Some additional thoughts on the legacy of Barrios & Wilson...
They likely played a large role in the decision to roll out the WWE Network over-the-top and at $9.99 with all PPVs. 1/
They likely played a large role in the decision to roll out the WWE Network over-the-top and at $9.99 with all PPVs. 1/
Earlier in her WWE tenure, Wilson worked with PPV. She once remarked in a more recent public conference talk that she was surprised at the PPV price points.
The push to get into developing markets like India and China was likely a Barrios move. 2/
The push to get into developing markets like India and China was likely a Barrios move. 2/
(No, I'm not saying he had anything to do with Jinder's title win.)
Barrios & Wilson may have been given blame for the disappointing 2014 TV rights deals with NBCU, marred by timing of the Network launch in Feb 2014. 3/
Barrios & Wilson may have been given blame for the disappointing 2014 TV rights deals with NBCU, marred by timing of the Network launch in Feb 2014. 3/
Much more successful 2018 TV deals were made with outsourced help from Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Although they were likely in the room, as well as Paul Levesque. Vince notably not. 4/
Barrios' vision seemed new media focused, taking the bet that gathering "eyeballs" will eventually pay off, even if it doesn't right now (see YouTube, social media, etc.), noting cable TV was once low revenue. But Vince's vision doesn't seem at odds with this aspect. 5/
VKM even notably alluded to Viacom on a call as a company that isn't adapting to new media. So it's hard to parse what the differences in vision are that were referred to in yesterday's press release. 6/
We know less about Wilson as she did fewer public talks. She likely played a role in improving the quality of WWE advertisers, with help from NBCU. "Social responsibility" initiatives. Hard to separate the influence of Wilson from Chief Brand Officer Stephanie. 7/
I will say the vulnerabilities to secondary wrestling players in the last couple years, mainly for talent, but possibly for some revenue lately as well, is due to star creation and product execution. Those are Vince areas Barrios and Wilson had little to do with. 8/
As others have noted, it's surprising that a week out from the new XFL season he'd terminate his top 2 executives. There have been questions about Vince's time working on WWE due to XFL, although he emphatically said it'll be no problem in the Jan 2018 press conference. 9/
