WWE : Philadelphia to Host WrestleMania 40, Vince McMahon Forfeits WWE Stocks, A&E WWE Ratings

WWE Announces Date & Location for WrestleMania 40

WWE announced earlier today that WrestleMania 40 will be taking place on April 6-7, 2024 at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Official press release:

Philadelphia to Host WrestleMania® 40

07/27/2022

STAMFORD, Conn. –(BUSINESS WIRE)– Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, PHL Sports and WWE® (NYSE: WWE) are proud to announce that Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will host WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza, WrestleMania 40, on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, 2024.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220727005368/en/

WrestleMania is more than a two-day event; it’s a week-long celebration. In addition to WrestleMania, other events will include Friday Night SmackDown®, the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony®and Monday Night Raw® at Wells Fargo Center as well as other fan events at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In addition, WWE will also host multiple community outreach events, including hospital visits and Be a STAR® bullying prevention rallies, designed to give back to the local region.

Over the past decade, WrestleManiahas generated more than $1.25 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. This past April, 156,352 fans from all 50 states and 53 countries attended WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium, generating a record $206.5 million economic windfall for the Dallas/Arlington region.

“We are proud to welcome WWE fans from around the world to Philadelphia to be a part of the historic 40thWrestleMania in 2024,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. “The week-long series of events will help put a global spotlight on our great city while also generating a major impact for our local economy.”

“Philadelphia is excited to host WrestleMania for the first time in 25 years,” said Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau President & CEO Gregg Caren. “The combination of Philadelphia’s passionate fans joining forces with WWE’s worldwide fan base will create an incredible electricity throughout the city for the events at Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center and the Pennsylvania Convention Center.”

“The Philadelphia Eagles are thrilled to partner with WWE as WrestleMania makes its much-anticipated return to Philadelphia in 2024,” said Philadelphia Eagles President and PHL Sports Chair Don Smolenski. “We are excited to help showcase the industry’s most iconic event in front of a global viewing audience and look forward to providing WWE fans in attendance with a first-class experience at Lincoln Financial Field.”

“On behalf of WWE, we are thrilled to bring WrestleMania back to the City of Brotherly Love,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John Saboor. “We thank all of our local partners who were integral in making this long-awaited return a reality.”

Additional information on WrestleMania at Lincoln Financial Field will be announced in the near future.


Vince McMahon Forfeits Portion of His WWE Stocks

Former WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon recently forfeited a portion of his stocks in the company, according to Fightful.

Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert reported that a recent SEC filing by WWE revealed that McMahon had forfeited 38,519 shares of his stocks in the company for the amount of zero dollars. This filing reportedly stated that this was due in part to McMahon’s recent retirement from the company.

Lambert reported that McMahon still owns around 69,157 shares of WWE stock, not including 100 shares of Class A Common Stock which is owned separately by his wife Linda McMahon. McMahon reportedly was also listed as still being a 10% owner of the company.

Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that the shares McMahon forfeited were worth around 0.1% of his total ownership shares in the company. Thurston also reported that McMahon currently owns around 81% of the voting power in the company from his other shares.


A&E WWE Programming Ratings – July 24, 2022

This past Sunday’s Biography: WWE Legends drew 420,000 viewers on A&E, down from last week’s 594,000 viewers. This episode also drew a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demographic and a #30 ranking in the key demographic rankings, both down from last week’s 0.16 rating and #11 ranking. This episode focused on the Bella Twins.

This past Sunday’s WWE Rivals drew 423,000 viewers on A&E, up from last week’s 390,000 viewers. This episode also drew a 0.15 rating in the 18-49 demographic and a #20 ranking in the key demographic rankings, both up from last week’s 0.11 rating and #22 ranking. This episode focused on the famous The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin rivalry in WWF.

This past Sunday’s WWE Smack Talk drew 212,000 viewers on A&E, down from last week’s 237,000 viewers. This episode also drew a 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demographic and a #52 ranking in the key demographic rankings, up from last week’s 0.06 rating and #68 ranking.

Source: Showbuzz Daily