WWE New Slogan? Stock Update

Last night WWE sent out an email to people on their mailing list asking them to participate in a survey to choose the new company tagline. Here are the choices:

WWE...Let Us Entertain You
WWE...Real Entertainment
WWE...It's On
WWE...It's Unreal
WWE...Where the Story Never Ends
WWE...The Ultimate Thrill Ride

WWE Management hope to start promoting a new slogan after this year Wrestlemania PPV which is considered the beginning of a new year in the WWE Calendar.

WWE's stock price has done very well since the company released their 2007 4th quarter earnings report yesterday. The stock closed at 15.31 yesterday and jumped over a point "after the bell" to open at 16.59 this morning. As of this writing, the stock is up another 30 cents (2%).

WWE has received a lot of praise from the financial media in the past day. Their new toy deal with Mattel, who is a giant in the toy business, certainly has helped the stock rise today. Today WWE's stock hit its highest point since June 15th, 2007.

WWE Congress Hearing Latest Update

For those wondering what happened to WWE having congressional hearings about performance enhancement drugs etc, well they have got away with it. George Mitchell released a strong report on growth enhancers in Major League Baseball and wrestling has been totally forgotten from the mix.

Vince has reportedly forgotten all about the past years controversies, or at least that's the way he is acting. With Wrestlemania coming up, there is alot of pressure to be in peak shape for the biggest PPV of the year, certain WWE Superstars are noticeably bigger than they were several months back when the steroid scandal was hot in the news.

WWE Stars In Rehab, Bobby Lashley Update, Jericho Book Deal

Former WWE Superstar Sean "X-Pac" Waltman is denying claims made by Juventud Guerrera that Waltman recently attempted suicide. Waltman says he had a bad reaction from mixing antidepressants and alcohol.

Waltman did say that WWE is paying for his current stay in a treatment facility. Ron Simmons, Scott Hall and Jake Roberts are also currently in rehab on WWE's offer.

WWE and Bobby Lashley officially parted ways on February 4th. WWE tried to retain Lashley as there were several strong attempts made to satisfy him. However, an agreement was never reached. For those wondering, Lashley made over $1 million last year with WWE.

Chris Jericho has not yet signed the deal for a sequel to his "A Lion's Tale" autobiography. The offer is still on the table as the sequel will likely pick up where the last book left off (from 1999 to today).

As of the time of this writing, WWE has sold 57,000 tickets for WrestleMania XXIV.

Jakks Pacific End Deals With WWE and Signs For TNA

Mattel Inc. announced today that they have agreed on a deal with WWE to become the company’s master toy licensee. WWE, who has been with Jakks Pacific for years, sued Jakks on accusations of bribery to win their last licensing deal. The lawsuit was dismissed in December. WWE’s new deal with Mattel will not go into effect until January 2010 and will last five years.

Jakks WWE action figure fans have started a petition in hopes that WWE won't end their deal in 2009 - http://www.petitiononline.com/WF_Renew/petition.html

Meanwhile, Jakks Pacific announced today that they have signed a deal with TNA Wrestling to become their master toy licensee when their deal with WWE expires in 2010.

Below is an official press release:

MALIBU, Calif., Feb 13, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The world leader in wrestling toys, JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK), today announced that it signed an exclusive five year worldwide Master Toy License with TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Entertainment LLC for TNA Wrestling, with a planned launch expected to commence in 2010.

JAKKS' new TNA Master Toy License includes all styles of action figures, playsets, accessories and role play toys as well as collectible items based on TNA Wrestling's top talent which includes wrestling megastars Kurt Angle, Booker T, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Kevin Nash, Team 3D and other wrestlers who have chosen to align with the world's fastest growing wrestling league, TNA Wrestling.

TNA has been increasing in popularity since its inception in 2002. "TNA iMPACT" airs every Thursday night from 9:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT on Spike TV (available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks). Through a combination of televised programming, pay-per view and live events, TNA is also available in over 110 countries around the globe. For instance, the United Kingdom, historically JAKKS' strongest international territory for wrestling toys, is also TNA's strongest international territory, with programming having just moved from Bravo II to the main Bravo channel.

"TNA's stellar and growing arsenal of top world famous wrestlers, impressive ratings increases, aggressive live touring event schedule, and mounting exposure worldwide, coupled with JAKKS' expertise as the world's leading wrestling toy maker, bodes well for this new wrestling toy line to create a perfect storm," said JAKKS' Chairman and CEO Jack Friedman. "By the time 2010 arrives, TNA should be able to increase its market share even more significantly, and fans should be even more receptive to a new and exciting wrestling toy line."

"TNA fans have come to expect the very best in professional wrestling in everything we do, and JAKKS represents the top of the line in pro wrestling action figures," said Dixie Carter, President of TNA Wrestling. "We could not be more thrilled to have the world's leading wrestling toymaker join the fastest growing professional wrestling brand in the world. We believe that JAKKS' strength in the wrestling action figure genre will help continue TNA's reinvention of pro wrestling."

New Year Revolution Dropped, WWE Oversea Tour, More

WWE dropped the New Year's Revolution pay-per-view from the January schedule so they could concentrate more on their other pay-per-view events.The general feeling among WWE Management was there are enough PPV and New Year Revolution was one too many.

WWE (Smackdown/ECW) will be touring New Zealand in June. The shows will be: 6/11 in Auckland and 6/12 in Christchurch.

The Raw brand is scheduled for a tour of Mexico following the May 18 Judgment Day PPV in Omaha, NE and the subsequent Monday Night Raw in Kansas City, MO . Shows announced in Mexico are Monterey on May 21, May 22 in Queretaro, and in Mexico City on May 23 and May 24.

WWE see the international tours as a important part of reaching their global fan base especially since the attendance in US are declining.

Former WWE Superstar Gangrel has been telling people that he'll be retiring from the ring to concentrate on directing adult movies.

The Song "Light Up The Sky" by Yellowcard is also being used for Wrestlemania.

Beniot Case Closed with Final Report

A lengthy investigation by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office into the triple murder-suicide involving Chris Benoit has concluded that the professional wrestler killed his wife and 7-year-old son, and that he acted alone.

Tuesday morning's announcement came after "a careful examination of all evidence" collected by authorities since the bodies of Benoit, his wife Nancy and Daniel, their 7-year-old son, were found inside their Fayetteville home in late June.

Authorities had cited evidence that had originally pointed to Benoit as his family's killer before he decided to take his own life.

The sheriff's department said further investigation supported those initial indications. The department said it "found no evidence that indicates the presence of any other individual or individuals who contributed to the deaths of the three members of the Benoit family."

Benoit, a former World Wrestling Entertainment star, was found to have abnormally high levels of testosterone in his body at the time of his death, said Dr. Kris Sperry, Georgia's top medical examiner.

Sperry, however, added there was no direct link between Benoit's steroid use and the violence that claimed his life and that of his family.

The estates of both Chris Benoit and Nancy Benoit are considering wrongful death lawsuits against the WWE.

Steve Austin new DVD, Hardy Boyz new DVD and more

The Best of Raw 15th Anniversary DVD topped Billboard's sports DVD chart for the fifth week in a row in their February 9 chart.

The new Steve Austin DVD titled 'The Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin' has been released today and has been getting postive reviews. The DVD features three discs for a total running time of 540 minutes with matches from his time in WCW, ECW and of course WWE. 21 matches are on these discs with lots of other interview segments.

The Preview of the DVD is as follows:

the Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin is a three-disc set that collects matches from Austin's time in the WWF/E, as well as throwing a couple from his time in the WCW and ECW. While those promotions saw Steve delivering matches which should've put him over much faster, he was stuck in a rut until Eric Bischoff decided to fire him from ECW. This event, as well as a nurturing environment provided by ECW and Paul Heyman, resulted in Steve exploding in the WWF and, to this day, sharing in the same adoration that fans show wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Roddy Piper.

The Matt and Jeff Hardy DVD release. The set is scheduled to hit stores on April 29th:

September 27, 1998 two young wrestlers made their debut on Sunday Night Heat. From their very first match the fans knew they were something special. Risk takers, crash and burners these two performers exemplified the heart and soul of the tag-team division. Simply put, they are artists – both in and out of the ring. SummerSlam 2000, the Hardys’ competed in their first ever Ladder Match, rocketing them through the ranks of the tag team division winning the titles on four occasions and making the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match a staple in the WWE. While they may have gone their separate ways they have managed to capture the Intercontinental, Hardcore, European, Light Heavyweight, WCW Tag Team and Cruiserweight Championships respectfully. Now, relive “Team Extreme” once more as they continue to climb to new heights when you own the Hardys Twist of Fate DVD.

Disc 1 The Matt Hardy Story

Matt Hardy was born to wrestle—from his earliest days in homemade rings he and his brother created through his unbelievable matches on WWE SmackDown. The road to the top wasn’t always smooth, including some behind-the-scenes battles with other superstars that spilled into the ring. This DVD tells Matt’s complete story, and collects some amazing matches.

Matches include:
OMEGA Wrestling Tag Team Title Match
The Hardy Boyz vs. The Serial Thrillaz
No DQ; No Count Out Match: Matt Hardy vs. Kane

Steel Cage Match: Matt Hardy vs. Edge

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Matt Hardy vs. Joey Mercury

Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy

Disc 2 The Jeff Hardy Story

Jeff Hardy has ascended from one of the top tag teams in WWE history to a wildly popular singles star with the WWE Championship in his sight. This DVD examines his colorful career in and out of the ring, including his recent spectacular success on Raw.

Matches include:
The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudleys

Intercontinental Title Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H

Steel Cage Match for the Intercontinental Championship Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin

World Tag Team Title Match
The Hardys vs. Cade & Murdoch

Winner Gets WWE Championship Title Shot
at Royal Rumble: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H

Steel Cage Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga

WWE Plans For 2008 TV , PPV and Films

The feeling among WWE managament is that they have "turned a corner" when it comes to producing better pay-per-view events, including early results from the Royal Rumble. The company was very happy with how the Royal Rumble PPV went down. WWE has been working to make each pay-per-view more unique than the other ones since the Summer of last year. The Upcoming No Way Out PPV will feature two Elimanation Chamber matches in one night.

-Some have wondered that with SmackDown leaving the CW Network, would WWE be streaming SmackDown on WWE.com. Right now, WWE wants to find a new home for the show before anything, but it is possible in the future that WWE.com will have an exclusive SmackDown show but for the time being they want it to be a broadcast show only.

When SmackDown moves to it's new network this year, WWE wants to get a higher price tag for it from the new network. Negotiations are already underway with other networks and by the looks of early talks, WWE will indeed get a higher price tag for the show.

- WWE is planning to keep WWE Films focused on direct-to-video projects and has several movies in the works. This is due to the poor box office of the last few theater projects such as The Condemned and The Marine. Both movies DVD rentals actually generated higher revenues than the box office for both films. Therefore it make more sense for direct to video projects as WWE Films need to establish itself as a credibility brand while cutting down losses.

WWE Films has one movie they are working on that is a theatrical project, but there will be no releases from WWE Films in all of 2008. All filming work they are doing right now are for 2009 releases. It costs WWE $4-5 million to do a direct-to-video project and $20 million to do a theatrical project.

Hall Of Fame 08 List, Edge and Vickie Storyline

The hall of fame selections for the class of 2008 are said to be close to being completed. At this point, Mae Young and Ric Flair are considered to be a lock. If WWE can get The Rock for the ceremony, Rocky Johnson and "High Chief" Peter Maivia are considered strong candidates. Dusty Rhodes is pushing for legendary announcer Gordon Solie to be inducted. Jim Ross has unsuccessfully pushed for Solie in the past.

Sources say that some people backstage in the SmackDown locker room are uncomfortable with the way the current Edge and Vickie Guerrero storyline is going. However, Vickie is said to be doing fine and enjoying being in the locker room and a part of the show every week. There is no heat on Edge for his involvement in the storyline.

One source believe the storyline is a way to get payback on Edge for his breaking up of Matt Hardy relationship with Lita by a certain member of the booking team.

A lot of people are worried how Vickie and her daughters feel about the angle but people say Vickie has told anyone who asks that she thinks her late husband Eddie Guerrero would be fine with the storyline. Currently Vickie only work the TV and PPV Shows and does not work house shows. This is granted by Vince McMahon so that Vickie Guerrero can spend time with her kids.

WWE HD Transition Costs, TNA Planning A "Cyber Sunday"?, Triple H Backstage Heat

WWE spent around 20 million dollars to upgrade their production facilities in Stamford to enter into the HD universe. Even though it seems like that was a lot of capital to spend, WWE feels it needed to be done to stay on the cutting edge of technology. Even those who don't watch in HD have benefited as the picture in SD is considerably better now that they are using new equipment.

TNA Wrestling sent out a text message to their "TNA Mobile" subscribers earlier today announcing that they will be holding a "fully interactive PPV" later this year. This is seen as a way to compete against WWE's Cyber Sunday and generate more interest in TNA via fan interactions.

Triple H still has some backstage heat on him for apparently holding other wrestlers back when they get too popular or too over, although nobody says anything about it out loud. One of the most famous cases of HHH trying to hold someone back was Kurt Angle, when he said flat out that Angle was too small for the job. Despite The Game’s politicking, Angle would go on to hold the WWE World Heavyweight, Undisputed, Intercontinental, European, Hardcore, and Tag Team championships during his run with the company. John Cena is viewed as the only guy to really make it big that HHH hasn‘t tried to work against backstage.

TNA Star Disliked Backstage, Samoa Joe To WWE?

Those in the TNA locker room aren't too happy about the buzz about Jonny Fairplay returning to TNA. Most in the company see Fairplay as a pain in the rear and don't want him around. Back in his earlier TNA days, a group of wrestlers almost ribbed Fairplay by turning out the lights in the locker room and shaving his head one night, but it never happened. The Survivor star does have some friends in the TNA locker room including Sharkboy.

- Samoa Joe's current contract with TNA expires in June of this year. Joe rejected a renewal offer from the company earlier this year but there's always that chance that he and TNA have came to terms on a new deal in private. There is talk within TNA of putting the World Title on him sooner than later. People close to Joe think he would sign with WWE if they made him a comparable offer to TNA's and if WWE presented him with a good enough gimmick.

Stephanie McMahon Confirmed Pregnant

In light of the rumors circulating, Stephanie McMahon has confirmed her second pregnancy via WWE.com: Here is their article:

Congratulations are in order for Stephanie McMahon and her husband Paul Levesque. The daughter of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has confirmed to WWE.com that she is pregnant with her second child.

“Being a mom is the greatest gift in the world,” said McMahon. “I couldn’t be more excited.”

McMahon’s statement to WWE.com confirms rumors that have been circulating in the press that she is expected to give birth to her second child this summer.

We at WWE.com would like to wish the expectant parents a healthy and happy pregnancy.

With Wrestlemania coming up, Stephanie McMahon is expected to continue her backstage duties as per normal before taking time off during the Summer.

Orton's Clique Backstage, and John Cena Reputation

Randy Orton is said to have formed something of a clique with wrestlers such as Umaga and Carlito as of late and has been known to stick up for them. One thing the group likes to do is play around with Shawn Michaels by calling him names and pulling pranks on him.

During a recent WWE tour, Umaga was confronted by Shawn Michaels over his ring attire. Randy Orton defended The Samoa Bulldozer and got into a argument with Shawn Michaels.

Meanwhile John Cena is friendly with virtually everyone in the locker room and the wrestlers respect his work ethic, he is also considered a "kiss ass" by some. Cena hangs out with Vince McMahon, something not uncommon for the company's #1 babyface. One wrestler said, "Cena is definitely Vince’s boy and that’s why Triple H doesn’t even try to f--- with him". While Cena is viewed as a company man, Randy Orton is viewed as someone who will stand up to management.