Back in April, WWE revealed its first quarter report for 2019 - which came with a staggering $8.4 million net income loss.
Chairman Vince McMahon used superstar injuries and absences as an excuse for their losses. McMahon expressed confidence that things would "improve as our talent return and we launch our new season following a successful WrestleMania."
Well, Gavin Bridge of Variety took an in-depth look at WWE's latest numbers and outlined why Vince can't use the same excuse for their second-quarter report this time around.
Per Bridge, WWE will release the second-quarter report on Thursday. Bridge outlined that WWE's stock was down 29 percent on Friday, which is significantly "down against the 2019 high of $99."
Bridge also took a look at the absent superstars that co-president George Barrios cited which led to the poor first-quarter numbers. The likes of Becky Lynch, Braun Strowman,, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair and Seth Rollins all made plenty of television appearances in each of the first and second quarters.
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And finally, Bridge notes that despite more frequent appearances for WWE's injured talents - including Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens for the second quarter - the television ratings have continued to fall significantly. Add everything up, and the WWE chairman simply can't use superstar injuries and absences as an excuse for his second-quarter report.
Well, Vince finally acknowledged the need to change up his product when he hired Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff to take over as the new Executive Directors for Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, respectively. Even if the second-quarter numbers are poor, at least Heyman and Bischoff will be around for the third-quarter as they try to fix up a declining product.
What This Means
The rise of AEW, poor television ratings and the number of disgruntled superstars in WWE have led to a stressful and frustrating 2019 for Vince and company. But he's been through stages like this before, and if history is an indicator, Vince and WWE will find a way to bounce back with a strong finish to 2019. We'll just have to see how it all plays out.