Longtime WWE executives George Barrios and Michelle Wilson have been bounced from their positions as co-presidents and from the company”™s board of directors, as the Stamford firm grapples with declining earnings and ratings.
“The board and I decided a change was necessary as we have different views on how best to achieve our strategic priorities moving forward,” WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said.
The president role was created in 2018 when Barrios and Wilson were given the titles; he had been chief strategy and financial officer and she was chief revenue and marketing officer.
Frank Riddick, a board member for more than 11 years, has been named interim chief financial officer as WWE searches for both a permanent chief financial officer and chief revenue officer ”“ an indication that the president title may be a thing of the past.
WWE has seen its stock price significantly decline over the past year; it ended Jan. 31, 2019 at $82.34 and sat at $62.31 before yesterday”™s announcement, after which it plummeted to $47.50 during extended trading hours.
The Stamford company said it expects to report 2019 adjusted earnings of $180 million, down from as much $190 million as previously forecast. It is scheduled to release its final results on Feb. 6.
Declining ratings for its flagship TV shows, increased competition from rival wrestling organizations like All Elite Wrestling on TNT, and negative headlines about lawsuits filed against it involving instances of concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy among its wrestlers have all been cited as factors in WWE”™s downward turn.
A 10-year deal signed in 2018 to produce events in Saudi Arabia, while lucrative, has also been controversial. Female wrestlers were originally barred from participating, due to limited women”™s rights in that nation, and various other personalities, including John Cena, have refused to appear due to Saudi Arabia”™s human rights record and the 2018 assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.
Meanwhile, Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea, a longtime familiar face to wrestling fans, is planning a comeback this year.
“The board and I have great confidence in our collective abilities to create compelling content, engage our global fan base across platforms, increase revenues and drive shareholder value,” McMahon said.
