WWE

Along the murky lines that intertwine sports, entertainment and, yes, politics, the ethos of being bad has never been so good. Say what you want. Do you want. The public eats it up. And for decades, somehow, the garish world of professional wrestling has sat smack in the middle of it all.

WWE’s weekly shows saw improvements in the Q1 key demo ratings year over year while remaining mostly steady in total viewership. Compared to the same time period last year, Smackdown is up 15% in the adults 18-49 demo to an average of 892,000 viewers per episode and up 3% in total viewers with 2.4 million viewers per episode. It should be noted, though, that those numbers do not include the episode that aired on March 29. Raw is up 6% in the demo with an average of 733,000 viewers, but down 7% in total viewers with 1.7 million viewers per episode. NXT saw the biggest increase percentage-wise of the three shows, up 31% in the demo to 242,000 viewers and 7% in total viewers with 646,000 per episode.

The wrestling promoter’s first “official hydration drink partner” will also be the first to appear at the center of the WWE mat.

WWE, a sports entertainment company that is part of TKO Group, is also among the top 10 most subscribed YouTube channels globally, with no professional sports leagues currently in that mix. Others in the top 10 include Indian record label and film production company T-Series, Sony Entertainment Television and social media personalities MrBeast and PewDiePie.

The Elon Musk-owned social platform, previously known as Twitter, has signed a two-year deal with the WWE for a new exclusive weekly video series. Called WWE Speed, the concept will feature timed matches meant to be completed in five minutes or less.

Slammed by allegations of rape, defecation, sex trafficking and more, Vince McMahon is out at WWE and UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings. “I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said Friday evening of the scorching lawsuit against him filed earlier this week. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name. However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately,” the WWE co-founder added.

The co-CEO makes a distinction between the “sports entertainment” of pro wrestling and other competitions.

In a major shakeup, WWE has struck a deal with Netflix that will see its flagship weekly live pro wrestling show begin airing exclusively on the streaming giant beginning in January 2025. That will mark the first time in its three-decade history that Raw has not aired new episodes on a linear television network. The deal is valued at $500 million per year for 10 years. Netflix has the option to opt out after the initial five years and to extend for an additional 10 years.

A search warrant was executed on McMahon, 77, on July 17 in response to multiple alleged payments made after being accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct. In its SEC filing on Wednesday, the WWE stated it “has received voluntary and compulsory legal demands for documents, including from federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, concerning the investigation and related subject matters.” The WWE’s filing also stated that McMahon “went on medical leave” until further notice “after undergoing major spinal surgery.”

WWE and the UFC parent made things official in an SEC filing Monday morning, confirming their merger into a combat sports colossus controlled by Endeavor Group Holdings. Word surfaced on Sunday of the combination, capping a months-long effort by WWE to explore a deal. The wrestling circuit has proven to be one of the most reliable ratings draws in an era of fragmentation, and is now going to be under the same roof as mixed martial arts outfit UFC, a potent draw among young male fans.

Craig Stimmel, WWE’s senior vice president and head of global sales and partnerships, told the Associated Press in an interview that sponsorship revenue for this year’s event has doubled to more than $20 million, a record for any WWE event. Those numbers are critical in light of the return in January of Vince McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, who said the sports entertainment company could be up for sale.

WWE is in talks with state gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan to legalize betting on high-profile matches, according to people familiar with the matter. WWE is working with the accounting firm EY to secure scripted match results in hopes it will convince regulators there’s no chance of results leaking to the public, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

WWE surpassed 20 million followers on its flagship TikTok account during its most recent quarter, the first sports league to do so, and it’s launching three international TikTok accounts after the WWE Español TikTok handle reached nearly 2 million followers in its first year, according to the company. WWE’s presence online is already broad and it does not appear to be slowing down.

WWE said it has hired advisers to help the company as it reviews strategic alternatives as previously announced. The Raine Group will act as a financial adviser, Kirkland & Ellis will be a legal adviser and August LLC will handle strategic communications, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Stephanie McMahon said Tuesday she’s stepping down as co-CEO of WWE, the week after her father Vince announced plans to return as executive chairman to oversee the next round of rights deals and a possible sale. The younger McMahon made the announcement via Twitter.

World Wrestling Entertainment said Tuesday an independent board probe of former CEO Vince McMahon showed additional unrecorded payments of $5 million, bringing the total to $19.6 million. McMahon resigned from all positions at WWE on July 22 after news broke and the company acknowledged they were investigating him for misconduct and subsequent payouts to women. He remains a stockholder with a controlling interest in the company.

Vince McMahon is stepping aside as CEO and board chairman of WWE amid an ongoing investigation into claims of misconduct by himself and head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, the company announced Friday. Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter who took a leave of absence last month from her role as the company’s chief marketing officer, will serve as interim CEO and chairman.

World Wrestling Entertainment is starting to produce fictionalized TV shows, part of an effort to generate more revenue outside of the wrestling ring and capitalize on streaming services’ growing hunger for fresh content. The company, which runs the world’s most famous wrestling league, said it has two scripted TV series in the works: a Spanish-language comedy about an aspiring female wrestler in Mexico for Netflix and a drama about a fictional family that runs a wrestling company for NBCUniversal.

The sports entertainment giant and the cable channel have signed a multi-year expansion of their programming partnership. The new deal covers more than 130 hours of programming that will run on A&E’s platforms, and be distributed internationally by A+E Networks.

Major League Wrestling is accusing WWE and its CEO Vince McMahon of forcing Tubi to scuttle a streaming deal with MLW in a new lawsuit. The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday in California, also goes on to accuse McMahon of intimidating Vice TV, which had a programming deal with MLW, out of airing more content from the upstart wrestling league.

WWE is the latest entertainment company to catch NFT fever. The wrestling entertainment producer inked an exclusive, multiyear deal with Fox Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs to launch an NFT marketplace for licensed digital WWE tokens and collectibles.