Month: April 2019

Dean Malenko Leaves WWE

Backstage agent and former wrestler Dean Malenko has quit WWE.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso, Malenko recently quit after many years in the company as a backstage agent. The report from SI implies the former WWE and WCW star would be a good fit behind the scenes for upstart promotion All Elite Wrestling, though there’s no indication if that’s even an option.

Pro Wrestling Sheet has confirmed the report with sources, though additional details on the reason for his exit have not been made available at this time.

According to PWInsider, Malenko might have been let go. “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, “Abyss” Chris Parks and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett have been hired in recent months as producers. PWInsider noted that with the newer hires, many of the older producers are being “cycled on and off the road.” There has reportedly been some concern that this is the start of some of the older producers being replaced

Malenko has already been announced for Starrcast II at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas during Memorial Day weekend. Malenko will be appearing on Friday from 1-4 p.m.

The B-Team Officially Moved To SmackDown Live

Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel — aka The B-Team — are now part of the SmackDown Live roster.

The roster change was reflected yesterday afternoon on their WWE.com profiles following a report saying they had been quietly moved as part of the Superstar Shake-Up.

The duo formerly known as The Miztourage changed their name in 2018 after The Miz was drafted to SmackDown Live. B-Team eventually defeated Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy to capture the RAW Tag Team titles, but their reign only lasted 50 days. They’ve been used sparingly ever since.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

 

Rhea Ripley Releases Apology For Using Homophobic Slur On Twitch Stream

Former NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley is apologizing for using a homophobic slur while streaming on Twitch.

In the clip, seen at the bottom of this post, Ripley was tipped $15 by someone watching who wanted to be insulted in Australian slang. Rhea responded by calling the person a “stupid motherf*cking f*ggot.”

Shortly after, the 22-year-old wrestler released the following apology:

Demi Bennett speaking here: I know a lot of you are upset with me after tonight, but I just wanted to publically say that I am sorry. My brain to mouth filter came down for a second and I forgot that some words are a big no no to a lot of people. I am a firm believer that everyone should be treated equally, whether that be race or sexual orientation. With that said, I just wanted to say how dearly sorry I am to everyone that was offended by my choice of words tonight.

The stream was hosted by NXT Superstar Brennan Williams, but has since been removed. You can find his channel at this link.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Vince McMahon Says They Have A New Team To Fix WWE Live Event Business, A Look At The Decline

As we previously reported, WWE announced today that revenue for the first quarter of 2019 was $182.4 million, down from $187.7 million in the prior year quarter. WWE reported a net loss of $8.4 million, as compared to a profit of $14.8 million in the same quarter last year.

Live event revenues declined 15% in Q1 from the same period in 2015 to $26.2 million. It was noted that the decline was due to the company staging nine fewer events, as well as a drop in average attendance for events in North America. The average attendance for the live events for Q1 2019 was 4,800, an 11% drop from 5,400 in the prior year quarter. The average ticket price was $52.38, which was essentially unchanged from the same period last year. There were no live main roster events held outside of North America in the first quarter, nor were there during the same period last year.

Merchandise was also down 11% in Q1 2019. The revenue from merchandise sold at live events dropped 17% from $23.5 million to $20.8 million. Merchandise sales online saw an even bigger decline, as WWEShop.com revenue was down 21.4% from $8.4 million in the first quarter last year to $6.6 million this past quarter.

Vince McMahon first addressed WWE’s live event woes last October, saying that the company was aware of the issue and were planning on fixing it.

“Live events always has been a barometer as to how well we’re doing,” McMahon said, “Notwithstanding that, we throw around this word ‘re-imagine’ a lot. But we know what’s wrong with our live events, and it’s somewhat of a– I don’t necessarily want to call it [an] antiquated presentation but we know to fix things. If something’s wrong and you don’t know how to fix things, you’re in trouble. We know how to fix that, and we’ll be re-imagining those live events very, very shortly. We’ll see a pretty good turnaround I think in short order.”

McMahon stated on today’s earnings call that the company has a new team working on live events that will turn things around.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Original Plans For Daniel Bryan And Kofi Kingston, WWE Turning Kevin Owens Heel

WWE officials originally had plans for Daniel Bryan to wrestle WWE Champion Kofi Kingston at the May 19 Money In the Bank pay-per-view, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. This would have been the rematch for their WrestleMania 35 title change, but as we’ve noted, Bryan suffered some sort of injury at WrestleMania and the nature of the injury is being closely guarded by the company.

There’s no word on when Bryan might be back in the ring or if they will pick back up on the Bryan vs. Kofi storyline, but Bryan’s injury is the why they turned Kevin Owens heel on SmackDown this week. As noted, Owens turned on Kofi and Xavier Woods after spending a week as an honorary member of The New Day due to Big E’s injury. The quick turn by Owens surprised a lot of fans, but Meltzer noted that WWE decided on the Owens heel turn a few days after WrestleMania 35 when Bryan was put on the shelf.

WWE went with Owens vs. Kofi after considering Randy Orton and Rowan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. They also talked about bringing Drew McIntyre or Baron Corbin from RAW to feud with Kofi, or have WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe stay on the blue brand for the feud. They ultimately went with Owens.

WWE aired babyfaces vignettes for Owens that featured his son back in February and the plan was for Owens to return to work as a babyface, not for him to return and then turn heel. The original plan was for Owens to return as a “guy next door” who ate junk food, had the same problems as everyone else, and had kids, but could beat people up, according to the Observer. Owens was even given the Stone Cold Stunner as a finisher to help with the babyface gimmick. It was noted that WWE tested the Stunner out with RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at live events, before giving it to Owens.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Big Changes Coming To The WWE Network This Year

WWE has been working on the introduction of a new WWE Network launch that will take place later this year.

The new platform, which WWE partnered with the Endeavor streaming company on, was referred to as a “re-launch” of the Network at one point during today’s Q1 earnings call with WWE executives. WWE Co-President George Barrios noted that their team has been working on the new platform for over a year, and they are very excited for it to be released.

Barrios said the new platform will introduce new features that fans have been asking for, and they believe it will help with the growth of the Network. The new platform will develop over the next few years and they are excited about what it will grow into.

Barrios would not confirm which quarter the re-launch will happen in, but he did say it will take place in 2019.

WWE officials have been talking about introducing a tiered pricing version of the Network for a while now. It was noted earlier this year in the 2018 Q4 earnings call that they were “developing the next iteration” of the Network. There’s no word yet on details of the new platform or possible tiered plans, but WWE issued a survey in 2018 that gauged interest on a potential premium tier of the Network, which would offer “more content, features, and perks” for $15 per month.

Wrestling Inc. has details on the updated WWE Network subscriber countdown and breakdown at this link.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Extending Luke Harper’s Contract Until Early 2020

It looks like Luke Harper won’t be leaving WWE any time soon.

As was speculated, WWE is adding another 6 months to Harper’s contract to make up for the time he missed for wrist surgery, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Harper’s contract was to end in November of this year, but WWE has added to it because it was “frozen” while he was on the shelf.

We noted before how Harper took to Twitter on April 16 to announce that he had requested his release. He had previously tweeted about being concerned or unhappy with his position in WWE going into the WrestleMania 35 Axxess events, where he wrestled Dominik Dijakovic for the Worlds Collide tapings. That match aired last week on the WWE Network, Harper’s first WWE TV match since last summer.

It was believed that WWE could add to Harper’s contract to make up for the time he missed when he was injured, and according to the Observer, that is what has happened. There has been obvious speculation on Harper going to All Elite Wrestling once he’s a free agent and he is good friends with AEW’s Vice President of Business Strategy, Chris Harrington.

Harper would be able to leave WWE around WrestleMania 36 time next year.

For those who missed it, below is Harper’s original statement from last Tuesday:

“As of this evening, I have requested a release from WWE. The past 6 years have been a simply, amazing journey around the world and back with lifelong friends and family. I am proud of it all and proud to say I shared the ring with my co workers.This decision, as difficult as it was, feels right for myself and WWE. My goal in the future is to continue to grow as a performer and person and continue to make my family proud.

Thank you. From the top to the bottom of WWE. Thank you to the fans for your undying support. Thank you everyone.”

https://twitter.com/LukeHarperWWE/status/1118246927999676416

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Interested In Signing Joey Ryan, But Likely Going To AEW

WWE officials have had talks with Joey Ryan about coming to work in their developmental system.

Ryan was not given an official WWE offer as of earlier in the week, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but he was contacted after the company got word that he was a free agent when he was let out of his Lucha Underground contract. Ryan was asked if he would be willing to move to Orlando, wrestle in WWE NXT for a few years, and then move into a coaching position.

The Observer notes that Ryan is expected to end up with All Elite Wrestling, but he’s not currently under contract with them. Ryan currently owns a home in Los Angeles and earns far more money working the indies than he would with an average NXT salary. The Observer adds that Ryan would have absolutely taken WWE’s offer if he was 29 years old, but at 39 he’s probably not interested in taking a pay cut to start with WWE, or anyone else offering far less than what he’s already making.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tommaso Ciampa Has Resumed Training Following Neck Surgery

It’s only been a little over a month since Tommaso Ciampa underwent neck surgery, but the former NXT champ has already resumed training.

Ciampa shared footage of his workout on Wednesday and wrote:

Day 48 post op cervical fusion. I am still at a 5 pound max on most lifts. Thanks to @tarahalaby for this burner. Use constant tension squeezing the ball against the wall with a neutral spine. 20 reps overhead, 20 reps lateral raise, 20 reps front raise. Great for recruiting stabilization muscles throughout the traps and neck.

As we previously reported, Tommaso had to undergo anterior cervical fusion surgery in March.

Watch the workout video below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwpwlNmngk4/?utm_source=ig_embed

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE Changing The Viking Raiders’ Name Again?

WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders were referred to as The Viking Warriors in the latest WWE Fan Council survey, seen below.

There’s no word yet on if this is just a typo or if WWE has plans to change their name once again. Ivar and Erik won a non-title match on last night’s NXT episode and were still being called The Viking Raiders.

As noted, The Raiders were brought to RAW last week in the 2019 WWE Superstar Shakeup and given a new name – The Viking Experience. WWE quietly changed the name this week, likely due to the negative fan reaction to the original name change, and they are now being called The Viking Raiders. Their tag team finishing move is now called The Viking Experience. It was reported that Vince McMahon did not like The War Raiders name, and wanted a new name. At one point the team was scheduled to be called The Berzerkers.

It’s possible that this is just a typo, but we will keep you updated on any other potential name changes.

https://twitter.com/HeelByNatureYT/status/1121138053333098502

Source: Wrestling Inc.