WWE Network Terminated In Russia

[thechase]

STAMFORD, Conn., March 3, 2022 – WWE released the following statement today:



“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.”

[James Fabiano]

No tears here.

[FinalGwen]

That'll teach em, war crimes are only acceptable to WWE if they're given a ton of money to host events there.

[Terry McConkey]

Yet, they still do shows for a murderous kingdom.

[Deleted]

I mean, yeah, obvious double standard here. The justification for the Saudi shows is always "the people of the country do not deserve to be punished for the actions of their government." Which, I mean, is a fair enough argument. But the same holds true with Russia.

Only thing this proves is that WWE's PR stance of doing the Saudi shows to "effectuate change" is complete bullshit. They only care about effectuating money and, right now, having any involvement in Russia is a good way not to do that.

[Bo Rida]

Wow, imagine being too much for a company that takes sports washing to levels even the IOC and FIFA think is a bit much.
That said still good they're doing the right thing for once.

[fw91]

good.

[mattyy]

WWE continues to influence the world!

[knsffa]

So the NXT UK episode from yesterday was removed for a bit after airing on the Live stream. It was re-added later with Ilja Dragunov's theme music dubbed over likely since his usual theme he uses in WWE is a variant of the Russian National Anthem. No reference to the name of his finisher Torpedo Moscow either. Not sure if they edited any previous episodes, etc yet or just this one since it airs all week on the Live stream on the OG Network outside the states.

[Deleted]

In Soviet Russia, Network cancels you.

[wildojinx]

Also, I get the feeling that a certain segment involving Steve Allen will be cut from WM6 soon.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Mar 4, 2022 16:33:51 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

Also, I get the feeling that a certain segment involving Steve Allen will be cut from WM6 soon.

I don't know, the punchline is as effective as ever.

I will be curious if some of Rusev and Lana's initial run will have some edits, though. They were fond of putting Putin on the titantron as a heel move.

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

Curious how this will affect Ilja Dragunov in any way.

[cjh]

Mar 5, 2022 6:09:07 GMT -5 Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast said:

Curious how this will affect Ilja Dragunov in any way.

After this week's NXT UK episode aired, it was temporarily not available in the on demand section.  When it became available, Dragunov's theme (a version of the Russian anthem) was replaced by different music and references to his finisher's name ("Torpedo Moscow") had been removed.

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

Mar 5, 2022 8:07:25 GMT -5 cjh said:

Mar 5, 2022 6:09:07 GMT -5 Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast said:

Curious how this will affect Ilja Dragunov in any way.

After this week's NXT UK episode aired, it was temporarily not available in the on demand section.  When it became available, Dragunov's theme (a version of the Russian anthem) was replaced by different music and references to his finisher's name ("Torpedo Moscow") had been removed.

Pretty much as expected

[r.]

Perhaps the use of the word terminated isn't the best given the context

[Savage Gambino]

Mar 3, 2022 13:38:30 GMT -5 Terry McConkey said:

Yet, they still do shows for a murderous kingdom.

Aren't they still trying to expand into China? You know, Russia's biggest ally?

I mean, I get and appreciate the gesture, but it really does ring hollow when you really think about it.

[Georgina's Fancy Water]

Nyet. We end war now. I want to watch Bam Bam vs. Diesel. 

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

Putin when he hears about this:

[Perd]

WWE Nyetwork