WWE pays mid six figure sum for Gorgeous George movie rights

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Several readers sent in word that Deadline.com has a story regarding WWE Studios acquiring the rights to produce a movie on WWE Hall of Famer Gorgeous George based on the 2008 John Capouya book "Gorgeous George: The Outrageous Bad-Boy Wrestler Who Created American Popular Culture."

The article notes that the company paid a mid six figure price tag for the rights which is the highest so far for a WWE Studios movie. Filming on the movie will start in 2011, an exception to McMahon's rule "not to make pictures about wrestlers." 

WWE will be picking up the full bill for the Gorgeous George movie as well for all the rest of the movies in the pipeline

Triple H starts filming new WWE Studios movie "Killing Karma"

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Triple H started filming the upcoming WWE Studios movie titled Killing Karma and is joined by Michael Rapaport from Prison Break, Parker Posey from Highland Park, Julie White from Transformers 2, Michael Cudlitz from Southland and Bruce Dern from The Big Valley as the main cast. 

The synopsis for the movie reads:

"For the last 13 years, AJ - played by Triple H - has been behind bars, convicted . Now released, AJ wants to start a small business and live a crime-free life. Unfortunately, within hours of leaving prison, his oldest and best friend, Jack - played by Michael Rapaport - involves AJ in an accidental shooting in which a man is killed, forcing Jack to skip town. When Jack’s father and local mob boss Vic Small - played by Bruce Dern - comes looking for retribution, AJ is compelled to protect Jack’s family and himself even if it means returning to prison." 

Filming is being carried out in and around New Orleans, LA.

 

Vince McMahon takes full control over WWE Studios

Reported by Ernest Aguilar

The announcement of WWE Studios self-distributing and promoting their own movies means that their deals with Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox have gone out of the window. 

Variety is also reporting that Vince McMahon is now taking full control over WWE Studios. 

"We've learned a great deal that brings us to where we are now," McMahon told Daily Variety. "This is an opportunity for us to completely control everything from the production all the way through to release. We're putting our money where our mouth is." 

WWE Studios intends to have a budget of around $5 million for each movie in order to reduce the company's risk but also increase the potential upside from hits. 

Variety has the full, interesting story here.

 

WWE Studios to finance, distribute and market all future films

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

WWE Studios today announced that it will self-distribute and market its upcoming slate of nine films beginning with the summer release of "Brother’s Keeper," starring Patricia Clarkson, Danny Glover and John Cena. 

Samuel Goldwyn Films will be WWE Studios’ theatrical distribution partner in the U.S. Vivendi Entertainment will be WWE Studios’ domestic DVD distribution partner. International DVD distribution will be handled by WWE’s existing television and video partners worldwide. 

"We are thrilled to be working alongside the extremely talented WWE team on this very exciting endeavor. WWE is one of the most recognizable brands in the world and we look forward to bringing Brother’s Keeper to audiences everywhere," said Meyer Gottlieb, President of Samuel Goldwyn Films. 

"The self-distribution model will allow WWE to maximize marketing efforts and create special event experiences at select theatres nationwide," added Mike Pavone, Executive Vice President, WWE Studios.

 

WWE Studios and 20th Century Fox announce three movie deal

Reported Ernest Aguilar Zevallos

WWE Studios and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have partnered on three films that will be going straight-to-DVD according to a press release issued today.

The first movie announced is the third installment of The Marine which will be titled Homefront, and starring former WWE champion John Cena. Cena took the leading role in the first movie which was released in theaters but then Ted DiBiase was in the second installment. 

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will handle worldwide distribution for these three movies on all platforms and WWE will be in charge of marketing.

"WWE Studios will continue to expand its film offerings to appeal to a wide range of movie fans in 2012 and 2013," said WWE Studios President, Michael Luisi. "We look forward to building upon our relationship with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment to present movies that bring action, adventure and humor to audiences all over the globe." 

Mike Dunn, President of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment said, "WWE is a tremendous organization supported by a world class marketing machine. We are proud to continue our partnership with Michael and his team."

 

RAW rating for 2/27/12

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Monday Night RAW with the return of The Rock drew a 3.1 rating off hours 3.11 and 3.16 for an average of 4,650,000 viewers. That is down 0.1 from last week but it had around 20,000 viewers more overall. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)

 

RAW rating for 02/20/2012

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Monday Night RAW this week did a 3.2 rating off hours 3.3 and 3.19 with an average of 4,629,000 viewers. That is up from last week's 3.0 and an increase of over half a million viewers. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)

 

RAW rating for 02/13/2012

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Monday Night RAW with the return of Shawn Michaels this week failed to spark any interest in viewership as the show did a 3.0 rating off hours 2.91 and 3.09 and a total of 4,118,000 viewers. That is down 0.3 from last week and a drop of half a million viewers overall. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)

 

Elimination Chamber 2012 RAW main event set

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view had its first main event made official yesterday on RAW with the WWE title up for grabs. 

The current WWE champion CM Punk will be defending his gold against Kofi Kingston, The Miz, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler and the returning Chris Jericho.

A second Elimination Chamber main event featuring the Smackdown brand will be announced later this week.

 

Orton out of Chamber match, Santino Marella replaces him

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevalllos

Former WWE and World Heavyweight champion Randy Orton has been taken out from the Elimination Chamber match as WWE.COM announced that Orton suffered a concussion during his match against the Big Show on RAW this past Monday night thanks to the interference from Daniel Bryan.

Meanwhile, a replacement was announced to join The Great Khali, Cody Rhodes, the Big Show, Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan for the match this Sunday. Taped at the Smackdown tapings yesterday in Fresno, California, Santino Marella - yes, Santino Marella - won a Wild Card battle royal which was announced by Teddy Long to earn his place in the World Heavyweight title match.

The announcement was posted by WWE on WWE.COM this morning.

 

Undertaker cuts his hair...er...wig during RAW vignette

Reported by Ernest (Ern) I Aguilar Zevallos

During yesterday's RAW, a second vignette with the Undertaker was aired showing the future Hall of Famer getting a razor blade and cutting his hair saying vengeance will be his. When the Undertaker returned two weeks ago he was sporting a wig to cover the fact that a few months ago he actually shaved his head completely bald. While the wig may not have been apparent to many people on that night, wrestling with a wig would have been pretty risky considering the several humiliating scenarios. Showing the Undertaker cutting his hair on television was the best way to explain why come WrestleMania there will be less at the top! You can see a photo of a bald Undertaker which was taken a few months ago below.

During yesterday's RAW, a second vignette with the Undertaker was aired showing the future Hall of Famer getting a razor blade and cutting his hair saying vengeance will be his.

When the Undertaker returned two weeks ago he was sporting a wig to cover the fact that a few months ago he actually shaved his head completely bald.

While the wig may not have been apparent to many people on that night, wrestling with a wig would have been pretty risky considering the several humiliating scenarios. Showing the Undertaker cutting his hair on television was the best way to explain why come WrestleMania there will be less at the top!

You can see a photo of a bald Undertaker which was taken a few months ago below.

TNA, Vince Russo, officially part ways

Reported by Ernest (Ernie) I Aguilar Zevallos

TNA President Dixie Carter announced that the company has parted ways with Vince Russo, the creative writer who has been working for the company since 2002 except for two years between 2004 and 2006.

"The separation is amicable and professional. We are glad for the opportunity to have worked together and wish each other nothing but good luck and success in the future," read the statement, posted on Twitter.

Russo was not at the Against All Odds pay-per-view on Sunday and David Lagana, a former WWE writer himself who was hired by TNA late last year, was on board to help out. His relationship with the company wasn't always the best and in October he stepped down as head writer and was replaced by Bruce Prichard. Russo also had past problems with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan and their arrival created some controversy however the trio always managed to find a way to work together.

Prior to joining TNA, Russo served as a writer for both WWE and WCW and is often credited for the WWE Attitude Era storylines that catapulted WWE over WCW. He eventually left for the competition but disagreements with management - including Hogan and Bischoff - led to a disastrous run in WCW

Victory Road 2012 live on pay-per-view tonight

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Live tonight from the IMPACT Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, TNA Wrestling presents Victory Road 2012 on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:

Bobby Roode vs Sting in a No Holds Barred match; Kurt Angle vs Jeff Hardy; AJ Styles and Mr Anderson vs Christopher Daniels and Kazarian; Bully Ray vs James Storm; Samoa Joe and Magnus vs Matt Morgan and Crimson for the TNA Tag Team titles; Austin Aries vs Zema Ion for the X Division title; Gail Kim vs Madison Rayne in a Knockouts title match; and Robbie E in an open challenge for the TV title.

New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs to be at IMPACT tapings

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

TNA planned a segment with Kurt Angle and Super Bowl champion Jason Pierre-Paul from the New York Giants during tonight's IMPACT Wrestling tapings in Orlando, Florida, however the #90 pulled out according to FOX Sports.

The deal was already announced by TNA before everything was signed so the company hustled to get a replacement and found one in Brandon Jacobs, the Giants running back. The two time Super Bowl winner will now be part of the same angle with the Olympic gold medalist.

TNA has used football players in angles in the past including Brian Urlacher from the Chicago Bears, New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott, Kyle Vanden Bosch from the Detroit Lions, former Titans star Frank Wycheck, Adam "Pacman" Jones, and former Dolphins star Bryan Cox.

Taz replaces Don West as the new color commentator

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

 Former Smackdown commentator Taz is the new color commentator for TNA iMPACT! as Don West has been removed from his ringside duties. Taz started his familiar gig with yesterday's iMPACT! tapings which will air on Thursday.

"I am already LOVING my new role in TNA. I had a blast with Mike (Tenay) also. TNA will sound different starting Thursday," said Taz on his Twitter account.

West has been announcing for TNA since 2002 and finally received a promotion after seven long years with the company and will now be involved with the merchandise department.

"I'm also happy Don is TNA still. It shows the type of front office we have. Dude has been there for seven years. You don't just can him - promote him," the Human Suplex Machine added.

Taz was an announcer for WWE from late 2000 till he left earlier this year.

Taz writes about his TNA debut and Samoa Joe

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

 TNA's new arrival Taz has been praising the company and its workers saying he's really enjoying his new gig after a bit of over three months away from the business.

In a Facebook post, Taz said that he will not, under any circumstances, be wrestling or getting physical in the ring.

"I physically CAN NOT WRESTLE ANYMORE!! I cannot BUMP anymore. I have numbness in my right arm on a daily basis...I have about 40% range of motion in my neck folks! For the 20th Billion time...I'm DONE. Hence why I am an announcer," the former ECW champ wrote.

He also mentioned that he met Samoa Joe for the first time on Sunday before the pay-per-view and by the next day at the TNA iMPACT! tapings he felt like he knew him for twenty years.

"Awesome guy, great attitude and tremendous athlete! I'm proud to work with him!"

Taz debuts at TNA'S Victory Road pay-per-view

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Former Smackdown commentator and ECW champion Taz finally made his debut with TNA yesterday during the Victory Road pay-per-view. 

Taz was revealed as Samoa Joe's mystery advisor and will be on Thursday's iMPACT! The man known as the "Human Suplex Machine" hasn't been on TV since the week of WrestleMania where he left WWE after taping the final Smackdown before the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania. 

A couple of weeks ago TNA uploaded some "FTW" videos on their Facebook page and while they never mentioned Taz by name the video was pretty obvious who it was referring too since it had Taz's signature quotes and his number 13. 

 

Taz misses TNA pay-per-view due to family death

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

TNA commentator Taz missed last night's Against All Odds pay-per-view after his brother-in-law Joe passed away on Saturday. Mike Tenay was joined by Jeremy Borash for play-by-play duties during the show.

The former ECW champion thanked his fans on Twitter for their condolences and then recalled how if it wasn't for his brother-in-law he would have never made it in the wrestling business as he was the one who gave him the money to go to wrestling school.

"Years back, I said to him how the hell am I ever gonna be able to pay u back $3000?" Taz wrote. "He said, 'your gonna MAKE it!' He believed in me."

 

Jesse Sorensen back at home for long recovery

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Jesse Sorensen was released from hospital last week and is now recovering at his home in Tampa, Florida. 

Although doctors expect that he will eventually make a full recovery from his C1 vertebrae fracture, it will be a long road back for the 22 year old. 

Sorensen was injured at the Against All Odds pay-per-view after he was on the receiving end of a botched moonsault, with his opponent's knee striking his head upon landing, knocking him out upon impact. 

For those who missed it, you can see the video when the injury occurred here.

 

Jesse Sorensen thanks fans for their support

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Jesse Sorensen spoke publicly for the first time today since his horrific injury suffered at the Against All Odds pay-per-view two weeks ago.

"Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. I have a long road to recovery ahead, but your support means the world to me," Sorensen wrote on his Twitter account. 

Sorensen was dismissed from hospital last week and is now back home recovering. He's expected to be out of action for the rest of the year.

 

Jesse Sorensen injured during TNA's Against All Odds PPV

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Jesse Sorensen was knocked out cold yesterday during the opening match at the Against All Odds pay-per-view against Zema Ion and the match was stopped immediatley.

Sorensen was on the receiving end of a moonsault and Ion's knee smashed Sorensen's head, which knocked him out on the spot. Medics rushed to ringside to help him and he was then taken to a nearby hospital to undergo tests.

The match, which was to set who would be the number one contender for the X Division title, was awarded to Ion after it was stopped less than five minutes into it.

Sorensen is still hospitalized with no movement to his legs although he reportedly has feelings in his arms and even legs. Jason Powell from ProWrestling.net adds to the story that Sorensen's problems are in his C1 vertebrae, the topmost vertebra that forms the joint connecting the skull and spine.

 

Against All Odds 2012 live on pay-per-view tonight

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Live tonight from the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida, TNA Wrestling presents Against All Odds on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:

Bobby Roode vs Bully Ray vs James Storm vs Jeff Hardy in a four way match for the TNA World title with Sting as special guest ringside enforcer; Austin Aries vs Alex Shelley for the X Division title; Crimson and Matt Morgan vs Samoa Joe and Magnus for the Tag Team titles; Gail Kim vs Tara for the Knockout title; AJ Styles vs Kazarian; Gunner vs Garett Bischoff; and Jesse Sorensen vs. Zema Ion to determine the number one contender for the X Division title.

Dwayne Johnson's Journey 2 places third in box office charts

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

The Rock's new movie Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is projected to come in third place in weekend box office charts trailing The Vow and Safe House. 

Journey 2's weekend box office receipts will be amounting to around $27,550,000 when it's all figured in, some $12 million behind the second placed Safe House and almost $15 million behind The Vow. 

The movie has already started showing in foreign markets with over $40 million grossed so far according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. It's currently playing in 3,470 theaters nationwide. Journey 2 - which also has Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens in supporting roles - had a budget of $79 million.

 

IMPACT Wrestling rating for 03/08/2012

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

This week's IMPACT Wrestling did a 1.03 rating with an average of 1,401,000 viewers. That is up from last week's 0.99 rating and around 68,000 more viewers overall. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)

IMPACT Wrestling rating for 03/01/2012

Reported  by Ernest I Aguilar

IMPACT on Thursday night did a 0.99 rating with 1,333,000 viewers. That is down from the 1.19 of the previous week and around a quarter of a million viewers less overall. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com) 

 

IMPACT Wrestling rating for 02/23/2012

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

IMPACT Wrestling did a 1.19 rating this week with an average of 1,582,000 viewers. That is up from last week's 1.06 and around 60,000 more viewers overall. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)

 

IMPACT Wrestling rating 2/9/12

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

The second IMPACT show from Wembley Arena in London, England, drew a 1.05 rating this past Thursday with an average of 1,500,000 viewers. That is down from the previous week's 1.16 and around 110,000 viewers less in total. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com.

SyFy to air live Smackdown on February 21

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

WWE and SyFy will present a live Smackdown on Tuesday, February 21, with an encore airing in its usual time slot on Friday, February 24.

This particular show will air from the MetroCentre in Rockford, Illinois, and it will be third live Smackdown on SyFy since the show moved to cable television. The first two shows were a ratings success and the last live Smackdown in August of last year became Syfy's top Smackdown telecast ever among Adults 18-49 with 1.64 million viewers.

 

Alberto Del Rio at Liverpool's HMV store on 04/18

Reported by Earnest I Aguilar

WWE Superstar Alberto Del Dio will be at the HMV Liverpool ONE store in South John Street on Monday, April 18 at 4PM signing autographs and meeting fans as part of the WWE European tour.

He will be there signing copies of the TLC 2010 DVD which has been released by Silver Vision.

Fans who wish to attend the event must pick up a free wristband at HMV from 8AM on the day of the event. Only 400 wristbands are being made available and they are on first come, first served basis with one wristband per customer.

Alberto Del Rio to miss weekend live events

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Current WWE champion Albertoooooo Deeeeeeeel Riooooooo will be missing the weekend live events in Memphis and North Little Rock to take care of working documents. 

Del Rio had to go back to Mexico to renew his work visa, a normal procedure for non-U.S. citizens working in the country. Any non-U.S. citizen must return to his place of birth to get it renewed and being the WWE champion certainly offers no special privileges! 

The champ will be back in time for RAW on Monday which is taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Alberto Del Rio returning to action this weekend

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Former WWE champion Alberto Del Rio is being advertised for this weekend's WWE live events in San Francisco and Bakersfield, California.

Del Rio has been out of action since the week of December 19 after he tore his groin muscle during a match on Monday Night RAW, effectively eliminating any chances of him being in the Royal Rumble which he won the year before.

WWE expands International operations

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

WWE is increasing its international presence by expanding the company's operations into Shanghai, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Sydney in addition to the offices in London and Toronto. The London offices is headed by Andrew Whitaker and he has been appointed as the President of Europe, Middle East and Africa operations. Carl DeMarco who heads up Toronto is now the President of Canada, Latin America and China while Jonathan Sully will be heading up the WWE headquarters in Sydney and serve as the President of Asia Pacific. "Whitaker, DeMarco and Sully will oversee integrated sales, marketing and digital initiatives as well as focus on new and emerging markets. This new structure will allow us to more quickly exploit business opportunities and leverage the strength of the WWE brand," said Shane McMahon, WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Media.

Australian newspaper features WWE's efforts in the region

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Australia's national newspaper The Australian has a story up regarding WWE's effort to conduct business in Australia and from there, reaching the much-sought after Asian market. Jonathan Sully, President of WWE Asia Pacific heads up the Sydney office. WWE is very popular in Australia with their shows on Fox 8 being among the highest rated on the network and pay-per-view buys on Main Event are strong as well. Sully said that this year, the Smackdown! brand will perform seven times in different cities throughout Australia, up from the three of last year. Under Sully's guidance, WWE secured its first local sponsorship agreement with Visa Entertainment, offering cardholders first choice of tickets while the first marketing initiative for the new operation is the promotion of WrestleMania XXIV.

WWE and Ten Sports in India announce new agreement

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

WWE and Ten Sports in India have signed a new agreement which will see WWE programming on the channel through 2014. The deal will give Ten Sports exclusive broadcast rights to over 450 hours of WWE action in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives. RAW, Smackdown!, ECW and pay-per-views will be airing on Ten Sports, who already held the rights for WWE in the region and lately sponsored Khali's several appearances when the giant went back home last month. WWE shows are usually the number one sports shows across the Indian sub-continent.

WWE's Japan Vice President and GM gets interviewed

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                                                             Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

JapanToday.com has an interview with Ed Wells, Vice President and General Manager of WWE Japan. WWE recently opened its Japan office which is headed by Wells in a bid to expand the company's presence in the region. A new office in Brazil was the last one to be launched months ago. This isn't Wells' work overseas, in fact, he worked for Nickelodeon for two years in Singapore as their VP and General Manager. The editor of JapanToday.com hooked up with Wells in the WWE office located in Shibuya for an interview which covered business in Japan, WWE on Japanese television, the upcoming SummerSlam Tokyo viewing party and much more. You can read it here.

SummerSlam 2008 screened in a theater in Japan for over 600 fans

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

Over 600 fans turned out in Tokyo, Japan at the SummerSlam Festival party where WWE screened it's pay-per-view in a theater for 3,500 yen ($30) a pop with WWE Divas Victoria and Maria on hand for the festivities. This was the first event of its kind for WWE in Japan where the company is in full speed trying to reach a wider audience and make its presence felt in the Land of the Rising Sun. WWE opened it's regional office in Japan earlier this year - its only overseas office devoted to a single nation.

WWE announces new TV deal for RAW in Mexico

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

WWE held a press conference in Mexico yesterday to announce a new television deal for RAW with Televisa. Beginning on Sunday, October 5th their flagship show Monday Night RAW will be broadcasting on Sunday afternoons from 3PM onwards in Mexico on Galavision Canal 9 which reaches more than 21 million TV households. "WWE delivers ratings success to our network partners around the world and we intend to continue to build the same level of success with Televisa in Mexico," says Shane McMahon, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Media. "WWE is very excited to be bringing RAW to Mexican viewers who have a rich lucha libre heritage and who consistently show great enthusiasm for the WWE brand and its Superstars."

WWE announces agreement with TV Azteca for Smackdown.

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

WWE announced yesterday a new agreement with Mexico's TV Azteca for broadcast rights of Smackdown! Starting October 3rd, Smackdown! will air on Azteca 7 on Friday nights at 10PM CST. "WWE is excited to be bringing WWE SmackDown to millions of TV households in Mexico," said Shane McMahon, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Media. "This exclusive agreement demonstrates the strength of our business relationship with TV Azteca as a key global network partner". Rodrigo Fernandez Capdevielle, Programming General Manager, TV Azteca, was equally excited about the agreement. "We at TV Azteca are really excited to be the first to bring the successful global spectacle that is WWE SmackDown to Mexican open TV beginning October 3 at 10:00 pm on Azteca 7. Offering this type of programming allows us to fulfil our commitment to provide the best on worldwide television to our Azteca 7 audience. We are convinced that the amazing product that WWE brings to the table each week on its program will hook Mexican fans and turn them into huge followers of SmackDown. Azteca Deportes announcers and wresting experts Carlos Aguilar, Francisco Gonzalez and Rafael Ayala, will add their own distinctive style, as they do with great success for several other sporting events."

Batista meets children at a school in India

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Batista made a trip to Mumbai, India yesterday for a promotional appearance set up by one of WWE's broadcast partners Ten Sports. The former World Heavyweight champion met children from the Door-Step School, a an NGO working towards providing sustainable education to underprivileged children. "Today's interaction with the children from Door-Step School has been extremely fulfilling. I would like to thank them for giving me this opportunity to meet the kids. Everyone was so full of life and each one of them is gifted. It was a privilege to extend my support to such a cause and hopefully encourage the children to pursue their dreams," said Batista. Ten Sports recently also set up The Great Khali's first trip back home since joining WWE and his return was covered by most news outlets in his country giving him a hero's welcome.

WWE signs new deal for home video license in South America

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

WWE signed a deal with Synergex Corporation to provide international logistics and distribution services for the company in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Synergex will provide packaging localization, sales, marketing, and logistics services in the licensed territory for WWE. Synergex will release original WWE documentaries, career profiles and match compilations focusing on the top WWE stars of the past and present, as well as WWE's complete pay-per-view event line-up. This will amount to a minimum of 25 WWE releases in each territory for each year of the contract starting in Q4 2008. "We are pleased to welcome Synergex to our growing list of international home video licensees and partners" said Joel Satin, Vice President of Home Entertainment & Books, WWE. "This agreement supports WWE's international expansion push into Latin America, and gives us local expertise to distribute our DVDs and increase our retail presence".

Mexico to get live RAW every week from October 6th

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

WWE's Monday Night RAW will start airing live in Mexico from October 6th after the company announced a new agreement with TVC Deportes, Mexico's leading cable sports channel. Over 4.5 million subscribers will be able to catch RAW from 8PM CT onwards live for the first time. "Adding WWE RAW Live [to its regular programming] is part of the excellent service we provide to our subscribers, by bringing them the world’s prime sporting events completely live as they happen," stated Gerardo Velázquez de León, Director of TVC Deportes. "Raw is a magnificent event that the Mexican TV audience will enjoy and become quickly devoted to week after week".

WWE launches global corporate website

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

WWE has launched a new website aimed to show off the company's global presence at WWEGlobal.com. The website features an introduction video with comments from celebrities such as William Shatner, Ashton Kutcher, Mark Cuban, Bob Costas, Jesse Ventura and others along with highlights from previous WrestleMania's and quotes by WWE Superstars. The site has sections such as history on the company, corporate bios, PPV information and others. The company now holds ten offices worldwide with its headquarters in Stamford, CT., then offices in New York, NY.; Chicago, IL.; Los Angeles, CA.; Toronto, Canada; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Tokyo, Japan; London, England; Shangai, China and Sydney, Australia.

WWE finishes Survivor Series Tour in Mexico and Puerto Rico

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

RAW, Smackdown! and ECW Superstars were in Puerto Rico and Mexico this weekend for the Survivor Series Tour with the RAW crew doing shows in Ponce and San Juan while the Smackdown!/ECW brand did shows in Monterrey and Mexico City. The next International tour will be done in Europe with all three brands participating in shows in England, Wales, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy and Scotland.

Nearly $4 million in ticket sales for Mexico, Puerto Rico WWE tour

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

WWE did big money last week for their International tour in Puerto Rico and Mexico. Confirming that the company remains a hot ticket outside North America, WWE grossed nearly $4 million for four shows in Mexico and two in Puerto Rico with over $2.5 million from their Mexican events and over $1.2 million for their Puerto Rico shows. The next big International tour will be done in Europe next month and that is expected to bring in even more money

RAW, Smackdown! big hit on TV in Mexico

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Reported by Ernest I Zevallos

WWE issued a press release yesterday announcing that RAW and Smackdown! network premieres in Mexico had the highest audience for a television program in prime time on their respective stations from the 3rd to the 19th of October. Over 1.2 million fans tuned in to watch Smackdown! on its debut on October 3rd while RAW had just over one million viewers on its debut on October 4th. In Mexico, RAW airs on at 5:30PM while Smackdown! airs at 10PM. "We are ecstatic with the TV ratings for the debuts of WWE RAW and Friday Night SmackDown since we launched on open TV in Mexico," said Shane McMahon, Executive Vice President, Global Media for WWE. "I would like to thank our TV distribution partners, TV Azteca and Televisa. These partnerships allow WWE the maximum TV household penetration in Mexico. More importantly, I’d like to thank our fans in Mexico for consistently showing such enthusiasm and support for the WWE brand," he added.

THQ to sponsor upcoming WWE European tour

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

Despite lawsuits and appeals, WWE and THQ continue to have a good relationship with new games being released and just today THQ announced that the company will be the title sponsor for WWE's Survivor Series European Tour. The 22-date tour will take the WWE Superstars to the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland and there will be several activities tailored to each market including ring branding, video game sampling, crowd announcements and competition tie-ins. "Through our sponsorship of WWE’s Survivor Series tour, we plan to bring even more to the experience of WWE fans attending a live event throughout Europe," said Richard Williams, director, European marketing, THQ. "We understand how much WWE fans enjoy being part of the action, and we are confident that our contributions will only enhance their level of interaction."

German TV broadcaster Premiere signs new WWE TV deal

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Reported by Ernest Aguilar Zevallos

 After WWE television shows were temporarily halted on German TV, Premiere has released a statement today saying that they finally reached an agreement with WWE to resume the popular shows on its channel. The pay-TV broadcaster signed a new two year deal which will have better WWE action than ever before. All 14 pay-per-views will be shown live and all the other shows - RAW, ECW, Experience and Afterburn - will not be on a week delay but current just like in the United Kingdom. Premiere TV wanted the full two hour version of RAW rather than the one hour International version which WWE did not agree to and it led to more negotiations with the broadcaster even pulling the shows temporarily from the schedule as some sort of leverage. However WWE still didn't give them the two hours of RAW they wanted but decided to offer them up-to-date shows in return. Premiere sports-executive Roman Steuer said that the company is pleased to continue their partnership with WWE. "Premiere is still the #1 Wrestling broadcaster in Germany," he concluded.

WWE to start broadcasting RAW in Denmark

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

WWE has signed a new agreement with SBS TV in Denmark to broadcast Monday Night RAW exclusively on Denmark’s new channel, 6’eren. The one hour international RAW version will air every Fridays starting on January 16. "It is a pleasure to be partnering with SBS TV to return the best action entertainment programming in the world to Denmark, satisfying the pent-up demand of WWE’s significant Danish fan base," said Andrew Whitaker, WWE President for Europe. Tina Moreton, Head of Acquisition at SBS TV, said that they are pleased and excited to have WWE on board on the new male channel. "Returning WWE to TV screens in Denmark is a testament to 6’eren’s commitment to a new direction in programming: delivering world-class action entertainment in Denmark. We look forward to welcoming the Raw Superstars and Divas to 6'eren."

WWE to air two exclusive shows on Eurosport starting in February

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Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

 The WWE London office issued a press release today announcing that the company has signed a new two year exclusive programming deal with Eurosport which will broadcast two shows titled 'This Week in WWE' and 'WWE Vintage Collection' in all its European territories excluding the UK. In the UK, BSkyB holds the exclusive rights for WWE television. Eurosport is available in 58 countries and for over 200 million viewers. The shows will launch back to back in prime time on February 9. 'This Week in WWE' is a weekly recap show produced just for Eurosport and will feature clips from all three brands and will air at 9PM CET. 'WWE Vintage Collection' already airs in the UK on Sky Sports and a modified version of the show will air to all European countries - again, excluding the UK. The show looks back at WWE Legends from the past years and will air at 9:30PM CET. Both shows will have a total of one hour air time. "Delivering WWE programming to our fans on a pan-regional basis is testament to the ever-increasing demand for the WWE product in Europe. We are delighted to announce our partnership with a group of the strength and breadth of Eurosport, which will see WWE broadcast in over 100 million homes across continental Europe," adds Andrew Whitaker, President of International for WWE. 

Turkey gets new Smackdown! deal on Fox

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 WWE and Fox Turkey today announced a new deal for Smackdown! which will start airing in the country from today. The show will air on Mondays at 11PM. 


"WWE is excited to announce SmackDown’s launch on Fox in Turkey. To partner with one of the fastest growing youth TV stations in the country will prove an excellent fit for WWE’s energetic and athletic SmackDown programming," said Andrew Whitaker, President of International for WWE. 


"Fox Turkey is delighted to launch WWE in Turkey, one of the biggest entertainment shows in the world. We hope that it will receive the same success with the Turkish audience as it has worldwide," added Emre Mumcuoglu, Director of Programme Acquisitions at Fox Turkey.

Smackdown! now airing in Sweden as well

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

 Turkey isn't the only new country which got a smackdown. TV4 in Sweden started airing Smackdown! this past Saturday night under a new deal with WWE. Smackdown! will air on TV4 Sport every Saturday at 5PM EST. 

"It is with pleasure that TV4 Sport welcomes back WWE and SmackDown to Sweden. At TV4 Sport we understand that there are already thousands of WWE fans in Sweden. The launch of SmackDown on our network will mean creating an even bigger fan base," said Johan Kleberg, CEO of TV4 Sport.

RAW live event tour in Mexico for end of May canceled

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

With the swine flu virus running wild in Mexico, WWE canceled its four day, four event tour in the country which was expected to take place between May 27 and May 30. 

The RAW brand was scheduled to perform two shows in Monterrey, one in Queretaro and the final one in Mexico City. 

Another tour of Mexico will be done in late 2009 but this doesn't seem that it will get rescheduled considering the situation.

The RAW brand will be touring other cities in the US instead.

 

RAW tour of Mexico back on track despite H1N1 virus

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

 The planned tour for Mexico which was set to start on May 27 but was canceled due to the H1N1 virus is back on track as fears and craziness of the outbreak look to be somewhat exaggerated thanks to the media. 

The RAW brand will be performing two shows in Monterrey on the 27 and 28 and then they will go to Queretaro on the 29 and Mexico City on the 30th. 

Good to see everything is going back to normal

WWE off Italian television for the time being

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar

WWE in Italy is off the air for the time being as a new contract has not been signed and their television deal expired sometime at the end of last month. While sources inform us that shows are still being dubbed in studios, new shows will not be airing for now. We don't have any information when WWE will be returning on Italian television but Sky Sports is still expected to be the home of WWE in the country when the shows go back on the air.

Two videos from WWE in Puerto Rico with a red hot crowd

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

WWE were in Puerto Rico over the weekend where super loud crowds were present for the shows which had both RAW and Smackdown rosters. 

The Undertaker was clearly the super favorite of the shows and during one match where he tagged with Triple H to take on Legacy, Taker went super crazy on the apron waiting for the hot tag from The Game while the crowd ate it all up. 

We have two videos from two separate shows from Puerto Rico which include the closing moments of the match mentioned and the one which was a six man tag match between Undertaker, The Great Khali and Matt Hardy taking on Big Show, Chris Jericho and CM Punk. 

Jericho on his Twitter account said it was the first time he ever wrestled the Undertaker in ten years he's been with WWE and called him a "true legend and a great experience."

You can see both videos, courtesy of YouTube users "titibut" and "cmr316"

RAW brand wraps up three day tour in Abu Dhabi

The RAW brand finished a successful three day tour in Abu Dhabi earlier today which saw the company's first ever shows in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. 

All three shows were held at the International Tennis Complex in Zayed Sports City in front of over 5,000 fans in each back-to-back shows. WWE's arrival was covered by a lot of press with Zayed Sports City's General Manager Patrick Talty calling the company "biggest name in family entertainment today." 

A press conference held two days ago at the Burj Khalifa - the tallest tower in the world - in Dubai, saw John Cena driving Kane through a table with the AA much to the amusement of the media present. 

The shows were Divas-free due to several restrictions put on women in the Arab country.

 

Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos

WWE does record business in Abu Dhabi



Reported by Ernest I Aguilar Zevallos





WWE issued a press release announcing that the company has set the highest attendance record for a single event, the highest attendance record for a series of threeentertainment events, and the highest average spend per person on merchandise for a single event for their recent three day tour in Abu Dhabi.

Over 16,000 fans saw the shows back-to-back at the International Tennis Complexearlier this month and the big welcome they received was enough for the company to set up another tour of the United Arab Emirates in 2013.

"The success of our record-breaking Abu Dhabi live events demonstrates the power of the WWE brand in the United Arab Emirates," said Ed Wells, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of WWE International. "We look forward to returning in 2013 and announcing further business developments over the coming months."