WWE Thread (Spoilers)

[Bandit]

If they go on Facebook get ready for Smackdown champion Aiden English and his feud with top contender Sin Cara.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Imagine if they got $100+m a year for a show on Facebook.

[Bandit]

Braun and Alexa were really over on Facebook. Maybe they can give them a sitcom.

[Big Boss Man]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity- ... d-12566526

Its how they are working the Brit press with this too.

[Bandit]

They need a new Royal Wedding to talk about with the king of the CeNation.

[Big Boss Man]

imagine WWE broadcasting the wedding live from the Network. Brother Love conducting the ceremony, get a marching band to play their themes when they walk down the isle, get The Fink to announce them, get Mr Belding and other wacky celebs turn up. Would be legit so much potential hilarity. Brie could get tanked up and BRIE MODE~! on Cena & Nikki, setting up a mixed tag for next years Mania. Then SWERVE~! Nikki declares her love for Johnny Ace and we get John v John for WrestleMania. Then Shane Douglas skateboards down the aisle and way lays Ace and cuts a shoot promo on the NWA and Ric Flair.

[Bandit]

Nikki fucking her stepfather? Is Russo writing this?

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Bandit]

Smackdown will be airing on Fox.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that WWE's deal with Fox is a five-year agreement that is worth $205 million per year.

They also noted that WWE is said to have gotten an even higher bid for SmackDown that wasn't from NBC Universal or Fox, but "WWE executives are said to have embraced Fox's commitment to heavily promote SmackDown across a robust sports portfolio that includes the NFL and Major League Baseball."

WWE stock is currently above $57 per share, which is an 11 percent increase on the day.

**********

It appears that the second shoe has dropped in WWE television rights negotiations.

Following last week's Hollywood Reporter story on the USA Network retaining Raw but letting SmackDown go up for bidding, ESPN sports business analyst Darren Rovell reported today that WWE and Fox have agreed in principle on a deal for Fox to become the new home of SmackDown. Exact financial numbers weren't immediately disclosed, but Rovell wrote that sources described Fox's offer as "massive."

The Wrap also reported on the deal, adding that SmackDown will begin airing on Fox's main broadcast channel in the fall of 2019 and will be moved to Friday nights when that happens. SmackDown previously aired on Fridays in a taped format for much of its history.

Officials from WWE and Fox have not commented on the reports.

In the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that the USA Network/NBC Universal paying as much as three times more for Raw than they did in the previous deal, as the Hollywood Reporter claimed, would mean that WWE would be getting around $240 million annually for Raw alone and that analysts had been expecting $240-300 million for Raw and SmackDown together.

I'm starting to wonder. Roseanne had a show cancelled from Lifetime, now has the biggest show on television. WWE business was cold in 2016, now they're going to make $300 million a year on USA and go back to network television after being cancelled from the crappy CW Network 5 years ago.

Coincidence?

[Big Boss Man]

@ Fox spending a $1Bn on SmackDown over 5 years. If this was Attitude Era WWF or 80s WWF then yea I'd understand paying a lot but now? Most people will DVR it and if it's not live Vince has pulled off a huge masterstroke.

[Bandit]

For real. They're paying for AJ and Nakamura to hit each other in the balls and Carmella matches. Absolutely amazing.

[Big Boss Man]

Vince must be like this right now

[Bandit]

500 million a year for both shows. Not quite the 4 or 5 billion the NBA gets, but pretty damn good for a company the size of a single NBA team that pay people way less.

[Big Boss Man]

Definitely, they will make a gigantic profit from both deals. Only thing though do the boys play hardball for better contracts & things like health care etc? Because them still pulling the independent contractor card is BS. I mean not saying Cena will get A-Rod money but he should be paid in accordance to what he generates. But then you have to factor in WWE has to pay the boys and girls on Raw, SD, NXT, developmental, management, ring crew, refs, announcers, road agents, then the staff in Titan Towers etc so they have a big payroll.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

PPVs will be running an hour longer starting with MITB.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

USA just made their money back after that Sami segment. $300m well spent!

[Bandit]

PPVs will be running an hour longer starting with MITB.

Every single complaint: "Wrestlemania was too long and Backlash was made worse be being extended a half hour."

WWE: "Let's make them all 4 hours minimum plus the pre-show."

USA just made their money back after that Sami segment. $300m well spent!

Vince Russo will be so torn. He despises Zayn but loves skits like that.

[Bandit]

And Jinder vs Roman in a feud is just trolling.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

They might as well bring Russo back if they want to do shit like that. Just have him write 1 skit a show.

[Bandit]

I fear this money will only lead to horrible things. Like Vince offering Omega and Okada huge deals only to bring them in and do squash jobs for Roman and have Cole declare him officially the greatest wrestler ever because he just pinned Okada in 28 seconds. Then Vince comes out, puts their stock price on the Titan Tron and starts laughing and pointing at the camera.