Welcome to another edition of The Wrestling Post. This edition we’ll take a look at THQ’s bankruptcy, the Survivor Series buy rate and Daniel Bryan makes a young boy’s dream come true.
THQ goes bankrupt
The Wrestling Post takes a look at THQ’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing and what that means for the WWE. According to court filings, the WWE is an unsecured creditor that is owed $45 million.
The video game maker had been accumulating losses over the past couple years which caused the company to file a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.
The WWE sent out a statement this past Wednesday which likely was sent out to ease the minds of its investors. It indicated in a short press release that it anticipated “actively participating” in the bankruptcy proceeding.
The WWE is listed as an “unsecured” creditor in THQ’s bankruptcy filing indicating that the company owes the WWE $45 million which reflects the entirety of its multi-year agreement with THQ.
The WWE indicated in another press release on Thursday that the amount owed by THQ would not impact the financials of the company. It went on to state that even if the $45 million debt would have an impact on the financials it would not affect its stock price.
THQ will not cease operations as it is in the process of being purchased which means that THQ may still have an existing contract to make the WWE video game franchise. The bankruptcy court would have to allow the purchase to go through.
Payout Take: Being an unsecured creditor in this type of bankruptcy proceeding means that its highly unlikely that the WWE would recoup any of its $45 million from THQ. Although it indicated that it would actively participate in the bankruptcy proceedings it may be more saber rattling than having a good chance of collecting on the debt. The press releases were investor relations PR to ease the minds of its stockholders. Losing $45 million is not a good thing for the company and letting investors know it wouldn’t affect its financials seems more important than actually recouping the debt. Although, both would be nice if you were Vince McMahon.
Survivor Series buy rate disappointing
The Wrestling Observer (subscription required) reports that the Survivor Series buy rate received only 212,000 buys. In comparison, last year’s Survivor Series did 281,000 buys. Of course, the main event featured The Rock and John Cena. But, the year before, the 2010 Survivor Series received 244,000 buys for a Randy Ortron-Wade Barrett PPV.
(h/t Cageside Seats)
Payout Take: Poor ratings for what used to be the biggest event of the fall for the WWE. A CM Punk-John Cena-Ryback main event failed to draw enough interest from fans. It will be interesting to see what the WWE will do to create more interest for its PPV buyers considering the vast amount of WWE content via many platforms.
Bryan taps for a good cause
On a recent stop in Pittsburgh by the WWE, wrestler Daniel Bryan made a pre-show visit with a young fan with cancer. The highlight of the visit was the young boy putting Bryan in a submission hold and Bryan tapping. (via CBS Local Pittsburgh)
Payout Take: Despite some of its questionable storylines, the WWE recognizes its obligation to charity including the Make A Wish Foundation. John Cena has made many appearances with young children with terminal diseases. While the appearance by Bryan is good publicity for the company, it also fulfilled the dream of a young boy. A very good story for the holiday season.
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