Tag: WWE

Stephanie McMahon Announces Leave Of Absence From WWE

In a shocking turn of events, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon announced yesterday that she is stepping away from WWE for the foreseeable future. McMahon released a statement on Twitter announcing the move, while also signaling she would eventually return to her post.

“As of tomorrow, I am taking a leave of absence from the majority of my responsibilities at WWE,” McMahon tweeted. “WWE is a lifelong legacy for me and I look forward to returning to the company that I love after taking this time to focus on my family.”

McMahon gave no reason for her leave of absence at this time, nor did she provide a timetable for her eventual return. It is unknown at this time who will fill McMahon’s role as CBO during her absence.

Stephanie McMahon began her business career in WWE as an Accountant Executive before becoming WWE’s head writer in 2000; she would eventually be promoted to the position of Senior Vice President of Creative Writing in 2006 and then later Executive Vice President of Creative in 2007. She would continue in that role until being promoted to Chief Brand Officer in 2013, which she held until this week.

McMahon’s husband, WWE legend and Executive Vice President for Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H was forced to retire from wrestling and cut down his workload after he suffered a serious cardiac event last year. Whether Triple H’s health issues played a part in McMahon’s decision today is unclear. The couple has three daughters together, one of whom has already begun training for wrestling.

UPDATE:

Dave Meltzer reports that Stephanie’s leave of absence was absolutely her choice and the decision to step away from WWE for a while had been made some time ago. This is not something Stephanie decided to do yesterday nor does it sound like she was forced or pressured to relieve her duties.

Although Stephanie was contemplating taking a break for some time, it was also noted that virtually no one within WWE knew about Stephanie’s impending exit except for a few who remained tight-lipped until Stephanie released the info on Twitter. This echos reports from yesterday about who within WWE knew this was coming.

In Stephanie’s tweet, she mentioned that she was taking time away to focus on her family. Although that is a big part of the reason for her departure, it was also stated that there is likely more to it and the few people who knew weren’t saying much except that some of the basic reasons being given are not accurate.

As far as what Stephanie’s decision means for the future of WWE, at this point, there’s only speculation.

The newsletter also confirmed what Wrestlenomics reported last night, that WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan will be taking over most of Stephanie’s duties with immediate effect. Furthermore, all those who previously reported to Stephanie will now be reporting to Khan.

Stephanie McMahon has been the public face of WWE for nearly two decades. Besides being the CBO, she is a member of the WWE’s Board of Directors and aside from Vince McMahon, she remains the only original McMahon family member actively working for the company. Stephanie also owns 2.5 percent of the WWE stock which is valued around $116 million.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Details On Why WWE Won’t Fire Sasha Banks Or Naomi [Report]

A new report explains why we shouldn’t expect WWE to fire Sasha Banks or Naomi. Both talents walked out of this week’s episode of Raw.

WWE reportedly isn’t planning to fire Sasha Banks or Naomi despite their decision to walk out of Monday Night Raw together this week.

As previously noted, Banks and Naomi walked out of this week’s Raw taping due to unhappiness over the show’s main event plans.. WWE posted a statement on the matter, claiming that the two placed the Women’s Tag Team Championships on the desk in John Laurinaitis’ office. The statement added that Banks and Naomi “claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions” before departing with suitcases in hand.

It’s easy to speculate that WWE will simply release one or both talents from their current contracts, but that apparently won’t be the case.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Ringside News), Dave Meltzer explained that WWE won’t release Banks and/or Naomi with the obvious reason that they don’t want AEW landing either star. Meltzer also brought up the infamous title exchange incident between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, noting that The Queen wasn’t fired despite her actions

“If it was another time and another place, it’s very possible that they would have been fired, but it’s this time and this place,” Meltzer explained. “I remember when the Charlotte Flair thing happened with Becky Lynch and I was talking to people there and it was kind of, like, if it was another time and another place, yeah, they would have fired Charlotte Flair for what she did on live TV screwing up the angle on purpose. But it’s, like, do you want to send her to AEW? No. And essentially nothing happened and they don’t want to send either of them to AEW. Then you’ve got the whole Naomi married to Jimmy Uso…It’s just a waiting game to see what happens next.”

Source: TheSportster

The Latest On Why Naomi And Sasha Banks Walked Out Of WWE RAW

 A new report is providing insight as to why the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions made their decision to walk out of WWE Monday Night RAW.

Early yesterday morning, PWInsider revealed that several sources had told them that the original plan for Banks and Naomi on RAW, a six-pack challenge for the right to face Bianca Belair for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship at Hell in a Cell, would have seen Naomi pin Sasha Banks to win the match and receive the title shot.

Furthermore, Banks and Naomi were to have been featured in several segments building to them facing off in the match. Post-main-event, the partners would have celebrated Naomi’s victory.

Sources say Naomi would go on to lose to Belair at Hell in a Cell. Though not confirmed, it was also noted that some sources believed that Sasha Banks would go on to face WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at the same event, with Banks also losing.

It was also noted that this led to concerns from Banks and Naomi regarding creativity over the WWE Women’s Tag Titles, and later in the afternoon, an alternative idea was pitched that would have seen Banks and Naomi lose a short tag match to set up their next challenges. While PWInsider couldn’t confirm it 100%, they noted one source told them the planned opponents were Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H., who were at one point also scheduled for the six-pack challenge.

The report goes on to say that Sasha Banks and Naomi were told before RAW by producer Molly Holly that WWE was going forward with plans for the six-pack challenge. This then led to Banks and Naomi informing WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis that they were leaving, giving him the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships in the process. The report echos WWE’s statement regarding the matter during Monday Night RAW last night.

From there, it was said that Vince McMahon was informed of Banks and Naomi’s departure either shortly before or shortly after RAW began. A backstage vignette between Becky Lynch and Adam Pearce setting up Asuka and Lynch as the main event was pitched on the spot, with McMahon approving of it. One source suggested it was Lynch that came up with the idea for the segment.

Finally, those backstage at WWE apparently did not believe Naomi or Sasha Banks took issue with the finish to the six-pack challenge, but rather the duo’s creative going forward as the Women’s Tag Team Champions.

It should be noted that PWInsider’s report seems to confirm a Twitter thread from user @Addidas_Head88 from last night regarding the situation. The thread stated that Banks and Naomi had been upset with WWE for some time due to the promotion’s handling of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, which the duo won at WrestleMania 38.

As of this time, neither Naomi nor Sasha Banks has commented on their walkout or WWE’s statement regarding their walkout.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Files New Argument Against MLW Antitrust Lawsuit

WWE filed another argument for a court to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit brought against the company by Major League Wrestling (MLW), according to a report by PWInsider.

World Wrestling Entertainment filed its first motion to dismiss the lawsuit in March, and MLW argued against the motion in April. In response, this latest filing by WWE argues that MLW has failed to provide any evidence that WWE has “monopoly power” over the professional wrestling industry. It also states the allegation that WWE interfered with MLW’s contract negotiations is not supported by facts.

An excerpt from WWE’s court filing reads:

“First, MLW’s monopolization claim(s) remain unviable. MLW has not and cannot plead the core elements of a monopolization claim: (1) a relevant product market, (2) monopoly power, (3) anticompetitive conduct, and (4) antitrust injury. Confronted with WWE’s motion to dismiss and the deficiencies of its own Complaint, MLW now tries to reframe its Complaint through its opposition (Opp.), asserting that WWE’s exclusive contracts with Fox and NBCUniversal foreclose MLW from the “market” by cutting off its access to key distributors or purchasers. However, MLW’s complaint is silent on (1) WWE’s use of exclusive contracts, (2) whether these exclusive contracts substantially foreclose the proposed market, or (3) the existence of “key” networks, cable, and streaming services that control access to this proposed marketplace.

MLW originally filed its lawsuit in January, alleging WWE’s “ongoing attempts to undermine competition in and monopolize the professional wrestling market by interfering with MLW’s contracts and business prospects.” Part of WWE’s most recent argument against MLW’s monopoly claim is that WWE is just one of a vast amount of programming options available to its broadcast partners:

“There is no allegation, nor could there be, that all networks, cable, and streaming services derive 83%, 8.3%, or 0.83% of their revenue from WWE content. NBCUniversal and Fox, combined, only purchase three WWE television programs out of the presumably hundreds (if not thousands) of programs that their networks air per week. Critically, it is never alleged that, if the WWE were to withhold its product, the television networks would stop broadcasting or “go dark.” Instead, and logically, they would fill that “dark time” with alternative programming over whose production WWE has no control. The notion that WWE has monopoly power over some of the largest companies on earth is an economic absurdity, is not supported by allegations in the Complaint, and could never be supported by good faith allegations.”

WWE also argued against MLW’s “cost barrier” claims by comparing the company to All Elite Wrestling (AEW):

Specifically, the Complaint alleged that MLW and AEW both entered the market and produced programming that networks, cable, and streaming services could purchase.

Further, the Complaint alleged that AEW, within a year of entering, sold its broadcast rights for tens of millions of dollars and captured an average 2020 rating of 0.344 compared to WWE Raw’s 0.5075 in the key 18-to-49 demographic. MLW’s own Complaint thus depicts a market with aggressive players vying for market share and finding successes. These allegations alone undercut MLW’s conclusory allegations of monopoly power.”

MLW’s lawsuit claims a WWE executive warned Vice TV in early 2021 that WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon was upset with Vice for airing MLW programming, and that Vice should stop working with MLW. MLW is seeking compensatory, treble, and exemplary damages, an injunction barring WWE from “inflicting further irreparable harm through its anticompetitive and tortious conduct,” and legal costs.

“They’ve got some pretty flippant predatory tactics, and it shouldn’t be tolerated,” MLW owner Court Bauer said during an exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc.’s Raj Giri earlier this month. “It’s incredibly damaging and disruptive to my company, to other companies, to the fans, and the industry as a whole, which is why this is important now.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 5/17/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 broadcasts live from the WWE Performance Center.

WWE Shares Statement On Sasha Banks & Naomi Walking Out Of Raw, Sasha Reportedly Has Backstage Heat

Sasha Banks and Naomi made headlines this week by walking out of the Raw tapings. WWE has released a statement on the matter.

More details have emerged regarding the story of Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out of last night’s edition of WWE Raw.

As previously covered here, multiple reports stated that the Women’s Tag Team Champions walked out ahead of Raw because of creative frustration. Apparently, the initial planned main event was a Raw Six-Pack Challenge to decide the challenger for Bianca Belair’s Raw Women’s Championship.

Banks was reportedly unhappy with the plans for the match, which led to her leaving the taping. Naomi decided to walk out as well, and Raw commentator Corey Graves even acknowledged it during the show. In the main event, Asuka defeated Becky Lynch to become the new No. 1 contender for the Raw Women’s Championship.

During the show, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com shared a statement that he received from WWE. The statement claims that the Women’s Tag Team Champions were carrying suitcases when they entered the office of John Laurinaitis.

Banks and Naomi placed their title belts on his desk and “walked out”. According to the statement, that and Naomi “claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions.” WWE offered “regret” for not being able to perform the planned main event. You can read the full statement below:

When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw.

During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk, and walked out.

They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.

Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.

After walking out during WWE RAW this week, Sasha Banks has backstage heat, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

These feelings were passed on from people not in WWE management, but they also weren’t aware of the full situation going on. Naomi’s name was not mentioned, so it is unknown whether or not there are the same feelings towards her right now.

Since then, Sasha Banks has unfollowed all WWE-related social media accounts, including Vince McMahon. Meanwhile, a friend of Naomi’s has tweeted at length about the issue, citing creative as the problem here. Naomi was set to win the match that last night and face Belair at Hell In A Cell.

She was going to pin Nikki A.S.H. to achieve that goal, not Sasha, as had been speculated. It is believed that they wanted to focus on improving the tag team division instead. Neither woman reportedly had any safety concerns about their opponents, despite what WWE claimed.

There has yet to be a confirmed reason for why they left the show, and the exact issues that have taken place. Neither Sasha Banks nor Naomi has made a comment on the matter at the time of writing.

Sources: TheSportster and Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 5/16/22

WWE RAW takes place tonight from the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.

Bobby Lashley locks himself inside of a steel cage with “The Nigerian Giant” Omos

RK-Bro, RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Edge, Damian Priest and Kevin Owens are also scheduled to appear.

Backstage News On WWE Advertising WrestleMania Main Event For MITB Winner

Vince McMahon himself put in the line about the winner of WWE’s Money In The Bank getting a title shot at WWE WrestleMania, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, which was first reported by Ringside News.

The new advertisement for the upcoming WWE premium live event was first aired at WWE’s WrestleMania Backlash. It features Cody Rhodes talking to the camera and saying a line that he said has caused a lot of confusion.

“One lucky male and female Superstar will win the chance to main event WrestleMania,” Rhodes claims in the promo.

The decision to include that verbiage was done directly by Vince McMahon.

Despite the confusion based on how WWE scripted this promo, and the fact they keep airing it, plans are currently not set to change regarding the briefcase from prior years. The creative team has reportedly been told that things will be exactly the same. While things can change once again between now and then, it is expected that the briefcase will carry the same qualities as ever.

Of course, traditionally the winner of the Money in the Bank briefcase gets an entire year to cash it in. This can be done at any time, or any place, from live events to episodes of RAW and SmackDown, including all the major premium live events in between. It has never been restricted to just one night, as that takes away the mystery element.

This does include WWE WrestleMania itself, should the winner keep hold of the briefcase until that point. Seth Rollins is currently the only wrestler in history to actually cash in at The Grandest Stage Of Them All itself. He did that at WWE WrestleMania 31, interjecting himself into Brock Lesnar’s match with Roman Reigns to leave as champion.

This year’s WWE Money In The Bank show takes place on July 2 event at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. So far, not a single match has been announced for the premium live event, as the company must first go through WWE’s Hell In A Cell. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

“Young Rock” To Start Opposing WWE SmackDown In The Fall

The NBC schedule has been confirmed for the Fall of 2022, which has revealed that the third season of Young Rock is set to go up against WWE SmackDown.

It was recently announced that the popular show had been picked up for another season, which will see the life, and career of The Rock continue to be told. The next set of episodes are set to begin airing in November (no exact date has been confirmed), and it has been moved to Friday nights.

The official press release for this section of the NBC’s schedule reads as follows:

“In November, the laughs begin with George Lopez’s family comedy “Lopez vs. Lopez” at 8 p.m., teeing up the third season of Dwayne Johnson’s bio-series “Young Rock” at 8:30 p.m.”

Previously Young Rock had been airing on Tuesday, but it will now go head to head against WWE SmackDown. The blue brand takes place from 8pm – 10pm (EST), and NBC’s show is set to drop from 8:30pm – 9pm. This means fans will have some conflict, as Young Rock has proven to be a hit with the wrestling audience.

The Rock himself will continue to star in the show alongside Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui and Matthew Willig.

The WWE legend has not commented on the renewal as of this writing. But, Seven Bucks Vice President and former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz took to Twitter and shared his thoughts.

“We’re BACK baby! Can’t wait to dive into Season 3 of #YoungRock! This is shaping up to be a helluva week!,” Gewirtz wrote.

It is currently unknown what the exact focal points will be when it comes to the third season. But, season two did see plenty of wrestling references with the likes of Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Triple H, The Iron Sheik, and even a young Roman Reigns being cast.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/13/22

The post-WrestleMania Backlash edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

New SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is advertised to appear tonight, returning to the show as champion after her WrestleMania Backlash win over Charlotte Flair.