maxim Magazine. She posted these teaser photos on Instagram:
Former WCW announcer Mark Madden was interviewed by Jim Ross on this week’s Ross Report podcast over at PodcastOne.com.
Madden says WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has been willing to work more dates for WWE, but the company hasn’t been willing to pay him beyond his ‘limited appearance’ deal. He said:
“One thing I would do if I were WWE is…I don’t know what it would take to keep Brock but i’d pay him. I know for a fact that Brock would be working more now if they just pay him his ‘per date.’ They’ve been hesitant to do that. He’s told them that he would be available for more work if they just paid him the same per date. They need to do that because I think what the Royal Rumble showed is he is by far their most over performer….maybe right there with Daniel Bryan.”
Madden also stated what we’ve seen pretty clearly over the past 18 months – that WWE management truly does not believe Daniel Bryan can be the face of the company.
“I look at Daniel Bryan and I look at the way he was treated at the Rumble (on Sunday) and really barely being in there, and no matter how many times the fans cheer him and chant ‘YES’…they (WWE) don’t believe in him. That’s obvious and i’ve heard that from the inside as well. WWE management doesn’t believe in him and they’ve convinced themselves that Bryan isn’t what’s over..that the ‘YES’ chant is what’s over and that’s obviously insane.”
Other topics discussed include Sunday’s Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns, TNA , New Japan, ROH, Lucha Underground, CM Punk in UFC, Super Bowl predictions, and much more. You can listen below:
WWE Superstar quit WWE over the weekend after working for the company since 2008.
Gabriel requested his release because he got fed up with his role, which saw him wrestling mostly on Superstars, Main Event and in NXT. It’s believed that being pulled from the Royal Rumble match was the last straw from the South African native.
Gabriel has wanted a larger role with WWE for a long time and he plans to wrestle on the independent scene under the name PJ Black.
Comment below and tell us if you think WWE could have gotten more out of Justin Gabriel.
– NXT star Kevin Owens’ merchandise is selling “extremely well” according to a report at PWInsider.com. Owens’ first WWE t-shirt first went on sale last month.
WWE officials are very happy with how the former Kevin Steen has brought a significant fan base with him to NXT, something a lot of NXT talents haven’t done.
– Episodes of Saturday Night’s Main Event are being added to the WWE Network this week.
– Triple H has surpassed 2 million Twitter followers this week.
– Diamond Dallas page posted video of himself with Scott Hall and Jake Roberts in Park City, Utah this past weekend for the premiere of Jake’s new documentary, “The Resurrection Of Jake The Snake” at the Sundance Film Festival.
THE WORLD TV TITLE WILL BE DEFENDED IN LAS VEGAS Alberto El Patrón vs Jay Lethal – Live on PPV – Sun, March 1st
Rumors of a dream match have swirled on social media but now it is official. The legendary, 2nd generation Mexican wrestling star, Alberto El Patrón, will challenge Jay Lethal for the Ring of Honor World Television Championship live on Pay Per View at our 13th Anniversary event.
Upon his arrival in ROH, Alberto El Patrón wanted an opportunity to speak with his fans on ROH Television. Alberto proclaimed that he was finally among the best wrestlers on the planet and he wanted a shot at the most important title in professional wrestling, the ROH World Championship. Lethal and his manager, Truth Martini took major offense to this and Lethal interrupted Alberto, telling him he should have done his homework before coming to class. Lethal made it known that he is the measuring stick for the best professional wrestler on the planet and that his championship was the most important.
This meeting of two very different athletes in the prime of their careers is something that does not happen very often. This rivalry has taken on a personal twist as Lethal feels Alberto overlooked him as a champion. El Patrón believes Lethal has challenged his manhood, something for which Alberto will not stand.
Can Lethal add Alberto El Patrón to the record list of contenders he has defeated? Can Alberto El Patrón make history by ending the historic reign of Lethal? To find out you will either need to be live in Las Vegas or on Pay per View!
– WWE Diva Emma recently took part in a Q&A on her official website. During the Q&A session, Emma noted that her favorite matches of all time were her NXT matches against fellow WWE Diva Paige. Emma also noted that her WrestleMania dream opponent would be Paige. You can check out more from Emma’s Q&A at TenilleDashwood.com.
– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features a Royal Rumble review from Jericho and a new interview with WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett, is now online. The official description for the show reads as follows:
TIJ – EP112 – Royal Rumble analysis & WWE IC Champ Wade Barrett
“Y2J’s protege, Wade Barrett’s in the hot seat, but at least he’s not getting big-leagued like the first time they met! That story, details on their NXT pairing, and the tale of his WWE tryout all covered. You’ll also hear the evolution of Bad News Barrett, and the Patrick Swayze movie that gave Wade his name! Plus, Y2J and Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter break down last Sunday’s Royal Rumble! And yes, Chris is throwing his support behind Roman Reigns & you’re gonna have to listen to find out why!”
After being pulled from Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, part-time wrestler and NXT announcer Alex Riley continues to express frustration with WWE on social media.
Using the hashtag #RileyWalks, Riley has been re-tweeting messages from fans about how he should be in the Rumble and about how WWE should push him. Here are some of his recent tweets, which began during Monday’s WWE RAW:
Former WWE Superstar Evan Bourne recently spoke to Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald about his car wreck in 2012, whether or not he has hard feelings over his WWE release and more.
Below are highlights of the interview.
On working a NXT event in 2013, which helped him get cleared to return after breaking his foot in a 2012 car wreck: “They wanted to make sure I was completely healthy, which basically required a dry run. I was able to wrestle a fun match and got good reviews on it and got cleared to wrestle. From that point on I was focused on my rehab. I still didn’t feel as comfortable as I should on my foot. I felt like I was a step behind. I did in-ring work after that. I worked out at the NXT school in Orlando. That basically led me to the next year.”
On his thoughts about his WWE release: “WWE was pretty wonderful to me because I was able to rehab my foot 100 percent before I was released. So they released the healthiest, the best, physically and mentally fit Matt into the world of wrestling. They were able to make it so during the time I couldn’t have worked at all they would take care of me. They were providing a great support system. Then after I got fired I was healthy and ready to rock. Honestly, I missed wrestling. So if they weren’t going to use me or have anything for me, it was the nice thing to let me go. Sure, I would have loved to stay, but change is always a good thing.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
– Rapper Riff Raff continues his training to become a WWE Superstar. Several weeks ago, it was revealed that WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan was helping him train for his dream job. Vice’s Munchies blog published a video chronicling his journey. Riff Raff remains adamant that this is not a joke and he plans to be in WWE one day.
– Former WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix will be honored with the Frank Gotch Award during the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame weekend in July. She commented:
“The Frank Gotch Award has particular meaning for me because my dream was for my career to have a positive influence on those around me. I am looking forward to coming to Waterloo to experience the Hall of Fame ceremony in person, spend time with old friend and meet new ones.”
– Former WWE personality Ricardo Rodriguez captured the WWC Puerto Rican Championship this past weekend.
TNA announced on Tuesday that the company will be returning home to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida for a series of TV and PPV tapings in February, March and April.
Here’s the official press reelase:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Jan. 27, 2015) – TNA Entertainment announced today it is heading home to Universal Studios in Orlando for a series of Pay-Per-View, international television and IMPACT WRESTLING tapings in February, March and April.
TNA Superstars and some very special guests will be in Orlando February 12 – 16 for a fun-filled and action-packed five-day extravaganza of events filmed at Universal Studios Back Lot Stage 20.
Cameras will be rolling for nine events over the five-day run, with eight special One Night Only Pay-Per-Views and Xplosion matches.
The schedule is as follows:
Doors to Universal Studios Stage 20 will open one hour before the listed show time. Entry to the venue, which is free of charge, is first come first seated.
In March and April, IMPACT WRESTLING, as seen on Destination America Fridays at 9/8c, will return to Orlando for a combined seven dates of television tapings. The schedule is as follows:
For more information visit impactwrestling.com and click on Tickets. And, be sure to follow IMPACT WRESTLING on twitter @impactwrestling and TNA President Dixie Carter @TNADixie for breaking news and special announcements.
– WWE is reportedly no longer branding WrestleMania with numbers, at least with the logo. Instead, symbols are being used to distinguish each event.
It was announced last week that WrestleMania will come to AT&T Stadium in Texas on April 3, 2016 and “32” is nowhere to be seen on the logo. It instead features a star to represent the “Lone Star State.” On top of that, the logo for this year’s WrestleMania features a “Play” button to represent Silicon Valley’s Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
This is according to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, who said on Wrestling Observer Radio today that the events are no longer being branded with numbers “because Vince thinks it makes it sound too old.”
– E! has released this preview clip of the next all-new episode of Total Divas, which airs two weeks from now on Sunday, Feb. 8. It is centered on Alicia Fox and Cameron, who dislike each other.
The synopsis of the episode is as follows: “The future of the Bella Twins is in question after Brie’s admission that she doesn’t use protection; Nattie is forced to work with TJ even though they are separated; and Ariane makes a disastrous attempt to find out why exactly Alicia hates her.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r96QwmWlVXM
– Bray Wyatt granted his first wish to Jovanni of Marty Lyons Foundation before the Royal Rumble on Sunday. The official WWE website has published a photo gallery from their meeting.
Monday’s “snowed in” episode of WWE RAW from company headquarters drew a 3.28 rating with 4.420 million viewers, up significantly from the previous week, which did a 3.02 rating and 4.1 million viewers.
The show featured replays of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match from Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, as well as the 30-man Royal Rumble match. There were also exclusive sit-down interviews with Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, as well as the first face-to-face confrontation between WrestleMania opponents Lesnar and Reigns.
The following are highlights of the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On WWE Royal Rumble criticism: “The negativity that I’m receiving on our Q&A’s and on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding the Royal Rumble is getting silly. If someone asks my take on the WWE Royal Rumble and how it ended and I don’t agree exactly with their opinion then I’m a WWE sycophant. I am stating facts from my 40 years in the business and not knee jerking my way into being incoherent. It’s mighty easy to book pro wrestling storylines after the fact. As easy as it is to make a wrong turn it’s just as easy to get back on the right path. I learned years ago that there are multiple ways to do the right thing while compiling wrestling storylines and it’s just as easy if not easier to pick virtually any idea a part. To say that wrestling creative is subjective might be the understatement of the year.”
On TNA Impact Wrestling: “Good to hear that TNA is improving their TV audience as all wrestling fans should be pulling for ALL groups to do well. The issue there is that Destination America is in a smaller amount of homes than, say, Spike TV, and the chances of @ImpactWrestling to exceed their Spike numbers will be extremely challenging. Nonetheless, the brand has several talents that like and at one point in my career with who I would have loved to have worked. Check these folks out on Friday nights, which actually is another challenge as Friday nights are tough as most TV producers will tell you.”
On the build to WrestleMania 31: “In wrestle speak, having 60 days to build to a card such as WM31 is a lifetime in today’s grappling world. I’m motivated to go along for the ride WWE will provide us and see, at the end of the day, how all this will work out building to the biggest event of the year and one, ironically, that many promotions and wrestling entrepreneurs will gravitate to to earn monies off the fans that WM31 will attract….and that includes yours truly as well.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Earlier today, WWE announced that the WWE Network has surpassed 1 million active subscribers, a huge milestone for the service that got off to a rocky start last year.
Despite the #CancelWWENetwork hashtag that was trending for over 24 hours, Sunday and Monday turned out to huge days for subscriptions. The 1 million subscriber mark was hit either Monday or this morning.
It’s unknown exactly how many people unsubscribed as part of the Royal Rumble protest.
WWE officials were said to be very happy with the Network sign-ups on Monday.
TNA’s audience for Impact Wrestling on Destination America continues to climb, with the show drawing over half a million viewers for the first time on Destination America.
WWE stock is up over 20% today as of this rating following the announcement that the WWE Network has reached 1 million subscribers after just 11 months.
Currently above $12.50 per share, this is the highest that WWE stock has been valued since October 2014.
In WWE’s press release issued earlier today regarding the Network hitting 1 million subscribers, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said:
“We’re thrilled that we’ve surpassed the 1 million subscriber milestone less than a year after launching WWE Network and in advance of WrestleMania, our biggest event of the year on March 29. We remain focused on delivering an outstanding value proposition for ours fans by adding new content and new features in the coming year.”
WWE rumored to be offering another free month of the Network in February in hopes of retaining new subscribers in March for WrestleMania 31.
It’s official – after just 11 months, the WWE Network has surpassed 1 million subscribers. WWE is reporting a 37% increase in subscribers since the end of the 3rd quarter – a sign that November’s #FreeFreeFree campaign was a massive success.
Here’s the official press release:
WWE® NETWORK HITS 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS
STAMFORD, Conn., January 27, 2015 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that WWE Network has surpassed 1 million subscribers just 11 months after launch, making it the fastest-growing digital subscription service. These results represent a 37 percent increase (24 percent domestically) in subscribers since last reported[1] at the end of third quarter 2014, driven primarily by a successful free November promotion, the launch of the service in the UK and significant additions for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.
“We’re thrilled that we’ve surpassed the 1 million subscriber milestone less than a year after launching WWE Network and in advance of WrestleMania, our biggest event of the year on March 29,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “We remain focused on delivering an outstanding value proposition for ours fans by adding new content and new features in the coming year.”
Viewer data continues to indicate that, on average, close to 90 percent of subscribers access WWE Network at least once per week, 99 percent access WWE Network at least once per month and 86 percent of subscribers are satisfied with WWE Network.
Like other digital subscription services, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, fans are able to sign up for WWE Network online by going to WWE.com and can watch WWE Network on their TVs through connected devices such as Sony Playstation 3, Sony Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku streaming devices as well as Smart TVs including Sony and Samsung. The U.S. English language version of WWE Network is available direct to consumers in more than 170 countries and territories and recently launched in the UK and Ireland.
WWE Network’s one-of-a-kind programming includes all 12 WWE pay-per-view events LIVE at no additional charge plus groundbreaking original series, reality shows, documentaries, classic matches, exclusive coverage of special events and more than 2,000 titles in its video-on-demand library.
Average fourth quarter and year-end WWE Network numbers will be reported in the normal course as a part of our earnings release on February 12.
– The official WWE website has a new article up promoting the new movie “Seventh Son,” which features a look at WWE Superstars and WWE Divas picking their dream tag-team partners and team names. In the article, Fandango chose Razor Ramon to form the Smooth Criminals, Paige chose Bull Nakano to form the Bull-Ravens, Curtis Axel chose Mr. Perfect to form Reflections of Perfection, Seth Rollins chose Andre the Giant to form The Unbeatables, Dean Ambrose chose Stan Hansen to form The Outlaw Sheriffs, Cesaro chose Lou Thesz to form Old School Strength, The Miz chose The Ultimate Warrior to form the Ultimately Awesome Ones, Titus O’Neil chose Ron Simmons to form the Brothers of Gator State and Jack Swagger chose Danny Hodge to form The Big Hoss & The Hodge. You can check out the complete feature at WWE.com.
– The first official theme for this year’s WrestleMania 31 event is the song “Rise” by David Guetta and Skylar Grey. The song is a bonus track off of the deluxe edition of David Guetta’s album “Listen.”
– The Rock was in New York City recently to assist “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon with the launch of his new Spike TV show called “Lip Synch Battle.” The show is scheduled to premiere on Spike TV on April 2nd.
– The February 12th NXT television taping at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida are officially sold out. The 2/12 taping will be the night after the next NXT Takeover live special on the WWE Network. Less than 200 tickets remain for the NXT TV taping scheduled for February 18th.
– Larry King will be interviewing Diamond Dallas Page, Jake Roberts and Scott Hall in Utah this week to promote the new Roberts documentary. The interview is scheduled to air in a future episode of the Ora.tv “Larry King Now” show.
– JBL tweeted the following photo out on Tuesday, which shows Vince McMahon producing the rooftop weather segment from Monday’s RAW.
From last nights weather forecast, that's Vince McMahon to the left producing shot. He set up shot in cold with crew. pic.twitter.com/48IWMowv0m
Bubba Ray Dudley was interviewed by the official WWE website about his surprise appearance in Sunday’s 30-man Royal Rumble match in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
When asked how the appearance came bout, Dudley said, “WWE called me about a month ago and said, ‘Would you like an opportunity in the Royal Rumble?'” And I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I showed up here today and they said, ‘We want you to be a surprise.’ I thought that was great, and I hid all day.”
Dudley also spoke about the chances of returning full-time either as a singles competitor or as one-half of the Dudley Boys tag-team alongside his longtime partner, D-Von Dudley.
“If the WWE Universe and the WWE higher-ups want to see us here, then yes, hopefully there is a future,” said Dudley. “I really say it’s up to the fans. By the reaction tonight, I’d say the fans would love to see us back. And hopefully we can do it.”
– Many fans sent in word that they could hear Roman Reigns being fed lines last night on RAW during his sit-down interview with Michael Cole and later in the show when he went face to face with Brock Lesnar.
If you watch the clips from RAW that WWE uploaded to Youtube (View Here), there are portions where the audio feed cuts out, which is when the lines he was being fed got picked up by the microphones.
– With Daniel Bryan apparently shut out of the top matches at WrestleMania, Dolph Ziggler has offered to tear the house down with the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion.