WWE News: WWE's 3rd Quarter Earnings Suggest WWE Studios Should Cease Production

The WWE's third quarter earnings were released Thursday and then discussed in a conference call with Vince McMahon at the helm.  One upon a time, these conference calls were a proud tradition that now seem to be more reminiscent of an employee stepping into his boss' office to convince him that nothing is out of the ordinary in his home life and he will be just fine.

The WWE was happy to report increased profitability in most segments, a figure that was greatly aided by the Rock's presence at WrestleMania XXVII. 

The WWE's obvious weak link was inherent in the hefty $5.1 million impairment from the struggling WWE Studios division.  

The loss marked just one more in a string of red quarters for what has become a studio that has produced a multitude of miss-or-bomb films.  The laughable offerings from WWE Studios have basically served as cannon fodder for which film critics may use to practice their biting sarcasms and witty tirades. 

WWE Studios' string of critically panned and commercially impotent movies have already resulted in the departure of studios head Michael Pavone, and with no improvement in sight and WWE's plate set to become even fuller with the impending launch of the WWE Network, the writing may already be on the wall as it pertains to the death of WWE Studios. 

WWE Studios' impending doom would be yet another failed venture outside of wrestling with Vince McMahon's fingerprints on it.  Other failed ventures include football, hockey and a bodybuilding promotion, all of which have cumulatively humanized Vince McMahon's legacy as more of a once-proficient wrestling promoter than a corporate genius. 

WWE's logo itself inflicts built-in damage on any movie venture.  Even if the Harry Potter movies were released with the WWE logo in tow, many would shy away based solely on their skepticism of a movie produced in conjunction of such a bastardized form of entertainment.  Throw in the damage the WWE has added with poor films on its own merit, and the uphill climb towards any semblance of prominence for WWE Studios seems extremely arduous if not insurmountable at this point. 

WWE Studios needed to be completely separate from the WWE to succeed, given the predominately highbrow motif implicit in the movie industry.  Perhaps marketing the studio in their own namesake doomed the division before it ever even got a chance to succeed. 

But with critics sharpening their teeth, lackluster commercial performance and an eternally damning absence of any goodwill for the WWE's film venture, it may be wise for WWE Studios to quietly set up shop prior to the confirmed launch of WWE Network come WrestleMania season. 

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