Tag: WWE

WWE Creative Team Member Dave Schilling Has Departed From WWE

Another member of WWE creative has come and gone.

According to PWInsider, almost two months after being hired by WWE, Dave Schilling has left the company. Schilling has had pieces featured in Bleacher Report, The Guardian, VICE and Grantland before announcing his hire.

This comes after Dean Malenko left the company after 18 years. According to some reports, Malenko was reportedly let go.

WWE is going through a few changes behind the scenes. Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, Abyss and Jeff Jarrett have been hired in recent months as producers.

It is unknown why Schilling left, although he has sent a number of tweets recently about not knowing what the term “wrestling” means.

https://twitter.com/dave_schilling/status/1121429748960260096

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

 

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 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.

Nia Jax Reportedly Undergoing Surgery Tomorrow

WWE RAW Superstar Nia Jax will be undergoing surgery tomorrow.

Jax is scheduled to go under the knife on Friday to repair both of her torn ACLs, according to Casey of Squared Circle Sirens on Twitter.

There’s no word yet on how long Jax will be out of action, but they should have a better idea of her timeline after the surgery. It was believed that she could be out for up to 9 months.

Jax took to Twitter back on April 12 and said she would be out of action for “a while” due to the injuries. She also revealed that she has been working through the pain for the last year.

“Some of you may or may not know, but I will be out of action for a little while,” Jax wrote, “Unfortunately, I have been pushing through some pain over the last year due to injuries in my knees and I will be undergoing surgery to repair both of my ACLs. I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me! Thank you!”

Jax hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 35 where she worked the Fatal 4 Way with partner Tamina Snuka, Natalya and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics and former champions Sasha Banks and Bayley.

For those who missed them, below are Jax’s tweets from earlier this month:

https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1116775667989995522

https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1116745757133103106

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Wrestling News Blog Podcast Episode 8 – AEW, Cody vs. Dustin, NWA Crockett Cup, Impact Rebellion And More

Wrestling News Blog Podcast Episode 8

Segment One – AEW “Double or Nothing” Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes

Segment Two – WWE News

Segment Three – Starrcast II, Undertaker & Kurt Angle Pulled

Segment Four – CM Punk

Segment Five – 2019 NWA Crockett Cup

Segment Six – Impact Wrestling “Rebellion”

Wrestling News Blog Podcast is available on all major podcast apps such as Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.