WWE Vs. UFC, No Mercy, Angle Update, Huge Evening Update
The MSNBC section of MSN.com today has an article up regarding the recent height in popularity the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is generating right now. What makes this story "newsworthy" on a wrestling website is that strong business comparisons are made to World Wrestling Entertainment. One part of the article boasts quote, "According to industry sources, UFC's most successful pay-per-view event this year generated more than $30 million in revenue, a sum that beats WrestleMania's $23 million haul and HBO's typical $16 million from a night of boxing." Live gate revenue is also discussed in the article adding quote, "Live fights are also popular: August's UFC 62 at Mandalay Bay in Vegas generated a $3.1 million live gate, more than any WWE event this year." I don't think it is any secret right now that the UFC is doing much better business both pay per view and live event wise than World Wrestling Entertainment at the moment (not to say WWE is doing horrible, but they are no where near UFC numbers right now). Although many wrestling fans may not watch the product, the same demographic is there for wrestling and real fighting regardless and I think it is safe to say that many former wrestling fans are tuning out the current product in favor of MMA. We can only assume how upset WWE officials will be when word of his article makes the rounds.
WWE.com has added the full video from the No Mercy press conference earlier today. Those who appeared included Matt Hardy, Chavo Guerrero, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms, Bobby Lashley, WWE United States Champion Mr. Kennedy, Batista and World Heavyweight King Booker.
There is an article up on WWE.com taking a look at WWE Champion John Cena and his very busy schedule.
The latest Power 25 is up on WWE.com. Rounding out the top five this week includes John Cena at No. 1, Big Show at No. 2, Edge at No. 3, King Booker at No. 4 and Bobby Lashley at No. 5.
Around noon (eastern time) today, Ground Zero Wrestling released a statement on it's website (GZWwrestling.com) and through MySpace that claimed Kurt Angle would be working for GZW in the future and that full details would be announced on October 13th. However, less than 3 hours later, the statement and all mentions of Kurt Angle have been removed from GZW's website.