WWE
WWE Adds Another ESPN Talent: Veteran Football Announcer Joe Tessitore to Join Broadcast Team
The WWE has hired another top ESPN personality for its on-air broadcast team. The wrestling giant — owned by TKO Group Holdings — says that it has hired Joe Tessitore as a play-by-play broadcaster. Tessitore, a long-time ESPN veteran (he will continue to work at the sports TV giant in addition to the WWE), will […]
- By
John Cena Says He’s Retiring From Professional Wrestling After the 2025 Season
John Cena says he will retire from professional wrestling next year after two decades in the ring. On Saturday night, the wrestler-turned-actor delivered a heartfelt speech in Toronto to a stadium of World Wrestling Entertainment fans, who booed in disappointment as Cena said the 2025 season would be his last. He promised a farewell tour with dozens of […]
- By
WWE’s WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble Headed to Indianapolis (Exclusive)
Sports entertainment powerhouse WWE has struck a broad-based partnership that will bring three WWE stadium events, including WrestleMania, to Indianapolis, starting with the Royal Rumble on Feb. 1, 2025. Call it a triple coup (for Indiana), thanks to the creative success of “Triple H” Paul Levesque (the former wrestler who is now chief content officer […]
- By
TKO Smashes Wall Street Revenue Expectations, Raises Guidance as UFC Settlement Hits Profits
TKO Group Holdings beat Wall Street revenue expectations to a pulp in its first quarter 2024 earnings report Wednesday, though a $335 million UFC fighter pay settlement pushed the company from a profit to a loss in the quarter. The company also cut a new WWE distribution deal, albeit a relatively minor one: Raw, which […]
- By
Vince McMahon to Sell $311M in TKO Stock to the Company and Endeavor
At Wrestlemania 40 this past weekend, WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque took to the stage at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and opened the events by declaring it a “new era” for the company. It was the first Wrestlemania to be held under the ownership of TKO Group Holdings, formed when Endeavor […]
- By
Dwayne Johnson Now Owns the IP Rights to “Jabroni”
Not only can Dwayne Johnson smell what The Rock is cooking … but he can monetize it now, too. Last month, WWE owner TKO Group Holdings added Johnson to its board of directors. In conjunction with that move, the company also gave Johnson the IP and trademark rights to his WWE stage name: The Rock. […]
- By
WWE Inks Deal With X to Stream ‘Speed’ Matches
X is getting into the ring with the WWE. 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. The series, which is […]
- By
How Vince McMahon Got TKO’d
When Vince McMahon stepped into the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 23, he was on hand to celebrate what was supposed to be a triumph for TKO Group Holdings, the company for which he was executive chairman, and the owner of the WWE, the wrestling promotion that McMahon turned into a multibillion-dollar business. Earlier that […]
- By
Vince McMahon Is “Gone” and More Takeaways From Netflix’s Press Day
Ahead of next week’s semiannual Television Critics Association press tour, Netflix staged its own press event Wednesday — dubbed Next on Netflix — at its Tudum Theater in Hollywood. Content chief Bela Bajaria and her top lieutenants, vp nonfiction Brandon Riegg and vp Latin America Paco Ramos, previewed a slate of new and returning TV […]
- By
Vince McMahon Out at WWE and UFC Owner TKO
Vince McMahon is out at TKO. Following allegations of battery and sex trafficking from a former employee, McMahon “has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors. He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE,” stated WWE Nick Khan president in […]
- By
Vince McMahon Sued Over Sex Trafficking Claim By Former Employee Who Took Hush Money Payments
WWE founder Vince McMahon and a former executive have been sued for sex trafficking and battery by a ex-administrative employee, who questioned the extent of the company’s investigation into hush money payments after she wasn’t interviewed despite stating her cooperation. Janel Grant, in a lawsuit filed in Connecticut federal court on Thursday, said she was […]
- By
Netflix Stock Surges as Wall Street Boosts Price Targets on Strong Earnings Metrics
Netflix shares jumped on Wednesday after the streaming giant surprised Wall Street on Jan. 23 by reporting its second-best quarterly subscriber additions ever (13 million) and unveiling a 10-year, $5 billion deal for WWE flagship show Raw, as well as the sports entertainment powerhouse’s content internationally. The latter allowed the company to make a big splash […]
- By