With the war between Russia and Ukraine still ongoing, many companies around the world have decided to pull their services from Russia, with the likes of Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, WarnerMedia, Maersk, Netflix, Disney, and Youtube all taking unique measures in response to the offensive. Now, it seems that the WWE is looking to follow suit, with a recent announcement seeing World Wrestling Entertainment coming to the decision to end the organization’s broadcast in Russia as well as “The Network” which is a subscription-based service that houses countless events and programs from the company’s past.
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In an official statement shared on the WWE’s Official Web Page, World Wrestling Entertainment didn’t mince words when it came to ending their relationship with Russia in these new ways, following the path of many other companies that have taken similar measures in recent days:
“WWE has terminated its partnership with Russian broadcaster Match and shut down WWE Network in Russia effective immediately.
The move eliminates access in Russia to any WWE programming, including the company’s weekly Raw, SmackDown and NXT shows, its on-demand library, and all of its premium live events, including WrestleMania 38.”
Currently, the WWE is preparing for this April’s WrestleMania, which is set to have a headline of Roman Reigns, the current Universal Champion, battling against the current Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, wherein the belts will merge and be given to the victor. With this news just being released by the WWE, we’ll be keeping tabs to see what this decision means for the company moving forward, especially when it comes to their broadcasts of Pay-Per-View events and weekly shows.
The WWE itself has had many superstars that were given a Russian aesthetic, with female wrestler Lana being referred to as the “Ravishing Russian,” though she was let go by the organization last year. One of the most notable superstars with a Russian aesthetic was Nikolai Volkoff, who had been a part of the professional wrestling scene since the 1970s, wrestling for the WWE specifically for many years following. Josip Hrovje Peruzovic, the real name of Volkoff, passed in 2018.
What do you think of the WWE pulling the plug on their future broadcasts in Russia? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of professional wrestling.
