During the most recent edition of his “The Jim Cornette Experience” podcast, Jim Cornette discussed WWE NXT and said the company is “losing millions of dollars” with the brand. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On the NXT brand and how much money WWE is losing from it: “NXT in 2016 sold $7 million in tickets and had $20 million in expenses. In 2017, NXT had let’s say $6 million in ticket sales and $25 million in expenses… In all honesty, 2016 they lost $13 million, 2017 they lost $19 million and that’s not a ton of money for that whole company and organization up there. But can you imagine what me and Danny Davis could’ve done with Ohio Valley Wrestling if they said, ‘OK guys, you can bring in anybody that you want that’s not on the main roster or signed to New Japan and you can lose $32 million over the next two years.’ Holy f**k!”
On why WWE makes the investment: “I understand they’re making the investment in training the future superstars and they have to, they’ve figured out that they have to because they’re not getting them from anywhere else. So they have to train their own, but my God!”
On his OVW success: “We already had the highest rated show on the station’s Saturday schedule we were on… We had numerous events that drew large houses at the Gardens and we drew at Six Flags and we produced a ton of talent. I don’t know what the percentages would be but I guarantee we didn’t lose $32 million,” he said. “That’s the thing, Ohio Valley Wrestling never lost money since it’s been in operation. There have been a few years it may not have made much, but at that point in time it was the only full-time company with television running regular events in the United States besides the WWE that was profitable.”
