Champions were crowned, the legendary Ric Flair was forced to
retire, boxer Floyd Mayweather prevailed, and Undertaker extended his
undefeated streak as World Wrestling Entertainment(R) set both
attendance and ticket sale records at WrestleMania XXIV tonight at the
Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
WWE(R) grossed more than $5.85 million in ticket sales, making it
the highest grossing live event in WWE history and in the history of
the Citrus Bowl. WWE set an attendance record for the Citrus Bowl with
74,635 fans from all 50 states, five Canadian provinces and 21
countries invading Orlando, pumping up to $30 million into the local
economy. The WWE´s annual pay-per-view, pop culture extravaganza is
televised to more than 100 countries.
In the match billed as a showdown between the greatest fighter in
the world and one of the largest athletes on Earth, undefeated WBC
Welterweight Champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather barely survived against
7-foot, 441-lb. Big Show, eventually knocking him out with brass
knuckles. Flair, a 16-time World Champion and 2008 WWE Hall of Fame
Inductee, lost to another legendary star, Shawn Michaels, in an
emotion-filled match, forcing him into retirement as one of the
greatest pro wrestling stars of all-time. Undertaker defeated Edge(R)
to become the new World Heavyweight Champion, extending his undefeated
streak at WrestleMania to 16-0. Randy Orton(R) retained the WWE
Championship in a Triple Threat match against Triple H(R) and John
Cena(R). Kane became the new ECW Champion, crushing Chavo Guerrero.
Always a star-studded event, WrestleMania XXIV featured several
celebrity participants in addition to Mayweather. John Legend
performed "America The Beautiful" to open the event, Snoop Dogg served
as Master of Ceremonies for the BunnyMania Lumberjack Match, Kim
Kardashian was a special guest hostess, and Raven-Symone played host
to 50 Make-A-Wish kids being honored by WWE in its largest wish
granting event ever.
Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
(NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For
information on our global activities, go to
http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/
Images from WrestleMania XXIV are available on FTP:
From Windows using Internet Explorer 7:
ftp://ftp001.wwecorp.com/WM24_Press/
Enter wm24press in the username field and wm24pres$ in the
password field of the ensuing dialog box.
From Windows using Internet Explorer 6:
ftp://wm24press@ftp001.wwecorp.com/WM24_Press/
Enter wm24pres$ in the password field of the ensuing dialog box.
From a Mac using an FTP client: (such as Fetch or Transmit)
-0-
*T
Server name: ftp001.wwecorp.com
User name: wm24press
Password: wm24pres$
Directory: WM24_Press
*T
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses,
slogans, wrestling moves, and logos are the exclusive property of
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ECW is a trademark of WWE
Libraries, Inc. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the
property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains
forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to
various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include
the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television,
cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, entertainment, professional
sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company´s brands,
media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to
litigation; risks associated with producing live events both
domestically and internationally; uncertainties associated with
international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key
agreements, including television distribution agreements; and other
risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ
materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition
to these risks and uncertainties, our dividend is based on a number of
factors, including our liquidity and historical and projected cash
flow, strategic plan, our financial results and condition, contractual
and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends and such other
factors as our board of directors may consider relevant.
