MAY 2019 WRESTLING TALK

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Man, these Saudi cards are honestly starting to resemble my 2k19 game. I just sit there all night getting stoned, muttering "Eh Rick Martel's still alive, I bet he's got one more in him." Of course, "getting stoned" has a whole different meaning in that part of the world, but my point remains.

[John from Cincinnati]

10 minutes ago, Casey said:

Revival, Gallows + Anderson and Luke Harper have value to WWE simply because they want to keep them out of AEW as long as possible.

The marginal difference that makes to WWE shareholders is debatable. Of course since Vince has more shares than anyone and the vast majority of the voting power, good luck.

Me personally, I don't think the sky falls if Revival get their PPV match with the Bucks. But I'm not a genius. 

[RIPPA]

26 minutes ago, Hagan said:

I get the idea that Sasha has value but they will NEVER put the Revival, Gallows/Anderson or Harper in a position to justify their contracts. 

You could also argue that $500,000 a year for an undersized Southern tag team is wildly over-valued for the money they would even draw. I mean, $500,000 for a team that would never be put in a main event slot or make much of a difference to your bottom line is outrageous. 

It is a sunk cost for them. The mindset is that it is "cheaper" to pay them and keep them then them leave to a competitor and they blow up

Meltzer talked about this when AEW was announced. THere is a mindset in the WWE that they don't want to repeat TNA's mistake with Okada (this isn't an apples to apples comparison but it was too emphasis their mindset)

The WWE (and wrestling in general) is not the only ones who do this. The music industry is the big one that comes to mind.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I agree that Harper probably wouldn't set the world on fire but you never know.  I liked Steve Austin A LOT in WCW but when he was out injured and Bischoff released him via Fed Ex or whatever it was did anyone think he would go on to be the biggest star of all time?  

Harper has talent.  Revival have talent. So while I HATE that this is happening I can see the idea that maybe they could go over to AEW and be very helpful for AEW.  Or in Anderson and Gallows case they could certainly be helpful to NJPW/ROH if they were put in some new Bullet Club angle.  

[RIPPA]

4 minutes ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

The marginal difference that makes to WWE shareholders is debatable. Of course since Vince has more shares than anyone and the vast majority of the voting power, good luck.

For the record - Vince doesn't have the most shares anymore (with all the ones he has sold off)

The WWE even had to put out a statement that Vince was still making the decisions even though he isn't the majority shareholder. Let me see if I can find it

EDIT - It's wacky-a-doo because I guess the way the stock is categorized as Class A and Class B. So he is and isn't. My head hurts.

Quote

On Wednesday, he sold off a big chunk — 4.1 percent — of his stock. The business maneuver translated into 3,204,427 shares in the sports entertainment promotion sold that are worth approximately $270 million:

The shares sold by Mr. McMahon represent approximately 4.1 percent of the Company’s total outstanding shares of Class A and Class B common stock. After the sale, Mr. McMahon beneficially owns 28,682,94 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, which represents approximately 80.1 percent of the Company’s total voting power and approximately 36.8 percent of the Company’s total outstanding shares of common stock.”

This marks the third major sale of WWE stock by McMahon. He sold 3.34 million shares worth around $100 million in December 2017. McMahon sold off 306,000 shares in November to net more than $23 million.

 

[Niners Fan in CT]

Also,  I think WWE does have reason to be concerned with AEW.  They DO have money,  they may get a nice TV deal and someone there whether it's Vince or whoever has to realize that the product sucks,  TV ratings are down,  attendance is down..   everything is down outside of TV money and Saudi Arabia money.   WWE is not "cool".  It's not "in."  Someone over there has to realize this as much as they pump their chest out about how well they are doing financially there has to be some internal concern about how many fans they have lost. 

[John from Cincinnati]

3 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

For the record - Vince doesn't have the most shares anymore (with all the ones he has sold off)

The WWE even had to put out a statement that Vince was still making the decisions even though he isn't the majority shareholder. Let me see if I can find it

I was just looking at an SEC filing from last year that has him with 40-something percent of the company and 80-something percent of the combined voting power. But I could be wrong. 

http://otp.investis.com/clients/us/wwe/SEC/sec-show.aspx?FilingId=12610278&Cik=0001091907&Type=PDF&hasPdf=1 

It's further down the document. Ctrl+f is your friend. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by West Newbury Bad Boy

[RIPPA]

Just now, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

I was just looking at an SEC filing from last year that has him with 40-something percent of the company and 80-something percent of the combined voting power. But I could be wrong. 

http://otp.investis.com/clients/us/wwe/SEC/sec-show.aspx?FilingId=12610278&Cik=0001091907&Type=PDF&hasPdf=1 

It's further down the document. Ctrl+f is your friend. 

Yeah - I just edited my post. That Class A/Class B stuff is baffling to me

[Nice Guy Eddie]

2 hours ago, OSJ said:

Worse, much worse. Bad enough that his secretary had to call to apologize on his behalf, saying "Producing top-selling comix was extremely stressful!" Since when were Verotik top-selling comics?

In other words, reasonable things like requests for past-due payments or make-goods on bad checks would be met with screaming phone calls. I'm not saying the dude has an unlimited supply of fuck money, but he's certainly wealthy enough to cover the costs of producing short-run comix without noticing the expense. Screeching like a wounded baboon over a writer asking for a $500 fee that's 90 days out is one of the main reasons Verotik vanished so quickly. Maybe you can get away with that shit with fanboys that are just delighted to be attached to the Danzig name, but when you start pulling that shit with professional horror writers that are just scripting comix as a lark, they''ll tell you to go fuck yourself in short order.

I like the Misfits just fine and would pay to see them again (I've seen, I dunno 6-7 shows), but to characterize Danzig as anything besides a minimally-talented musician with a tremendous sense of entitlement and a viciously bad temper would be a kindness that he doesn't merit. The dude is a straight-up dick. When a friend posted a pic of a $3000 NSF check from Danzig, the little fella was threatening to fly to Chicago to kick his ass. Yeah, that's how normal business owners behave when there's a problem that they caused...  

Whenever I hear or read a story about Danzig's diva attitude, I watch this video.

 

[Godfrey]

I could see not releasing some people if they genuinely hope they can use them again but if they're holding people just so they can't go anywhere else it speaks volumes about how WWE has changed. They've always made dickhead business moves but this seems more defensive than usual. Sure, Harper might not go on a world class run in the indies or Japan but the fact they don't even want him to give it a shot and they're willing to spend money to make sure he doesn't isn't a great sign. If they were confident, they wouldn't care. Sasha and the Revival have been consistently on TV so they at least have benefited from WWE's exposure and I could see wanting to cool them off before they leave (not that I agree with it) but Harper just wants to go wrestle. Let him.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

8 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

For the record - Vince doesn't have the most shares anymore (with all the ones he has sold off)

The WWE even had to put out a statement that Vince was still making the decisions even though he isn't the majority shareholder. Let me see if I can find it

Was there a separate statement?? I don't remember that for some reason. I just remember the original statement when he sold it all, where they stressed that he still has X% of voting power

 

Edit: Thanks @West Newbury Bad Boy 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Zakk_Sabbath

[John from Cincinnati]

1 minute ago, RIPPA said:

Yeah - I just edited my post. That Class A/Class B stuff is baffling to me

The generic explanation is that one class normally has diminished voting rights in exchange for priority in dividend payment and payment on liquidation. Since the labels can be used in different ways, I'll leave it there because I don't know how WWE's using them.

[MORELOCK]

26 minutes ago, Casey said:

Revival, Gallows + Anderson and Luke Harper have value to WWE simply because they want to keep them out of AEW as long as possible.

Pretty much. Sasha too.

I'm sure they aren't quite as worried about the debut of "Keep It 100" Shawn Spears.

[MORELOCK]

Double post.

Here's Mach and Grimmas.

Edited May 3, 2019 by MORELOCK

[RIPPA]

And to revisit something from what now seems like months ago

The whole thread is Bix (I know, I know) giving his thoughts on the Hart/Magee match (he is the only I have seen do this so far)

1) Someone has "acquired" the rights as Bix hints at later on that it will be more available to the public in a few weeks (whether this means the WWE releasing it as a hidden gem or something else

2) The TOM MAGEE WASN'T THAT BAD!!! train has already started rolling

[AxB]

1 hour ago, BrianS81177 said:

Who in the hell would want a birthday greeting from Corey Graves?

His own Daughter LOL.

[Niners Fan in CT]

So it turns out MaGee carried Bret?  What a twist!  

[Niners Fan in CT]

Also,  this could be nothing but apparently Sasha has dyed her hair black and she is keeping it hidden only posting pictures in black/white so maybe she is readying a return or maybe it means absolutely nothing.  I can't see her sitting out for 2 years (as has been rumored) I think she'll return at some point even if it gets her nowhere. 

[RIPPA]

Carmella has gone back to blonde

CARMELLA TO AEW CONFIRMED!!!!

[Dewar]

No, she's blonde, so she gets a better WWE push now.

[odessasteps]

36 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

And to revisit something from what now seems like months ago

The whole thread is Bix (I know, I know) giving his thoughts on the Hart/Magee match (he is the only I have seen do this so far)

1) Someone has "acquired" the rights as Bix hints at later on that it will be more available to the public in a few weeks (whether this means the WWE releasing it as a hidden gem or something else

2) The TOM MAGEE WASN'T THAT BAD!!! train has already started rolling

Didnt Dave mentioned in last weeks observer that they were doing a live screening of it at starrcast with Bret and Magee doing live commentary. (And Vince allowing it was part of the trade off for pulling Taker.) 

[odessasteps]

56 minutes ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

Man, these Saudi cards are honestly starting to resemble my 2k19 game. I just sit there all night getting stoned, muttering "Eh Rick Martel's still alive, I bet he's got one more in him." Of course, "getting stoned" has a whole different meaning in that part of the world, but my point remains.

 

[Curt McGirt]

7 hours ago, OSJ said:

I'm thinking Evil Ernie

Hey now, Evil Ernie ruled. I still have those graphic novels.

Bet he has the Megadeth comics though

[The Great ML]

2 hours ago, Casey said:

 

1 Timothy 6:10

[Bustronaut]

Here's how the stock situation works with WWE.

Class A stock can *only* be held by the family, once it is sold it immediately becomes Class B stock, which I believe in WWE's case has 1/100th the voting power.

 

It's the canniest thing that Vince had done in a LONG time.  No one will ever be able to force him out, and the family can cash out stock left and right whenever they need to.