Tag: WWE

WWE Network Moving To Peacock Network

NBCUniversal’s Peacock network is the new home of the WWE Network in the United States.

WWE announced today that they have signed a multi-year agreement with Peacock, which will give the new platform exclusive streaming rights to the WWE Network in the United States.

Peacock will launch the WWE Network on Thursday, March 18. This will kick off the roll-out of more than 17,000 hours of new, original and library programming on-demand, and the live channel. The WWE Fastlane event will be the first pay-per-view to stream on Peacock, on March 21.

The new deal will also include one annual signature WWE Network documentary for Peacock, beginning in 2022.

The new WWE Network premium price point will be $4.99 on Peacock, which is a savings of $5 per month. The ad-free version, Peacock Premium Plus, will cost $9.99 per month.

“We are thrilled to further the long-standing and trusted partnership WWE has with NBCUniversal,” said WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan in a press release. “Peacock is an innovative platform that will enable us to showcase our most significant events, including WrestleMania, and provide the extraordinary entertainment our fans have come to expect with the combination of premium WWE content, live sports, news, films, and television programs.”

Peacock is currently available on all Apple and Google platforms, Roku, Chromecast devices, Microsoft’s Xbox One family of decices, Sony’s PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro and PlayStation 5, VIZIO SmartCast devices and LG Smart TVs. The service is also available at no additional cost to Comcast’s eligible Xfinity XI and Flex customers, and customers of Cox Contour.

Stay tuned for more on Peacock and the WWE Network. Below is the full announcement issued to us today by WWE:

PEACOCK TO BECOME THE EXCLUSIVE HOME OF WWE NETWORK IN THE U.S.

Peacock to Exclusively Stream WrestleMania and All of WWE Network’s Pay-Per-View Events, Signature Documentaries, and More

New York, NY, and Stamford, Conn., January 25, 2021—Peacock and WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced a multi-year agreement that gives Peacock exclusive streaming rights to WWE Network in the U.S.

“NBCUniversal has a long-standing relationship with WWE that began nearly 30 years ago with Monday Night Raw on USA. WWE has always tapped into the cultural zeitgeist with spectacular live events and larger-than-life characters, and we are thrilled to be the exclusive home for WWE Network and its millions of fans across the country,” said Rick Cordella, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, Peacock. “WWE Network is a transformative addition to the platform and complements Peacock’s massive catalog of iconic movies and shows, as well as the best live news and sports, from NBCUniversal and beyond.”

“We are thrilled to further the long-standing and trusted partnership WWE has with NBCUniversal,” said Nick Khan, WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer. “Peacock is an innovative platform that will enable us to showcase our most significant events, including WrestleMania, and provide the extraordinary entertainment our fans have come to expect with the combination of premium WWE content, live sports, news, films, and television programs.”

Peacock will launch WWE Network on March 18, beginning the roll-out of more than 17,000 hours of new, original, and library WWE Network programming on demand and on a 24/7 channel, including:

* All live pay-per-view events including WrestleMania and SummerSlam; Fastlane will be the first WWE pay-per-view to stream on Peacock on Sunday, March 21.

* Original series like Steve Austin Broken Skull Sessions, Undertaker: The Last Ride and the all-new WWE Icons;

* In-ring shows like NXT, NXT UK and WWE 205 Live, as well as replays of Raw and SmackDown;

* WWE Network archives, including every WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view event in history;

* Groundbreaking documentaries, including WWE 24, WWE Untold, and WWE 365;

* And, starting in 2022, one signature documentary annually.

The companies will share details on managing customer accounts closer to the Peacock launch in March. WWE Network, including all PPVs, will be available on Peacock Premium for $4.99-a $5.00/month savings-where members will enjoy access to the entire WWE and Peacock catalog, more than 47,000 hours of premium programming. For an ad-free experience, Peacock Premium Plus will be available for $9.99.

Viewers can sign up for Peacock at peacocktv.com. Peacock is currently available on the Roku platform; Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD; Google platforms and devices, including Android™, Android TV™ devices, Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices; Microsoft’s Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One S and Xbox One X; Sony PlayStation4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and PlayStation5; and VIZIO SmartCast™ TVs and LG Smart TVs. Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers enjoy Peacock Premium included with their service at no additional cost.

the Wall Street Journal reports that a person familiar with the deal says it runs for 5 years, and is valued at more than $1 billion. WWE and NBCU did not officially disclose terms of the multi-year agreement.

It’s also been noted that WWE and NBCU will share details on how existing WWE Network subscribers in the United States will be switched to the Peacock platform in the next few weeks. It remains to be seen if current subscribers will be automatically subscribed to Peacock, or how they will do it.

WWE Network will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity outside of the United States and nothing will change for international users.

WSJ also reported that Alan Gold, a partner at Creative Artists Agency’s advisory and investment Evolution Media, served as an adviser on the new WWE – Peacock deal.

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/22/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature more build for the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

Superstar Spectacle To Air On The WWE Network Next Week

WWE Superstar Spectacle will air next Tuesday on the WWE Network.

WWE confirmed today that the two-hour special TV event for India will also air on the WWE Network next Tuesday morning at 9:30am ET.

Superstar Spectacle will air in India at 8pm IST on Tuesday, on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3, and Sony MAX. The show is being taped tomorrow from the WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, with commentary done in English and Hindi.

WWE still has not announced matches for Superstar Spectacle, but the following Superstars have been announced to appear:

* WWE Champion Drew McIntyre
* WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair
* SmackDown Tag Team Champion Dolph Ziggler
* Rey Mysterio
* AJ Styles
* Bayley
* Cesaro
* Shinsuke Nakamura
* King Baron Corbin
* Natalya
* Ricochet
* The New Day (WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)

The following Indian Superstars have been announced to appear:

* Jinder Mahal
* The Bollywood Boyz
* Indus Sher
* Jeet Rama
* Kavita Devi
* Giant Zanjeer
* Dilsher Shanky
* Guru Raaj

WWE’s official announcement noted that other stars will also be appearing.

https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/1352379196375498761

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Backstage Returning For One Night Only With Renee Young, Paige And Booker T

WWE and FOX Sports have announced a special edition of WWE Backstage on FS1.

The special episode will air during Royal Rumble Weekend on Saturday, January 30 at 8pm ET on FS1. A replay will air later that night at midnight, and another replay will air at 5pm ET on Royal Rumble Sunday, as a lead-in to the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show.

The special edition of WWE Backstage will be hosted by Renee Paquette (Renee Young), Paige, and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.

WWE Backstage aired from November 2019 through mid-March of this year after production was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FOX Sports then announced in June that the show was no longer airing. A special post-SmackDown edition of the show was scheduled to air back on October 23, but it was nixed at the last minute and replaced with an airing of Talking Smack.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Men’s And Women’s Dusty Classic Matches Set For WWE 205 Live

This week’s WWE 205 Live episode will see the WWE NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and the NXT Women’s Dusty Classic continue with first round matches.

The men’s tournament will continue this Friday night with the final first round match. Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari will face Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher. As noted, Thatcher and Ciampa are replacing Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Desmond Troy after Karrion Kross injured Adonis during their squash match on last night’s NXT show.

The second first round match in the women’s tournament will take place on 205 Live with The Way (Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell) vs. Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) and Cora Jade (Elayna Black). This will be the first time a women’s match has been held on 205 Live.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Confirms New Signings Including Priscilla Kelly (Gigi Dolin)

WWE has confirmed that female wrestlers Lacey Ryan, Priscilla Kelly, and Elayna Black are officially part of the company’s roster.

The signings were announced on the NXT Twitter account on Wednesday.

All three women have undergone WWE name changes:

  • Lacey Ryan will be performing under the name Zoey Stark
  • Priscilla Kelly will now be known as Gigi Dolin
  • Elayna Black’s new moniker is Cora Jade

Stark, Dolin and Jade will all participate in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Dolin and Jade will team up to take on Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell in the first round, while Zoey Stark will join forces with Marina Shafir to take on Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon.

Gigi Dolin will already be familiar to some WWE fans as she performed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE To Have Fans At WrestleMania 37

WWE is set to have actual fans in attendance at Raymond James Stadium for WrestleMania 37, which will take place across two nights on April 10 and April 11 in Tampa, FL.

As seen in the video above, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon spoke with TMZ Sports this week and said the current plan is to have fans in the crowd at WrestleMania 37.

“I’m thrilled and excited because, hopefully, this will be the first opportunity for us to have our fans back in attendance,” she said of WrestleMania 37. “You know, that’s the current plan. Of course ticket information is not available yet because we’re still trying to figure out all the different machinations.

“We’re really lucky though because the NFL Super Bowl is our lead-in this year, from Raymond James Stadium. So, we’re going to learn a lot from them, logistically, etc., and really best practices, what works, what doesn’t work. But man, we can’t wait to come in and for two nights, hopefully, really rock that pirate ship.”

Stephanie later reiterated that the current plan is to have fans at Raymond James Stadium. She was asked how they determine if they go forward with that plan, and how the COVID-19 pandemic affects things.

“I mean, pretty much it really is working with the local organizing committee and all of the health professionals,” she said. “Health & safety is first and foremost, of course. You know, for our fans, for our performers, for the employees, for the staff working the building.

“There’s a lot of different logistics that need to be determined, but hopefully it’ll all work out and this will be the first WWE event where we actually bring the WWE Universe back together, in person, and I cannot wait.”

Stephanie was later asked if WWE knows how many fans they want to try and bring to Raymond James Stadium for the big event. She said they do have a plan but she wouldn’t announce it yet.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre also confirmed that there will be a limited crowd at WrestleMania 37 during a new interview with FOX 13 in Tampa.

McIntyre talked about why WrestleMania 36 was disappointing to him as he hoped to win the WWE Title from Brock Lesnar in front of 90,000 people before the coronavirus pandemic forced the event to move to the closed-set WWE Performance Center. He then confirmed that tickets for WrestleMania 37 will be announced soon.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 1/20/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will see the return of the Fight Pit, plus the kick off to the first-ever NXT Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

WWE RAW Preview 1/18/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will feature more build for the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

WWE has announced that Alexa Bliss will return to action on tonight’s RAW, her first match since defeating Nikki Cross on the November 23 RAW. She will be facing the RAW Women’s Champion and one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions tonight – Asuka.

RAW will also see Randy Orton react to last week’s fireball attack by Bliss. WWE announced a storyline injury update last week, noting that Orton suffered minor burns to the face.

WWE has not announced any other happenings for tonight’s show, but we know that WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will not be appearing live in person due to his COVID-19 diagnosis. There’s no word on when WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg will appear again to promote the Royal Rumble match with McIntyre.

WWE Announces WrestleMania 37 Location Change, Venues For Upcoming WrestleManias

WWE has announced that the location for WrestleMania 37 has changed. The location was Los Angeles, California but now WrestleMania 37 will be at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

The Raymond James Stadium was the original location for WrestleMania 36. As noted, the location was moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando due to COVID-19.

The dates for WrestleMania 37 are April 10 and April 11. In the coming weeks, WWE will be announcing ticket availability and safety protocols for the event.

WWE also announced dates and locations for WrestleMania 38 and WrestleMania 39.

WrestleMania 38 will be in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium on April 3, 2022.

WrestleMania 39 will be in Los Angeles, California at Sofi Stadium on April 2, 2023.

Below is the “WrestleMania Report” that WWE posted on Twitter. The video features Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, and Paul Heyman.

Source: Wrestling Inc.