WWE Conference Call: Vince Praises Nexus, Calls Quarter “Lousy”

WWE had their usual conference call today to discuss their second quarter results which were released today. The numbers are here. On the call were CEO Vince McMahon, CFO George Barrios, and COO Donna Goldsmith.

* Vince McMahon called the quarter “lousy” and said it was a “perfect storm” of problems, mentioning the volcano explosion during their European tour. He mentioned the departures, via retirement or injury, or Shawn Michaels, Batista, The Undertaker, Triple H, Randy Orton, and CM Punk, which impacted their business. He said he has never had a situation with so many major names retiring or getting injured at the same time.

– Vince was asked about new talent and praised the Nexus group. He said that the “new talent infusion” plus the returns of The Undertaker and Triple H will improve WWE’s talent lineup.

– Vince said they are looking at Summerslam as “the kickoff” to reversing the negative trends and getting back on track in terms of PPV buys.

– Vince said he wasn’t sure if the increased PPV price or the talent situation was causing PPV buy drops.

– Vince said WWE plans to go to cable systems at the beginning of 2011 to start giving presentations on the planned WWE Network.