MuscleAndFitness.com released a new article looking at the rigorous training regimen that 70-year-old WWE Chairman Vince McMahon maintains up to seven days a week to this day.
The article runs down the specific exercises that McMahon does, with comments from his trainer and workout partner Mike Monteforte.
“On the bent-over row he can do 315 for 10 reps,” says Mike Monteforte, McMahon’s trainer and workout partner. “He has unbelievable strength in his back.”
According to the article, McMahon rotates through a split of chest, shoulders, arms, legs and back workouts, noting that his back is his “strongest body part and favorite to train.”
After he’s done focusing on individual body parts, McMahon and Monteforte do a CrossFit-inspired workout that consists of battling rope slams, sled drags, sledgehammer swings and sprints. After that he does a circuit of ab exercises, which wraps up what generally amounts to a 90-minute workout session.
Roman Reigns’ WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be up for grabs in the 2016 Royal Rumble match. Vince McMahon announced the stipulation on RAW after Reigns attacked him once again en route to defeating Sheamus to retain.
This will be the first time ever that a reigning WWE Champion will put his title on the line in the Royal Rumble. Here are the 10 confirmed entrants:
Roman Reigns
Chris Jericho
Big Show
Bray Wyatt
Braun Strowman
Luke Harper
Erick Rowan
Dolph Ziggler
Curtis Axel
Ryback
Keeping checking back for the latest Royal Rumble updates and join us here on Sunday, January 24th for Live Coverage of the 2016 Royal Rumble.
Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon attended Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys game against the Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Of course, the venue will host WrestleMania 32 on Sunday, April 3rd.
Vince McMahon was shown on television sitting in the owner’s luxury box with Jerry Jones.
The arrest of Vince McMahon’s character on Raw last week for laying his hands on a detective from the New York City Police Department brought back memories of the time Stephanie McMahon was arrested on WWE’s flagship show.
In spring 2014, Stephanie threatened to fire Brie Bella if her injured husband, Daniel Bryan, did not relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Payback pay-per-view. This led Brie to quit WWE at the event before slapping Stephanie in the face. Stephanie got her revenge by putting Brie’s sister Nikki in several handicap matches in the ensuing weeks. Brie returned to WWE television the following month, appearing in the crowd on the July 21, 2014 episode of Raw to show her support for Nikki. She argued her way into a physical confrontation with Stephanie that saw her slapped and banned from ringside. Later in the show, plain-clothes detectives arrested Stephanie for aggravated battery at the urging of Brie.
While the arrest angles are quite similar, there is one major difference. WWE released a mug shot of Vince (through social media, and it was shown during Raw), but not of Stephanie. Kevin Eck, who was on WWE’s creative team at the time, explains in his latest column why there was no mug shot of her.
While tossing around ideas for the angle in a creative meeting, Eck suggested that a mug shot-style photo be taken of Stephanie and shown on television. Triple H, however, hated the idea.
Eck wrote, “Vince loved it. In fact, I think I may have gotten one of his “that’s good thinking” figurative pats on the back. However, when the creative team ran the angle by Triple H, he didn’t care for any of it, and he especially hated the mug shot idea.”
“His reasoning was that the faux mug shot of his wife would exist forever in cyberspace, and therefore if someone did a Google search on Stephanie and the photo popped up, people might think she had actually been arrested, which could be detrimental to her career as WWE’s Chief Brand Officer.”
Eck noted that Triple H stated his case to Vince, who nixed the proposal.
Former WWE Superstar MVP recently appeared as a guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast spoke about his friendship with Batista and how it has helped him throughout his career, Vince McMahon never believing Batista would leave WWE for acting and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his friendship with Batista and Batista helping him get a match-finish changed:
“We had been doing a television feud. It wasn’t a pay-per-view feud, but, every week, he and I were going through something, wrestling, and he had beaten me, like, two weeks in a row on TV. And the finish that day was he was going to beat me again. And I know my role. I’m a heel! He’s the money guy. He’s a star. That’s what I’m there for. I have no problem with that. Dave had a problem with it because he said, ‘why am I beating you again? This does nothing for you. This does nothing for me. This is pointless.’ His exact words [were], ‘you’re a f–king guy we can do something with. Why am I beating you again?’. This is what Dave said. I said, ‘f–k it, Dave. I’m working in the main event against you. I’m cool. That’s fine. I’m making that main event money. I’m getting the rub.’ He goes, ‘no, f–k that. It’s bulls–t. Lets go talk to Vince [McMahon].'” MVP continued, “Dave literally took me in to Vince and said, ‘Vince, it doesn’t make sense.’ That doesn’t happen very often in the world of professional wrestling. There aren’t that many guys that think that selflessly and see the picture in that way, so that’s the kind of guy he is.”
On he, Batista and Vince McMahon coming up with a different finish to the match:
“We came up with a finish where we’d fight outside the ring, he’d be kicking my ass outside the ring, and I’d be running away from him during the count, so as I dive into the ring, I win by count out. And I kind of slid out [of] the backside of the ring and I was still scared and I’m showing, ‘oh s–t’ and [the announcer says], ‘and the winner, by count out, MVP!’ and I get my swagger back and I was like, ‘yeah, that’s right! That’s right! I won!’ And that was the finish that we came up with. Dave did that.”
On Vince never really believing that Batista would leave WWE for acting:
“With [Batista’s] movie career, I remember the day he left and it was crazy because Muriel, the security guard, she walked him out and he was telling me, he goes, ‘Vince doesn’t think I’m leaving. He thinks I’m bulls–tting him. He doesn’t think I’m serious.'” MVP added, “[Batista] literally walked away from millions of dollars a year on the chance that he’d make it in Hollywood [and McMahon was saying,] ‘he’s not going to walk away from all this money.'”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on Vince McMahon’s WWE television return, more potential changes coming with SmackDown moving to USA Network, The Rock’s WrestleMania 32 announcement and more. Below are some highlights.
On Vince McMahon’s TV return and being the company’s best heel:
“Vince McMahon was the star of the broadcast . He’s the WWE’s best heel by far. He loves his role, makes it is own and isn’t playing the role of a villain. I thought it was smart booking that WWE promoted the next RAW main event of which is a WWE title match with McMahon as the special referee. How many times will the Montreal Screw Job be referenced between now and January 4th?
“McMahon’s return has been a spark for RAW whose TV ratings have been in the tank.”
On more changes coming to WWE SmackDown:
“Tonight is the final Smackdown TV taping for WWE this year and before Mauro Ranallo takes over as the lead Smackdown broadcaster when the show moves to the USA Network the first Thursday in January. I expect there to be more announcer tweaks as the new year progresses as well.”
On The Rock’s WrestleMania 32 announcement:
“Rock will be a part of WM32 in Texas but will he wrestle? In any event for the Rock to simply be committed to the April 3 event in Texas is HUGE.”
Following a wild opening segment that saw Vince McMahon get arrested for losing his cool with one of the police officers in the ring, the WWE Chairman managed to make bail and return in time to get the last laugh as the last RAW episode of 2015 faded to black on Monday night.
McMahon came out after a post-match angle in the RAW main event between the returning John Cena and WWE United States Champion Alberto Del Rio to announce a rematch between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and former champion Sheamus on next week’s RAW.
To make matters worse for Reigns, McMahon also announced that he will be serving as the special guest referee for their title showdown on what will be the first episode of WWE RAW in 2016. The show takes place next week from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
– WWE posted the following photos of Vince McMahon’s mug shot after the arrest angle that took place as part of the wild opening segment that saw McMahon leave in handcuffs for losing his cool with one of the police officers in the ring.
– Speaking of the arrest angle that kicked off the final RAW show of the year, one of the “officers” that took part in the segment was independent wrestling star Drew Gulak, who as noted recently, is rumored to be a WWE prospect.
As noted, just two weeks after his WWE television return on RAW, Vince McMahon has been officially announced for tonight’s RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and Roman Reigns is already sending subtle warnings to the WWE Chairman.
McMahon was added to the show, which faces heavy competition from the NFL this week due to the playoff implications in tonight’s Cincinnati Bengals vs. Denver Broncos Monday Night Football game. The show isn’t helped by the fact that only half of the roster is expected to be available, as the other half will be working the WWE live event scheduled for tonight in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Reigns took to social media to post the following comment on the announcement that McMahon will be appearing on the show again this week, advising the longtime owner of the company to remember what happened to him the last time he was on the show, referring to the “Superman Punch” he took from the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Two weeks after being Superman Punched by WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, Vince McMahon will make his return to Raw this Monday.
WWE.com announced in its Five-Point Preview for Raw that The Chairman will be on the show.
Breaking News: Mr. McMahon will return to Raw this Monday, WWE.com has learned.
After being Superman Punched by WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns two weeks ago, it’s safe to assume that The Chairman will have a lot on his mind.
– As he prepares to make his WWE return at the WWE live event in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, John Cena posted the following year-end message to fans on Twitter.
Wishing everyone a happy and safe rest of 2015. Reflect, rejoice, and regroup to make 2016 even better!!
Vince McMahon, Big Show, R-Truth and Alicia Fox made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to meet with some of the United States Troops on Friday night.
Below is a photo that was re-tweeted by Triple H last night, along with an earlier photo posted by Vince McMahon, which also appears to be from this week.
Footage of WWE’s trip to Afghanistan will likely air as part of this week’s WWE Tribute To The Troops special on the USA Network.
After being screwed once again at the WWE TLC pay-per-view on Sunday night, Roman Reigns received one final chance to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion on Monday night.
Thankfully, that’s all it took, or he’d be out of a job right now.
Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus on Monday night’s post-TLC edition of RAW in a match made by Vince McMahon that included a stipulation that would see Reigns “fired” from WWE if he lost.
McMahon made his return on RAW, interrupting a live match between R-Truth and Bo Dallas and simply telling them to get out of his ring. He then proceeded to address the Reigns attack of his son-in-law, Triple H, at TLC.
It was at this point that fans got to see some vintage “Mr. McMahon,” and it eventually led to Reigns coming to the ring and the two having a bit of an old Austin-McMahon type of RAW segment. Eventually, Reigns punked McMahon with old age jokes until he agreed to give him a title shot tonight.
For detailed WWE RAW results from Monday night, click here.
WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair took part in another “Ask Naitch” segment during a recent edition of his “WOOOOO! Nation”
On replacing Steve Austin in the match against Brock Lesnar on the July 1, 2002 edition of RAW after Austin walked out on WWE over the creative for the show:
“It was fun for everybody except me! Lesnar was twirling me around and I was going, ‘please be careful! Please be careful!’ Actually, I’ve played that match back. It was pretty good! Yeah, it’s not because I wasn’t afraid of him. I was scared to death of him. I’m 65 years old and I’m in there with this powerhouse, man! But, once again, another guy that was very careful with me. Thank you. And then I ended up wrestling him ten times, so it wasn’t bad at all. He never did anything, but you couldn’t tell me that walking down the aisle.”
On his longstanding beef with Shane Douglas:
“My take on Shane Douglas is should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. Never had to. Never will be. And [WOOOOO! Nation co-host Conrad Thompson], he does shoot on me. I don’t know why. I guess he blames me for his career. I guess he blames everybody. But every time I see him, he walks up and shakes my hand like nothing’s going on, so I win. And why waste one minute of negativity on someone like that?”
On if he thinks Vince McMahon would have come to work for WCW the way Eric Bischoff came to work for WWE if the Monday Night Wars were won by the other side:
“I never, ever thought that Vince would lose because I could see from behind the scenes the internal problems everyday and you can’t have individuals arrive at the building at six o’clock for a show that starts live at eight [o’clock] and then change the whole show around. That went on [in WCW] for a year and a half.” Flair continued, “Vince’s ego would never let him come down [to WCW] and run a Turner company. Never. Never. And he wouldn’t have. He never would have gone out of business. He would have figured a way out. Even if it got close, he may have had to do something with Rupert Murdoch or something, but he and [Ted] Turner didn’t care for each other. And I just don’t think you’d ever see Vince McMahon come to Atlanta [Georgia] to run that company.”
The folks at WhatCulture.com recently caught up with part-time WWE Superstar and Fozzy front man Chris Jericho. Below are some of the highlights from the interview, which you can watch in full via the YouTube player embedded above.
On when he finally decided to speak up against WWE creative and how to approach Vince McMahon in doing so:
“I’d say probably 2008 is when I could really start figuring out what I wanted to do and having a lot of say in my storylines because before that, you really just do what you’re told and if you don’t like it, you can f–k off and that’s basically it. And anybody that tells you differently is not telling you the truth because it really is, until you earn the respect of Vince McMahon, you don’t have any leverage.” Jericho continued, “it’s not so much standing up and being a rebel and saying, ‘this is what I’m going to do’, it’s more like, ‘okay, well, how can I make this as good as possible?’ And then, once you do that long enough, making everything good, then you earn respect. And then you can start kind of interjecting and saying, ‘well, here [are] my ideas. Here’s what I want to do.'”
On disagreeing with Batista and Mick Foley about WWE’s PG-Era being “too restrictive” on today’s talent:
“If you’re a good performer, you make it good no matter what the rules are. I don’t have to go out there and say, ‘son of a b—h’ and get color and dump outhouses full of s–t on Vince McMahon to get over. I don’t have to do that. And I think [Batista and Mick Foley] might feel that way, but I think they’re both great performers and they can make it work as well. Once again, your job as a performer is to take what you’re given and make it work and sometimes there are certain restrictions that you have and sometimes those restrictions aren’t there, but it really doesn’t matter. You still have to make it work. That’s your job.”
On if he prefers to work as a babyface or a heel:
“I’ve won the title six times as a heel and never once as a babyface, so I guess that tells you which I like better, maybe, if I had to really guess. But both are fun and both are very difficult to do. You really have to be able to understand what it is that the fans are looking for in either case.”
On what makes a true heel in the wrestling business:
“Being a heel, a true heel, you’ve really got to commit to it and a lot of guys don’t now. To be a real, true heel, is a hard thing and you really have to be into it.” Jericho added, “if you want to be a real heel, merchandise? What’s that? Magazines? Why would I ever want to be in a magazine or on a website feature as a heel? No interviews allowed. Nothing allowed because if I’m a real heel, I don’t want to talk to anybody.”
Former WWE Superstar Brad Maddox recently spoke with F4WOnline.com about his WWE release and being frustrated while in the company. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On if using the word ‘prick’ in a dark match promo got him fired:
“It was because of that…That particular night was a bad decision on my behalf…I didn’t think anything of it, but Vince wasn’t happy about that. I don’t know if it’s a generational word that maybe used to be worse than it is now….I didn’t really think it through, but I should have been more careful in that moment because I knew Vince was watching. I tend to take chances at stupid times.”
On being frustrated in WWE:
“It has been a long couple of years for me, working on angles and ideas trying to get (back) in. I’ve always wanted to wrestle…Absolutely, I wanted to wrestle from the get go…I could have talked to Vince more than I did, rather than sitting around in catering hoping that the writers were coming up with something for me.”
On practicing promos with Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon:
“I’ve got to do some cool stuff. Going over promos with Vince in his office, or the bathroom of his office – for some reason! – with him and Daniel Bryan and Stephanie.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated the Q&A section of his official website, JRsBarBQ.com, answering questions from fans about topics such as the
On if WWE acknowledges the negative feedback they get from former WWE Superstars such as Bret Hart, Mick Foley and Vince Russo:
“Would it bother you if you were in their shoes and actually read the endless stream of negativity directed their way? I don’t have any idea if they actually immerse themselves in this info.”
On whether or not Goldust should get a run as WWE Champion before he retires:
“I’m a Goldust fan and respect him and his work greatly but I’d not have any desire for him to be WWE Champion at this stage of his game.”
On whether or not people in WWE read his website and if he’d be willing to do a WWE Network “Table For 3” episode with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler:
“Whether someone in WWE reads my work or listens to my podcasts isn’t a concern to me. However, I’d be happy to work on any WWE projects if they fit my schedule and I thought that I’d enjoy doing them. Me working on projects in WWE isn’t an issue with me but is strictly a WWE decision.”
On not being a fan of scripted promos in WWE:
“I am not a fan of long, scripted promos in today’s world of pro wrestling. They are predictable and come off as nothing more than time fillers moe often than not.
WWE Superstar and Wyatt Family member Luke Harper recently appeared as a guest on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast and spoke about getting yelled at by Vince McMahon, what he feels should be done with The Wyatt Family and more.
During the interview, The Wyatt Family member spoke about getting yelled at by Vince McMahon the night he won the I-C title due to not using a Southern accent in his pre-match promo.
“I won the Intercontinental title, I beat Ziggler for it. Yeah, I thought it was great. I thought everything was good. [I] came to the back and Vince yelled at me because I didn’t speak in a southern accent, so [it] kind of put a damper on things for a little bit.” Harper added, “I had to say, ‘I’m a team player’ [in the prematch promo], but I had to say it southern because that was his vision of me and it might still be. I hope not. Yes, and our vision of it is our people come from everywhere. [Bray Wyatt’s] message is nationwide. He’s from the bayou, but us, his followers, aren’t necessarily. We kind of pick and choose where he got us.”
He also spoke about his feeling that he didn’t get a fair run with the Intercontinental Title.
“I was pissed because I thought I didn’t get a fair run with [the title], really. I hadn’t really done anything with it.” Harper continued, “I thought ‘this is bulls–t.’ So I remember talking to Dolph and I said, ‘hey man, I want to do something special here because I’m pissed.’ It was in Cleveland [Ohio], his hometown, so it was, like, again, a perfect storm of stuff.”
Harper also revealed some advice he received from John Cena after he lost the I-C strap.
“I was told by one of the top guys in the [professional wrestling] business, John Cena, that if you have an at bat and you hit a double or something or you hit a single, you’ll get another at bat, so that [has] always been my mindset now. When I get the ball, do what I can with it. Control what I can control. And if I can go out there and do something special, then, that makes them happy and it makes everybody happy, I’ll get another at bat.”
Finally, Harper touched on what he feels should be done with the Wyatt Family faction, agreeing with Jericho that they should add a “creepy girl” to the mix.
“New blood. I’ve always said that, I thought with a cult like that, we should always have kind of [new members joining] and [grow] bigger.” Harper continued, “I think [adding a woman] gives us more diverse things and more ways to go instead of just saying, ‘hey, we’re going to beat you up.'”
Vince McMahon recently publicly commented on SmackDown moving cable homes to the USA Network on January 7th. In an article on WWE.com, the WWE Chairman and CEO had this to say about the show’s switch to USA Network:
“WWE is proud to have SmackDown join Raw as part of our expanded partnership with USA Network,” McMahon said. “The combination of the No. 1 cable network and two ratings juggernauts provides a destination for our viewers and an extraordinary platform for our partners.”
WWE is looking to stack the USA Network premiere of SmackDown with big names, and has already booked John Cena for tapings in Laredo, TX. So far, the lineup for the 1/5 taping in Laredo also features Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Sheamus, Bray Wyatt, Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, and Luke Harper.
ECW Original Raven recently appeared as a guest on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast and spoke about some issues he had during his early run in WWE, as well as his thoughts on a potential return to the company. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On what he felt the best match at WrestleMania 19 was:
“[Jericho] and Michaels had a phenomenal match, but I still thought that the best match, no offense, on the card was Hulk and Vince because Vince’s facials and they didn’t have 20 minutes of false finishes. I think they had just a comeback and go home, right? But I remember there was this one spot where Vince picked something up and he peers. Like, his head pops up and he’s peering over across the ring and the camera picks it up and I’m like, ‘oh, what a shot!'”
On leaving WWE during his run as Johnny Polo in the 1990s due to the company’s sex policy:
“Nobody leaves this company on their own terms. I did, so that was heat. Then, there [were] some other things that I can’t get into that were heat and so it was a whole confluence of things that were partially my fault, definitely partially my fault, and just circumstances. They made the policy that talent couldn’t sleep with the office people. I was proud of that.”
On getting heat with Vince McMahon for partying with Shane McMahon:
“They used to call me Johnny Port Chester Polo because Stamford [Connecticut], they rolled the sidewalks up at one o’clock, but Port Chester [New York] was open till, like, five in the morning. It’s, like, five miles away. My downfall was I’d bring Shane out with me, Shane McMahon. And the boys are like, ‘ah, you’re sucking up to him’ and I’m like, ‘no, I’m not! I’m burying myself’ because he’d call his dad, and on commentary, I’d call his dad ‘Vic’ instead of ‘Vince’, so he’d go, ‘hey, Vic,’ which is just horrible! He’d say, ‘hey, Vic, it’s,’ and it would be, like, four in the morning, ‘I’m just going to sleep at Johnny Polo’s tonight’ and so I just buried myself.”
On the possibility of a WWE return:
“Honestly, if I could go back, if I could go there now, I don’t think I would because I’d rather be semi-retired. If I had an opportunity to come in, which I don’t, but if I had an opportunity to come in and do what I wanted to do the way I wanted to do it, I’d take that in a heartbeat. But the odds of me ever getting that and the odds of them ever hiring me are [astronomically small], but the odds of me getting to do what I want to do are beyond [astronomically small].”
This past week, I was looking at some clippings in old newsletters and found one of a Vince McMahon interview from some point in 1985 (it wasn’t dated) in the Boston Globe’s weekend magazine. Most of it was pretty run of the mill (his background in promoting, the appeal of pro wrestling, and so on), but there was one question and answer that stood out as especially interesting as well as relevant in 2015….
For those of you who need a text version for screen readers and the like:
Are you putting more effort into women’s wrestling these days?
“Yes. I see it as a growth area. I think that women’s wrestling was an area that was overlooked for many years, and it wasn’t until recently that a very attractive element, physically, began to enter ladies’ wrestling. And with the advent of Cyndi Lauper and Wendi Richter who now, there will be a deluge of female athletes who are nice looking as well. Not that all women wrestlers have to be nice-looking, because they won’t be. Just as all male wrestlers aren’t handsome devils.”
Richter’s last ever WWF match was not long after this, which was 30 years ago this past week. Having said she wanted time to read a new contract before signing it, a screwjob was pulled on her to take the Women’s Championship without her cooperation:
Sean Waltman is no stranger to dealing with the size issue in the wrestling industry, particularly in WWE. The former nWo and D-X member recently spoke to WrestleTalk TV about Daniel Bryan’s recent issues with size in WWE.
“I went through a lot of the same things. It’s a personal thing. You can’t fault somebody for having perfect personal preference. What did it for Vince was a big guy with a great physique, clean cut. He’s had to let this thing go, but Vince hates tattoos.”
Waltman went on to use Bret Hart as an example of someone who by boxing and MMA standards would be considered a heavyweight, but in WWE, was one of the smaller champions in the history of the company.
“It kind of reminds me of Bret a little bit. Bret was always Vince’s standby guy. When he went with Lex Luger, that didn’t pan out. Part of it wasn’t Lex’s fault. When you put a guy in red, white and blue and put him on a bus and say ‘this is our guy!’ No it’s not! That always fell back on Bret. I would resent that, like I’m the second choice all the time. Good ol’ standy Bret will always be there. Kind of like Daniel, cause Daniel is smaller. They’re forced to listen to the people.”
– In the “holiday spirit” department, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, along with longtime top WWE Superstar and the star of the new FOX reality show “American Grit,” John Cena, posted the following Thanksgiving messages on Twitter today.
Today is the day to truly remember what we’re thankful for in life. Happy Thanksgiving to the WWE Universe.
– In keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, WWE.com is running a poll today asking fans which WWE Superstar they are the most thankful for. The options include Roman Reigns, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Charlotte, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, The New Day, Dolph Ziggler, Paige, The Dudley Boyz, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, The Usos, Kane, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Ryback, Natalya and “Other.” Leading the pack with 17 percent is The Undertaker, followed by Roman Reigns (14%), Dean Ambrose (12%), John Cena (10%), Cesaro (7%) and The New Day (7%).
– SEScoops.com would like to wish everyone a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!
In what some might consider to be an odd pairing, jewelry store chain Kay Jewelers is now an official sponsor of WWE.
This is out of the ordinary for WWE, as high dollar sponsors traditionally don’t go for pro wrestling. This is why you typically don’t see many car commercials on WWE. Dodge recently bought ads on WWE shows that performed so poorly they were owed “make good spots” to make up for it. As previously reported, an advertising representative who worked with Dodge was quoted as saying “I do understand [that WWE has changed to a PG-rated image], but WWE doesn’t make sense for Dodge Dart. WWE is very trashy and not appropriate for our target.”
WWE switched to a PG-rated format in 2008 in hopes of winning better advertisers after earning only $7.4 million in ad revenue that year. By 2013, WWE’s sponsorship income had rose to $20 million.
The upcoming WWE TLC pay-per-view is being sponsored by Kay Jewelers as well as Toys R Us. In addition to TV ads, the companies are also being promoted across WWE’s social media pages.