On Thursday, July 31st, WWE experienced another wave of firings due to recent budget cuts. Among the releases were production and office staff, as well as a small number of NXT talents -- nearly 60 employees in total. News has now come out that the entire WWE Magazine staff has also been let go. Therefore, as of Thursday, the magazine has ceased production. Reportedly, the final issue -- October 2014 -- is already done and will hit newsstands September 16th. WWE Magazine was first published in 1983 and was originally titled WWF Victory Magazine. The magazine went through a handful of changes over the years and had recently gone through another directional shift -- focusing less on in-ring action and storylines, and instead becoming more akin to men's lifestyle magazines like Maxim and Stuff. In its heyday, the magazine was a strictly kayfabe publication focusing on the Federations superstars and television angles. 1996 saw the addition of another publication titled Raw Magazine. Unlike the traditional WWE Magazine, Raw spotlighted behind-the-scenes issues and featured profiles of the superstars' lives. In 2002, both WWE and Raw Magazine were overhauled. Due to the brand split, Raw reverted to a more kayfabe style and focused exclusive on the Raw television brand. Meanwhile, WWE Magazine was renamed Smackdown Magazine and featured stories solely related to its respective brand. These separate publications would continue until 2006 when WWE Magazine was again revamped into the aforementioned typical mens magazine style. Supposedly, readership and sales numbers for the publication were down from recent years and WWE made the decision to cease the magazines production. Of course, there is a possibility the periodical could live on, being produced and published by an outside entity. For the time being, however, fans will have to wait and see what comes of WWE Magazine, if anything. It's surely a sad day for the released WWE Magazine staff members, as well as for longtime readers of the publication. Former WWE magazine staffer and on-air personality Kevin Kelly weighed in on the situation, tweeting, "As an alum of that department, it's a sad day here." Let us know your thoughts on WWEs decision to cancel production of their magazine in the comments below.
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
