Friday, August 5, 2011

WWE PPV BUYS SO FAR THIS YEAR 2011

 WWE did a total of 1,598,000 pay-per-view buys in the second quarter of 2011, mostly due to the 1,059,000 buys from WrestleMania 28.

* Extreme Rules 2011 did 209,000 buys, up from 182,000 in 2010.

* Over the Limit 2011 did 140,000 buys, down from 197,000 in 2010.

* Capitol Punishment 2011 scored 170,000 buys, up from Fatal 4 Way doing 143,000 in 2010.

Comparing the 2011 pay-per-views in this quarter, minus WrestleMania 27, up against the 2010 events, the 2011 pay-per-views did 519,000 buys compared to 522,000 in 2010.

WWE PLANNING FOR A PRE-RAW SHOW FOR THEIR CABLE NETWORK

Below are some highlights from Vince McMahon’s conference call with WWE investors on Thursday morning:

* WWE Studios took a $3.3 million loss on That’s What I Am but are still confident in their movie division and will continue rolling new titles out.

* WWE is moving forward with plans for a live, arena-based show to air at 8pm EST on Monday nights going into RAW at 9pm. No word yet if it will air on the USA Network or not.

* WWE is looking at getting either NXT, Superstars or both back on a TV network before the end of this year.

* Regarding the WWE cable network, the company has meetings with more potential distributors in the next few weeks. WWE is still on track for the previously announced projected launch in 12-18 months from the first of the year. Vince McMahon is confident that the network will be a success.

* Vince revealed that UFC recently failed in negotiations for a network with NBC and thinks WWE has much more to offer in a network.

MIZ ROCK AND CENA WILL BE IN TEEN CHOICE AWARDS

The Miz will be in Los Angeles this weekend for the Teen Choice Awards. John Cena will be joining him as both will be presenting awards. The Rock is up for an award so he will be there also.

UPDATE ON WWE'S CABLE NETWORK

WWE currently has 100,000 hours of footage for their tape library, which will be a big part of the new cable network. 30,000 hours of those 100,000 hours have been digitized for the network and 25% of the digitized footage is in HD.

TRIPLE H TALKS ABOUT RETURNING TO THE RING

 WWE’s website has put up a Triple H video interview to go along with the CM Punk and John Cena interviews from earlier this week. Regarding returning to the ring, Triple H said:

“Never say never in WWE. I don’t know. If I put myself in the seats of the WWE Universe and the right guy comes along at the right time and it’s the right challenge, would I want to see it? I think there’s your answer.”

MELINA TALKS ABOUT WWE DIVAS, THEIR CONDITION IN WWE

WWE Diva Melina spoke with Slam Wrestling this past week. Here are some highlights:

Fans thinking she has lost her push:
“That’s just the way it goes. Nothing goes smoothly all the time in life, nothing’s always perfect in any career. In this business, everybody’s going to get their shot; I can’t always get mine. And I accept that. It’s not that I’m being punished. It’s just the way it goes. My fans may want me to get more time, to get more of a push, and I’m happy that they think that. I’m glad that they think that, because that means they still care. And one day it will happen, you’ve got to be patient.”

Divas dealing with less time and getting credit:
“I trust there’s a reason that we get the time we get, and that there’s going to be a day that we get even more. But until then, we give everything that we can in our allotted time. I think there’s an art to that, and I’m very proud of all the girls on the roster that we’re able to do what we can in that amount of time. People don’t always give the girls the credit that we deserve. I’m not saying that’s within the company, because I know in our company people do know what we have to offer. But I think the ‘smart’ fans sometimes think that we’re being held back because we’re not talented — but we are. I work with these girls every day, and I know what they have to offer.

It’s so difficult. We have to look good with our costumes, our hair, and our makeup. And still be PG. But then we have so much more to prove, since because we’re women, it’s like people think we’re not going to be good wrestlers, or they judge us. People don’t realize how much more work we have to do to prove that we can hang, that we’re here, that we deserve to be here.”

Missing the role of being a manager:
“I miss it. It was a lot of fun. You can be a character behind it, and show little details. There’s so much to be said for doing the little things, like showing a little facials, the way I react to my guy and what he’s doing. I also miss cheating, doing stuff behind the ref’s back. I like being a heel. Being a heel is fun, because there’s so much fun you can have with the character. I get to act crazy, and basically be my alter-ego. When people are rude and mean to me, the person that I really am, I just say, ‘Okay, let it go, and keep moving on with my day.’ As a heel, I can take all those moments where I thought, ‘I wish I could have said this to that person, or done that to this person’ and put it into that character and act it out in the ring.”

SIN CARA TO RETURN SOONER THAN EXPECTED

The Wrestling Observer reports that Sin Cara will be returning at this coming Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings in Sacramento, California. This would mean that Cara’s time off for suspension was cut to three weeks instead of the 30 days.

WWE POSTING STORYLINE INTERVIEWS TO PROMOTE PUNK VS CENA

WWE’s website has posted a series of storyline interviews with John Cena and CM Punk to promote their WWE Title match at the SummerSlam pay-per-view. In one of the videos, Punk talks about wanting to see more people like the Divas, Zack Ryder, Tyson Kidd and Dolph Ziggler get more WWE TV time.

PHOTOS: UNDERTAKER SHAVED HEAD(BALD)

BIG STORYLINE PLANNED FOR REY MYSTERIO AFTER SUMMERSLAM

The Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California is advertising that Rey Mysterio will get a WWE Title shot against the winner of SummerSlam's CM Punk vs. John Cena match on the August 15th RAW, the night after SummerSlam in Rey's hometown. For what it's worth, it was reported a month ago that WWE had big plans for Rey that would begin the night after SummerSlam.

CM PUNK TO APPEAR AT HOT TOPIC ON HOLLYWOOD

WWE Champion CM Punk will be appearing at Hot Topic on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 12th at 5pm. There is a limit of one autograph and wristband per person. Purchase must be made at a participating Hot Topic store.

VINCE MCMAHON SAYS WWE IS ENTERTAINMENT UFC IS SPORTS

Vince McMahon said during the investors call yesterday that his recent meeting with UFC President Dana White was more social than anything else, but they did talk some business. Vince was asked if WWE and UFC would hook-up to start a network together and he said no, because WWE is entertainment and UFC is sports.