Wrestlenomics

A tribute episode dedicated to Andy Williams, the Butcher from AEW who passed away Saturday at an independent wrestling event in Pennsylvania at age 48. The show features discussions of his dual careers in professional wrestling and the band Every Time I Die, his impact on multiple communities, and details surrounding his sudden death.

Brandon Thurston and John Pollock discuss AEW All In London's successful attendance and gate numbers (~47,000 tickets, ~$6M gate), analyze WWE's competitive strategy against AEW including head-to-head scheduling, and examine talent movement including The New Day's departure from WWE for AEW with significant pay cuts.

Pollock and Thurston discuss the WWE merger settlement ($147.5 million), the retraction of an ESPN-WWE renewal story, AEW's All In London ticket sales approaching 43,000, and various industry developments including Nielsen's new ratings methodology and the ongoing Paramount-WBD merger settlement talks.

Pollock and Thurston discuss WrestleMania 42 attendance figures showing a significant decline from the previous year, analyze shareholder data revealing Gregory Fenelon as TKO's largest individual shareholder, and examine wrestling booking patterns across WWE, AEW, and New Japan through data visualization comparing wrestler ages to win percentages.

This Pollock & Thurston episode covers WWE's $147.5 million merger settlement with Vince McMahon potentially liable for $42.5 million, heavily redacted Netflix contract filings, G1 Climax attendance and match quality metrics, All In London ticket sales tracking toward 40,000+, and recent wrestling television ratings trends.

Brandon Thurston and John Pollock discuss TKO's Q2 earnings showing strong growth with revenue over $1.5 billion and improved guidance, analyze the ongoing WWE merger lawsuit settlement details revealing a $105 million WWE portion with insurance complications, and examine declining live event attendance across WWE and AEW despite strong viewership metrics.

Ari Emanuel defends the Paramount-WBD merger in an op-ed, arguing that blocking it threatens competition rather than protecting it, while the Janelle Grant civil case against WWE/Vince McMahon concludes with dismissal to arbitration. Brandon Thurston and John Pollock discuss these legal developments, SummerSlam attendance projections, WWE Radio's controversial launch, and Brandon's ongoing court challenges to unseal merger case documents.

Pollock and Thurston discuss WWE's expansion into satellite radio through the WWE Radio rebrand of SiriusXM's Pro Wrestling Nation, analyze Netflix viewership data showing mixed WWE performance, and examine ESPN's cuts affecting wrestling reporter Andreas Hale following his critical coverage of WWE, while also covering the Janelle Grant lawsuit resolution and AEW's upcoming Redemption event.

John Pollock and Brandon Thurston discuss UFC 329's record $26M+ gate despite Conor McGregor's injury-plagued comeback that ended in under a minute, analyze WWE and AEW's head-to-head September 26th Chicago programming strategy, review the Dark Side of the Ring TNA documentary, and unveil Brandon's third major challenge to unseal merger litigation documents including a controversial Vince McMahon-Brock Lesnar text exhibit.

Pollock and Thurston discuss AEW's failed contract sealing attempt in the Ryan Nemeth case, where a magistrate judge ruled contracts must be filed with redactions rather than full sealing. The show also covers AEW's All Out announcement, G1 Climax attendance concerns, SummerSlam ticket sales projections significantly below last year, and Conor McGregor's controversial return to UFC amid sexual assault civil judgment and doping allegations.

Pollock and Thurston discuss released voicemails between Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon regarding potential DOJ/SEC investigations and a WWE sale, analyze the implications for shareholder value, cover Janelle Grant's allegations about graphic evidence handling during WWE's investigation, and report on NXT's poor viewership on CW against AEW's Forbidden Door.

John Pollock and Brandon Thurston discuss WWE, AEW, and TNA business metrics, including ratings analysis, ticket pricing trends, and whether Tony Khan would acquire TNA. They also cover WWE's content strategy driven by algorithms, upcoming wrestling events on a crowded weekend, and media ethics around off-the-record communications.

John Pollock and Brandon Thurston discuss the UFC's controversial White House event featuring political messaging and defense contractor sponsorships, analyze TNA's workforce cuts and creative leadership changes, and interview WWE co-president George Barrios about business ethics decisions including the Saudi Arabia events and allegations against Vince McMahon.

Pollock and Thurston discuss major legal developments including Janelle Grant's case moving to confidential arbitration, a WWE shareholder lawsuit settlement in principle, and newly revealed anonymous emails sent to the WWE board in 2022 that preceded the Wall Street Journal's investigative report on alleged misconduct.

Brandon Thurston and John Pollock preview the upcoming WWE shareholder trial in Delaware beginning Monday, covering the fiduciary duty claims against five defendants including Vince McMahon and Nick Khan, the alleged predetermined merger process favoring Endeavor, and potential damages ranging from $466 million to nearly $1 billion.

A detailed analysis of Judge Travis Laster's 41-page ruling in the WWE-TKO merger lawsuit, where Vince McMahon and Nick Khan face sanctions for destroying Signal messages and failing to preserve evidence. The ruling imposes adverse inferences favoring plaintiffs and establishes five presumed facts about the merger process, significantly weakening the defendants' position ahead of the June 8th trial.