Random wrestling thoughts

[JackFetch]

NEW YORK -- Ahead of the company's annual pay per view spectacular WrestleMania at the end of the month, World Wrestling Entertainment shares recently hit a new 52-week high of $18.11, begging the question of where they will go next.

Some on Wall Street have pointed out that a recent runup has left them at a premium to entertainment giants and argued that there is no immediate catalyst to drive them higher

But others say a three-year business plan unveiled late last year that calls for 15%-20% earnings growth and excitement about the upcoming annual extravaganza have encouraged investors, as has the lack of major competitive pressure -- at least so far -- from smaller wrestling rival TNA, which recently teamed with ring legend Hulk Hogan, and mixed martial arts outfit UFC.

"We continue to view WWE shares favorably due to steady cash flows and dividends, an expected surge in consumer products revenue and a near-term catalyst in WrestleMania XXVI," said Roth Capital's Richard Ingrassia in mid-February in maintaining his "buy" rating. However, the stock has since inched closer to the analyst's $18 price target.

Wedbush Securities analyst Chris White upgraded the stock from "neutral" to "outperform" in late January and boosted his price target by $5 to $19 before another upgrade from a fellow analyst. "We have a high degree of confidence the company can grow earnings 15%-20% through 2012," even though some investors have had their doubts, White argued.

He later also called WWE's new toy licensing deal with Mattel, rather than former partner Jakks Pacific, a game-changer that is still under-appreciated by the Street. "We expect Mattel's much larger distribution network and international presence to drive meaningful upside for WWE over the next few years," White said.

But Arvind Bhatia, analyst Sterne, Agee & Leach, is less convinced that there is more upside in WWE's stock. He rates it at "neutral."

"We continue to be impressed with management's ability to manage expenses, but feel that overall headwinds still exist for the company -- demonstrated by weak domestic attendance/ticket pricing and weakness in consumer products (driven by home video and licensing revenue)," he said.

WWE shares on Wednesday closed at $17.12, giving the company a market capitalization of $1.26 billion. Over the past year, the stock has traded as low as $10.34. Its one-year return stands at 71%, according to Bloomberg.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i099b017238aa63a7579b7e5b4bb64de0?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Ftelevision+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Television%29

The actual wrestling might not be that great right now, but they are making money like crazy.

[JackFetch]

Mickie James almost lost her leg due to that staph infection:

I didnt realize the severity of the infection and how bad it was. When i was admitted into the hospital I went straight into surgery to get the infection out of my body. They also told me I wouldnt make it to Wrestlemania. I told them they were wrong.. Watch me! When I woke up i was devastated... My leg was in an immobilizer, my knee was sliced open with tubes coming from it t help drain it. As the days passed in the hospital I found out more and more about the infection, about how bad mine truly was. The nurses also explained to me what could have happened if it had gone a little longer untreated. The infection had already gotten into my bloodstream and I was extremely ill.. A few more day meant I could have lost my leg.. Even my life.

http://fans.wwe.com/mickiejames/blog/2010/03/17/wrestlemania_amp;_my_cd_release

[Guest]

Jesus.

Good thing she caught it in time.

[Aaron Robinson]

Holy Crap. I'm glad she got help in time. My grandfather is in an awful, awful state from a staph infection. It's not a pleasant experience.

[JackFetch]

Here is an article that details how much money Wrestlemania brings to not only WWE, but the host cities as well.

In last year's second quarter, WrestleMania generated about $8.4 million in live-event revenue and $21 million in PPV sales thanks to nearly 1 million buys, which helped lay the groundwork for a WrestleMania revenue contribution of $32.2 million.

Houston hosted WrestleMania last year and the Super Bowl in 2004. Despite a recession, WrestleMania XXV at Reliant Stadium created $49.8 million in direct, indirect and induced economic stimulus, according to Enigma. About 600 full-time jobs for the area were created, and local and regional authorities raked in $5.7 million in tax revenue.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i56ed42b9a46f855416db94594ee97cd6?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Fnews+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+News%29

[SuaveStar]

[Stavros]

I'm a huge fan of Joe, but that's dead-on. I've never seen a main event guy removed from the active roster so stupidly, and what's more they aren't even mentioning it again.

Dave Meltzer's updates on this have been hilarious, he keeps noting that Joe must have been let out by his captors to work Indy shows in Canada and New Jersey.

[Guest]

If the next episode of Impact was just two hours of Joe making his escape fighting a warehouse full of ninjas, I'd never say another cross word about TNA.

[Stavros]

If the next episode of Impact was just two hours of Joe making his escape fighting a warehouse full of ninjas, I'd never say another cross word about TNA.

Please let Joe be kidnapped by The Hand. Then we can look forward to the Russoriffic skit of him being sacrificed, raised from the dead and turning heel.

Or even better, once Russo is fired and Hogan and Bischoff have left, TNA returns to Thursdays, Joe comes back, the show gets a 1.1 and Joe and takes credit for the rating, Hogan-style.

[SuaveStar]

Hogan saves Joe. I'm calling it now.

[Guest]

I just want to see him Muscle Bustering ninjas.

[Stavros]

I just want to see him Muscle Bustering ninjas.

I usually hate giant evil heel groups but I'd be perfectly happy if half of TNA's roster became a Masked Ninja Army. Especially if that's what Hall & Waltman's fat new contracts had them doing.

[JackFetch]

I decided to pull out the tv at work and put on TNA to see what's going on. These are some comments from non TNA fans watching it for the first time:

What the hell is this?

Do they rehearse this shit, or just make it up as they go?

This would have been great 15 years ago.

Flair looks like Don Knotts moving around in that wheelchair. He's all spazzy.

It happened to be during the Hogan/Flair segment.

My favorite came from a teenager:

You know back in the old days wrestling was real.

I almost spit out my drink when he said that.

[Stavros]

My favorite came from a teenager:

You know back in the old days wrestling was real.

I almost spit out my drink when he said that.

I am still constantly amazing by people's lack of understanding when it comes to wrestling. How is there still confusion over what it is? They've been open about it for 20 years! I still get people telling me its fake, as though revealing some great secret to me. I know for god sake! I've been watching for 10 years, I've cottoned on to that much.

[Delete]

No one would have believed it if you told them CM Punk was going to be booked 100000000 times better in WWE than Joe was going to be in TNA

[SuaveStar]

The following is a new tweet form the official Twitter page of TNA president Dixie Carter:

"The week of 3/14, TNA iMPACT! had its highest rating ever on Bravo in the UK, beating WWE Raw & Smackdown."

For anyone who doesn't know, Bravo is available on all paid packages on Sky and Virgin Media. Raw and Smackdown are on Sky Sports, which is a premium channel.

Also:

TNA scored a 0.9 cable rating (rounded up from an 0.86) with 1.2 million viewers for last night's live Impact show on Spike TV.

That is up very slightly from last week's number. It is an increase of about two percent.

[SuaveStar]

I'm just starting this weeks NXT, I still hate Skip Sheffield.

[Guest]

Human Tornado has retired.

And he's already back, from what I hear.

[S-T]

This looks to be more of the "Make Linda look good, but also make us PG" thing that is going on.

If they think any voters are buying that they are out of their minds. No one is that stupid. The attitude era wasn't that long ago.

Linda has no chance, even in CT. Not in a GOP primary, not this year. Republicans won't nominate a new face who believes abortion should be legal.

[JackFetch]

This looks to be more of the "Make Linda look good, but also make us PG" thing that is going on.

If they think any voters are buying that they are out of their minds. No one is that stupid. The attitude era wasn't that long ago.

Linda has no chance, even in CT. Not in a GOP primary, not this year. Republicans won't nominate a new face who believes abortion should be legal.

A new poll on the U.S. Senate race in Connecticut shows former wrestling executive Linda McMahon now apparently leading former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons in the fight for the Republican nomination

http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=12156848

Fun fact: Linda's yacht is named "Sexy Bitch".

[Guest]

[Molly]

Honestly, Khali's chin is way more distracting than any look Hart could ever have on his face.

[Guest]

He's the Punjabi Bruce Campbell.

[Stavros]

A moment in history- The Best there was and The Best there is.

[JackFetch]

Meltzer is reporting that TNA is having huge financial problems.

One oft-overlooked factor in TNA's destiny to compete with rival promotion World Wrestling Entertainment are the added expenses entailed.

Since January, the company has ballooned its roster to over 70 performers with the notable additions of high priced stars such as Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy and the former Mr. Kennedy. Furthermore, the company has added the costly expense of going live every other Monday night and promotion of said move (i.e. airing commercials during Monday Night Raw and running Billboards in Times Square). Other than slight bumps in house show attendance and merchandise sales, TNA has to little to show for its efforts. In fact, ratings are at its lowest levels in four years due to the move to Monday nights.

Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer cryptically said during a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that TNA is having bigger financial problems than most realize.

"I'm worried about my friends who work for TNA because they have bigger financial problems than anyone knows," Meltzer said.