Category: WWE

Multiple WWE Stars Are Willing To Leave The Company If Sold To Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.

Vince McMahon’s shocking return to WWE last week has led to a major development in the company and its future.

McMahon returned to the WWE Board of Directors alongside George Barrios and Michelle Wilson to help negotiate the new TV deals for Raw and SmackDown and explore a potential company sale.

On Tuesday, Stephanie McMahon resigned from WWE as Chairwoman and co-CEO. Vince was named Executive Chairman of the Board, while Nick Khan is the CEO.

Rumors started coming out on Tuesday night about a potential WWE sale, with WWE agreeing in principle to sell to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.

“Contrary to reports stating otherwise last night, there is no deal in place at this precise moment for WWE to be sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund or any entity, sources say. The organization is still exploring all options, I’m told. Developing. Worth noting that the original tweet stating it was a done deal has since been deleted.”

The tweet by Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN.com about WWE being sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which was highlighted below, has been deleted.

Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful has provided some updates through Fightful Select and Twitter.

People on the writing team and in production have not been informed of a sale. There has been incredible concern among staff and talent about the future, regardless of Vince being back in control.

Sean Ross Sapp noted this morning that “there have been multiple wrestlers who have told me they’d leave WWE if the company ends up being Saudi Arabia-led.”

While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer also confirmed a lot of nervousness about uncertainty in the company for talent.

Sources: WrestlingNews.co and PWMania

Backstage Clarification On Mia Yim’s New Ring Name

WWE has been flip-flopping on what to call Mia Yim since her return to the company months ago. WWE announcers have continued to stumble with apparent uncertainty over if she’s Mia Yim or Michin or both. This week on “Raw,” Corey Graves repeatedly referred to The OC member as Mia Yim. Yet, during her entrance, “Michin” was plastered across the Titantron while the ringside announcer referred to her as “Michin Mia Yim.” Bayley, her opponent, only referred to her as “Michin.”

But, according to Fightful, despite any on-screen confusion, Michin is still officially only listed by her singular nickname backstage.

The wrestler, whose real name is Stephanie Lee, has gone by a handful of in-ring names throughout her career, including “Jade” when she worked with IMPACT Wrestling throughout the mid-2010s. “Mia Yim” was the first name Lee used when she began her pro wrestling career at 18 years old, and it’s also the name she used during her initial run with WWE from 2018 until late-2021. Lee continued going by “Mia Yim” when she went back to the independents, including appearances with Impact.

Karl Anderson began referring to Lee as “Michin” when she returned to WWE in mid-November and joined The O.C. She told backstage interviewer Cathy Kelley it meant “crazy” in Korean. “It’s kind of a nickname,” she said. WWE then changed her name to “Michin” on its website, before then changing it back. The head-spinning continues, though, as Lee’s name remains listed as “Mia Yim” online, which runs contrary to her internal listing.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Stephanie McMahon Resigns As WWE CEO & Chairwoman of WWE

Stephanie McMahon has resigned as CEO and Chairwoman of WWE.

Less than a week after Vince McMahon came out of retirement and reinstated himself to WWE’s Board of Directors, his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, has stepped down as the co-CEO of the company.

Stephanie announced her decision via Twitter on Tuesday evening. In the statement, she recalled returning to WWE last year to serve as the co-CEO alongside Nick Khan, which she described as a “privilege.” However, now that her father has returned to guide the company in collaboration with Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, she believes that WWE is in a perfect position to deliver “unparalleled creative content and drive maximum value for shareholders.”

In the statement, McMahon acknowledges her previous leave of absence, which she was undertaking before Vince stepped down as CEO amid his sexual misconduct and hush money scandals. However, it seems that Stephanie’s latest absence will be more permanent, as she announced her “official resignation” and revealed that she’ll be “cheering on WWE from the other side of the business.”

Following Stephanie’s announcement, WWE put out a press release that included thoughts from her father. “First, I’d like to express my full support for Stephanie’s personal decision. I’ll forever be grateful that she offered to step in during my absence and I’m truly proud of the job she did co-leading WWE,” Vince said. “Stephanie has always been the ultimate ambassador for our company, and her decades of contributions have left an immeasurable impact on our brand.”

Per WWE’s press release, Khan will serve as the company’s CEO moving forward. According to Vince, Khan’s “business acumen and mastery of the media industry have helped catapult our business to record revenue and profitability,” and he looks forward to working with him as WWE explores “strategic alternatives” during this critical juncture in the company’s history.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

https://twitter.com/StephMcMahon/status/1612956533695938560

WWE NXT New Year’s Evil Preview 1/10/2023

The WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL will host the 2023 NXT New Year’s Evil episode, which will air live tonight on the USA Network.

New Year’s Evil will also include the reveal of a vignette that has been airing for weeks, as seen below. This vignette is thought to be for Tiffany Stratton’s return.

For tonight’s NXT special, WWE has announced the following lineup:

NXT Title Match
Grayson Waller vs. Bron Breakker (c)

20-Woman #1 Contender Battle Royal
Gigi Dolin, Jacy Jayne, Ivy Nile, Tatum Paxley, Sol Ruca, Cora Jade, Zoey Stark, Nikkita Lyons, Fallon Henley, Kiana James, Elektra Lopez, Wendy Choo, Ivy Nile, Thea Hail, Lyra Valkyria, Valentina Feroz, Lash Legend, Amari Miller, Jakara Jackson, Dani Palmer
Winner faces NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez at Vengeance Day.

Gauntlet Match
Pretty Deadly vs. 3 teams TBA
If they win, Pretty Deadly will earn a title shot at NXT Tag Team Champions The New Day.

Donovan Dijak vs. Tony D’Angelo
Winner will earn a shot at NXT North American Champion Wes Lee, who will be on commentary.

The Creed Brothers (Julius Creed, Brutus Creed) vs. Indus Sher (Veer Mahaan, Sanga)

Charlie Dempsey vs. Hank Walker

Chelsea Green Returning To WWE, Deal Signed ‘Quite Some Time’ Ago, Update On Matt Cardona And Kylie Rae

Many fans have speculated that Chelsea Green was returning to WWE after finishing up with Impact Wrestling late last year following reports that WWE was interested in bringing her back. 

Fightful Select has updates on the contract status of three wrestlers, including Green.

Per the report, Green has been under contract with WWE “for quite some time and is still awaiting creative.”

Another indication that Green was headed to WWE was her recently shutting down her Onlyfans page. Major Pod also had to limit the new Chelsea Green merchandise production due to her signing.

With multiple reports that Green was being brought back, there was speculation that her husband, Matt Cardona, could be on his way back to the company. WWE sources have indicated that “Cardona is not signed, but that we shouldn’t rule anything out for the future.”

Finally, Kylie Rae is reportedly still a free agent despite being brought in for a tryout and appearing on WWE Main Event, which led to speculation that she’d been signed.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

Johnny Gargano Out Of Action With Shoulder Injury

Johnny Gargano is out with an injury.

The self-proclaimed “Johnny Wrestling” took to Twitter to announce that he suffered a shoulder sprain during a recent WWE live event in Toronto, Canada.

On Monday night’s episode of RAW, the commentary team announced that Gargano is out with a Grade 2 AC sprain. Gargano wrote,

“I injured my shoulder at a live event in Toronto (ironic?), and the medical team is going to protect me from myself for a bit.. but you better believe I’m going to do EVERYTHING I can to get back in that ring so I can be that guy you all know I can be. Just let me in that Rumble!”

https://twitter.com/JohnnyGargano/status/1612632529772724227

Source: ewrestlingnews

WWE Plans To Sell The Company Before Starting New Television Deal Negotiations

On Friday morning, WWE confirmed that Vince McMahon, Michelle Wilson, and George Barrios were back on WWE’s Board of Directors.

McMahon made it clear that he would not approve any media rights deals or a sale of the company without him on the Board of Directors. WWE has hired JPMorgan to lead potential sale talks. 

During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that the company plans to sell before they get into new television deal talks. 

WWE’s TV deals with NBC Universal and FOX expire in September 2024, with talks about a new deal starting later this year. 

Source: ewrestlingnews

WWE RAW Preview 1/9/2023

Tonight’s WWE RAW at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL on the USA Network at 8/7C.

WrestleMania 39 Breaks All-Time WrestleMania Gate Record

WWE issued the following: 

WWE today announced that WrestleMania Goes Hollywood (WrestleMania 39), which will originate from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles across two nights, broke the company’s all-time gate record for any WrestleMania, despite having yet to announce a single match. The previous record announced was $17.3 million in 2016 at WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The record gate comes on the heels of unprecedented ticket sales demand for WWE in 2022, in which it produced the highest-grossing gates of all time for Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and WWE Extreme Rules. WWE Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, which marked WWE’s first major stadium show in the U.K. in 30 years, was the highest-grossing U.K. event in company history.

Additionally, WWE set in-market gate records for SmackDown and Raw events in more than 20 markets for the year, including the Dec. 30 SmackDown, which took place in Tampa, Fla., and heralded the return of  John Cena.

WrestleMania 39 streams live on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.

Some People In WWE ‘Want Out’ If Vince McMahon Is Back

The news about Vince McMahon’s return is a huge story for the wrestling business and it’s anyone’s guess what this means for WWE’s future. What is known for sure is that there’s a lot of people in the company who are shocked at the recent events.

PWInsider reported today that his return “pretty much shocked everyone we have spoken with.” The feeling is that other than people in his inner circle, this took most people in the company by surprise and there are a lot of people wondering what is next.

https://89efbf0cfb2ec1d5a71bafa1f491c323.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

The morale in the company is said to have been much better since McMahon stepped down last July. PWInsider added that they heard from some who said that “they want out” if McMahon returns. Well, he is back so we’ll see what happens but one has to wonder if some people will be let go as Triple H has brought back a lot of names that were let go when Vince was in charge.

Mike Johnson at PWInsider wrote, “Vince is exercising ultimate control. Everyone in WWE is still processing that he did.”

An “all hands on deck” company meeting is scheduled for 3 pm eastern today so we may know more about Vince’s plans by then.

Source: WrestlingNews.co