Wrestlenomics

WWE reported its Q4 and full year 2021 earnings on Thursday. The company made more than $1 billion in revenue and $180 million in net income for the year, both new records. Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo go into depth on comments of Nick Khan, the few words from Vince McMahon, and all we learned about WWE's business and its outlook going forward. Get the Wrestlenomics Pro Wrestling Industry...

Brandon Thurston is joined by MJ from NJ to preview WWE's next earnings report and conference call, coming up on Thursday after the close of the market. This podcast is an edited audio version of the YouTube live stream version of this podcast, which was longer and had a few audio issues: https://youtu.be/k3myNNQX-gg 📊 TV ratings reports and data: https://patreon.com/wrestlenomics 🎙️ Listen t...

WWE president Nick Khan spoke with the Sports Business Journal this past week, days before the outlet also reported Disney+ Hotstar acquired WWE Network rights in Indonesia. As terms for next-day rights to Raw and Smackdown, currently held by Hulu, near expiration, Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo discuss the possible suitors for that content. Plus, some news about WWE possibly outsourcing its liv...

New Japan returned to AXS TV this week and we have the exclusive ratings breakdown for the program as well as the final airings for New Japan in 2019. We’ll look at how the New Japan TV audience might differ from Impact and others in wrestling. Raw and NXT will be preempted due to the Olympics for two weeks in February. Plus, we take questions from our subscribers. Video version: https://youtu.be/...

MLW filed an antitrust lawsuit against WWE on Tuesday for allegedly interfering with MLW's deal with Fox-owned streaming service Tubi. Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo spend the entire episode breaking down the legal complaint and the outlook of the case. Video version: https://youtu.be/Dr-9f9PZths New Wrestlenomics merchandise is available now at https://store.postwrestling.com ! Get brand ne...

Many of "Triple H" Paul Levesque's allies were let go from WWE in the same week Bron Breakker won the NXT title and kicked over a yellow "X" that symbolized the brand's prior era. New Japan Pro Wrestling comes back to AXS TV in a block with Impact on Thursday nights. New episodes begin in March. Plus, AEW Dynamite debuts on TBS. We look at the quarter-hour breakdown. 📺 Tun...

David Bixenspan joins Brandon to for a special bonus episode to discuss some retrospective Wrestlenomics topics that Bix has written about recently, including WWF pay-per-view buys and the TV ratings for WWF's "Black Saturday" run on TBS, and more. Read David Bixenspan's written work: https://babyfacevheel.substack.com/ Follow Bix on Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidbix/ 📺 Tune i...

*Brandon's conversation with David Bixenspan mentioned in this podcast that wouldn't fit in the episode is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utE9AHetcmk Former AEW wrestler Big Swole criticized AEW’s diversity on Friday, leading Tony Khan to defend the company on Twitter. We look at the data on how often wrestlers of color, including Black wrestlers, appear in main events on...

2021 was the year of Nick Khan and Tony Khan (no relation), both of whom gained influence in the industry. WWE president Nick Khan sold U.S. WWE Network rights to Peacock. The former CAA agent made numerous other licensing deals as WWE revamped its talent development vision. Meanwhile, AEW CEO Tony Khan led All Elite Wrestling to overcome NXT in the Wednesday Night War. “TK” signed CM Punk and Bry...

As 2021 draws to an end, we make some predictions for 2022. Will Ring of Honor run a show next year? What will WWE and AEW TV ratings be? Plus, Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo discuss some mainstream media articles related to AEW’s recent TV ratings, the history of DQ finishes across companies, and NOAH and DDT parent, CyberFight, reported a net loss for its fiscal year. A subscription to the Wre...

AEW and WWE's views on talent development appear to be diverging. Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo discuss WWE's announcement of college athlete signings to its new NIL program. Meanwhile Johnny Gargano and Kyle O'Reilly are possibly on their way out of WWE. Plus discussion of ticket sales, TV ratings, the friendship between Nick Khan and The Rock, and more! 📺 Tune in to Live TV Ratin...

We study live+same-day TV ratings, but what about DVR viewership? How do Raw, Smackdown, Dynamite, Rampage, NXT, and Impact TV ratings compare when including delayed viewing? Plus, WWE this past week introduced a new NIL program to recruit college athletes. And we look at who are the wrestlers and wrestling companies that are searched for most often on Google. Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo disc...

Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo discuss the week's news in wrestling business, including: WWE's upfront with advertisers in Brooklyn Vince's egg lifts the Raw TV rating Young Bucks extend their AEW contract Showdown at UBS Arena draws near WWE programming leaving J Sport Game Changer Wrestling sells out Hammerstein Ballroom Former WWE CFO Kristina Salen's separation agreement 📺 T...

Take a quick Wrestlenomics survey to help us better understand our audience: https://forms.gle/qG1gnBXVzY6CzWA67 We have a report on AEW Full Gear PPV buys, as well as how much revenue the event generated overall. Meanwhile WWE released another set of talent this week. What does it mean for the industry in general and the independent scene? Plus, we explore how other sports properties have increas...

- Following AEW's Full Gear pay-per-view, we try to estimate how much revenue All Elite Wrestling might've grossed.  - A deep look into WWE's financial outlook, according to Brandon Thurston, and compared to how stock analysts expect the company to perform. - We new report from parent company Bushiroad indicates stable revenue for the division that includes New Japan Pro-Wrestling and...

Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo debut the podcast on the POST Wrestling network, giving an introduction to Wrestlenomics before diving into the WWE Q3 earnings report and the fallout that followed. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understanding the wrestling business. Subscribers get: Nearly daily TV ratings reports, the most in-depth analysis published anywhere Continuou...

Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo discuss the latest in WWE and AEW live event news. Then Brandon is joined by Lavie Margolin to talk the news that Ring of Honor will release all its wrestlers and run no events during Q1 2022, as ROH parent company Sinclair Broadcasting looks to cut costs. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understanding wrestling business. Subscribers get: -...

Coming off the 30-minute Friday night war, a replay of Smackdown airs on Fox head-to-head with AEW Dynamite on Saturday. Bushiroad's recent public filings give us an update on New Japan Pro-Wrestling's financial state amid the pandemic. Plus, we look at how wrestling programs in the U.S. rank among television generally. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understandin...

"The 30-minute war" on Friday night between WWE Smackdown and AEW Rampage has concluded. We have news of the fast nationals for each program. Conspicuously only total viewership numbers are available and not 18 to 49 ratings. We unpack what that might mean. Plus Miz & Mrs. was renewed by USA Network. And we discuss the members of WWE's board of directors. A subscription to the Wres...

For the first time, a portion of a main roster WWE program will run head-to-head against AEW. WWE Smackdown, preempted to FS1 next Friday will be an extra 30 minutes, meaning it will overlap with the first half of AEW Rampage on TNT. We'll also discuss fast nationals for Smackdown and Rampage last Friday, the MLW Fightland special on VICE, the latest Variety article on the wrestling business,...

The latest in TV ratings, ticket sales, YouTube views, and Google web search for WWE, AEW, Impact Wrestling and other companies as Q3 2021 comes to an end. Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo discuss the latest in wrestling business news. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understanding wrestling business. Subscribers get: - TV ratings reports and analysis almost every weekday...

Mookie visits Wrestlenomics! Former Wrestlenomics co-host and current AEW SVP of business strategy visits Brandon Thurston to discuss the latest current events related to All Elite Wrestling and the wider TV industry. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understanding wrestling business. Subscribers get: - TV ratings reports and analysis almost every weekday - Viewership Sprea...

The introduction of NXT 2.0 on Tuesday highlighted how talent development for WWE and AEW seem to be diverging into to increasingly different visions. Plus the latest in TV ratings and ticket sales. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understanding wrestling business. Subscribers get: - TV ratings reports and analysis almost every weekday - Viewership Spreadsheet with 15,000+...

AEW All Out sold more than 200,000 pay-per-view buys. Smackdown at Madison Square Garden set the record for a live gate for any Smackdown taping in company history. WWE isn't being sold. WWE and AEW are coming to the new UBS Arena in Long Island. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understanding wrestling business. Subscribers get: - TV ratings reports and analysis almost...

AEW seems likely to break its PPV record with All Out. The future of NXT UK might be in question. Vaccine requirements at Arthur Ashe Stadium and on the Jericho Cruise. Latest in Google web search trends. Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo discuss all that and more. A subscription to the Wrestlenomics Patreon is a must for understanding wrestling business. Subscribers get: - TV ratings reports and a...