WWE Rumors: Another Talent Purge Could Be Coming
By Nicholas A. Marsico
@nickmarsico
Zack Ryder – WWE Universe Facebook
With the third-quarter conference call come and gone, there has been a lot of speculation about bad things on the horizon. WWE stock is down, Wall Street, as always, is talking about how WWE is again on the plate for hungry buyers who wish to acquire the company and everyone is all doom and gloom.
Chief Financial Officer George Barrios, another guy who has become a Vince McMahon ‘yes’ man and who bears a striking resemblance to the classic and hated Vince hanger-on Kevin Dunn, spent much of the conference call dodging questions and giving out only the talking points he wanted to talk about, instead of actually answering questions. Of course, that’s not anything new for any company in the history of history, but this is World Wrestling Entertainment. Nobody jumps on stuff like this the way internet wrestling fans do.
WWE netted about 45,000 new subscribers for the WWE Network in the third quarter of 2014, but talked only about adding 300,000 subscribers and omitted the loss of 255,000. Again, it’s no big deal and that’s expected. The Network has 731,000 subscribers, and they aren’t likely to hit the 1 million number by the end of 2014, but the growth has been steady. They are gaining more than they are losing, and with the content getting stronger and expansion into foreign markets, 2015 will be a much more successful year. I’m no expert, and I don’t think they are going to make a profit from the Network in 2015 either, but it feels like the Network is going to be a success.
All of that talk has led to the ever prevalent speculation that talent is set to be on the chopping block. So who would be on the way out the door? The last time there was a mass evacuation of employees, the entire magazine staff got the axe. This time I expect, if people are going to go, the first set will be developmental talent that haven’t been picking up on things quickly enough. The next set would be guys who aren’t always brought on the road and aren’t an asset for things like movies or social campaigns (Be A Star, etc).
So the important thing, then, is who is set to go? Zack Ryder has been sitting on the sidelines like a punished child for what feels like ages. Curtis Axel has been a complete bust and may be beyond saving (plus his partnership with Ryback is officially over). Brad Maddox disappeared without warning. R-Truth shows up once-in-a-while. And Los Matadores are completely replaceable.
Do I expect there will be a talent purge before the end of the year? No, I don’t. Will there be some layoffs in 2015? That’s a possibility, but not until after some new guys come up from NXT and beat them up for a few weeks.
Nicholas A. Marsico is a pro wrestling writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter and Like him on Facebook.
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