Vince McMahon Blames Injuries For WWE's Financial Slump
Did "15 top talents" being out lead to WWE's disappointing Q1 2019 reports?
WWE released a disappointing set of Q1 2019 financial reports last week, with a $5.3 million revenue decline, a net operating loss, and an 11% slump in live event attendances particular lowlights. These trends will bounce back around when the next batch of Saudi Arabian money and the new TV deals kick in, but they're worrying nonetheless.
The company partly attributed these slides to "increased fixed costs, as well as higher stock compensation costs driven by increases in the company's stock price." So far, so reasonable, but Vince McMahon then claimed that the absence of "15 top talents" also contributed:-
"When you don't have talent, you don't have storylines. When you don't have storylines, you're not going to do that well in terms of live events and television ratings. It was like a cascade of things that happened."
While the Chairman makes a vaguely decent point above, the "15 top talents" remark is objectively false. At no point has that volume of top stars been absent from television. Schedules have kept Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey from TV, there was Roman Reigns' health situation, and Seth Rollins missed a few episodes of Raw earlier this year. Unless Vince McMahon regards Fandango and Sin Cara in that "top" bracket, he's making excuses.
WWE Co-President George Barrios backed his boss up, saying that "the magnitude all at one time felt unique."