WWE: Slim Jim Sponsorship Breaks Record, Sheamus on His Wasted Momentum Post-Clash at the Castle, More News

WWE Touts “Record Breaking” Slim Jim Sponsorship Deal

WWE announced that their recent sponsorship deal with Slim Jim for this Saturday’s SummerSlam 2023 set a new all-time sponsorship revenue record in WWE history.

Official press release:

WWE and Slim Jim return to the ring with a record-breaking partnership ahead of SummerSlam

WWE and Slim Jim today announced a multi-layered partnership that will begin with Slim Jim serving as the Presenting Sponsor of a marquee match at SummerSlam on Saturday, Aug. 5 at Ford Field in Detroit. This partnership between the two iconic brands pays homage to their shared, savage past and marks the largest sponsorship deal in WWE history.

WWE and Slim Jim first crossed paths thirty years ago with a series of explosive, in-your-face Slim Jim commercials, featuring “Macho Man” Randy Savage debuting the famous tagline “Snap Into a Slim Jim!” that has remained a hallmark of the Slim Jim brand ever since. The two global brands will tap into that rich history with a reenergized, multi-platform campaign which begins with “The SummerSlam Battle Royal Presented by Slim Jim,” the first of several custom integrations at WWE’s Premium Live Events. As part of the pact, Slim Jim will also activate at Survivor Series in November, in addition to Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 40 in 2024.

“Alongside our partners at Slim Jim and Conagra Brands, WWE is excited to renew one of the most memorable collaborations in sports entertainment history and there’s no better way to kick off the partnership than a 20-man Battle Royal at SummerSlam,” said Craig Stimmel, WWE SVP, Head of Global Sales and Partnerships.

“Slim Jim has always been about crushing boredom and doing the unexpected, which is also the cornerstone of WWE and their memorable lineup of bold, in-your-face Superstars,” said Spencer Fivelson, VP & General Manager of Snacks at Conagra Brands. “We’re thrilled to be back in the ring with WWE to build on our shared history and celebrate the savage energy of today’s WWE Superstars.”

In addition to the live event integrations, the WWE and Slim Jim partnership will include custom content and social media executions with Superstar talent, online sweepstakes to drive fan engagement, in-store activations and more.

Learn more about “The SummerSlam Battle Royal Presented by Slim Jim” here. 

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Sheamus Comments on WWE Wasted His Momentum After Clash at the Castle Event

The Daily Star held a recent interview with Sheamus. One of the topics discussed included Sheamus’ thoughts on how WWE wasted all of the momentum he gained from his match against Gunther at this past September’s Clash at the Castle event.

“I’m not upset about that at all (losing to GUNTHER at WWE Clash at the Castle). I felt it was great, it was just the type of character Sheamus is, all fits and elbows. What I was upset about and what really bothered me was the creative after that. I came out of that with so much organic momentum, and it was just wasted. It didn’t go anywhere. It was a dead end, just like with WrestleMania. Drew (McIntyre) went away because he was injured, but I was ready to go and then just nothing. There were no avenues and nowhere to go and that’s frustrating. I did the WarGames thing but that was s*** – that’s how I felt, though others might have felt differently.”

Sheamus also stated that he still has the goal of wanting to win the Intercontinental Championship in WWE and wanting to retire as its champion.

“I’m not much of a politician, to be honest with you. I just roll my sleeves up, get in there and get stuck in. The journey is just as important, that story of me trying to get my hands on the title as it’s the one title I haven’t got. It’s still a fresh story. Even with GUNTHER and Drew’s match at SummerSlam, people are still mentioning me because it’s still my story. I’d definitely like to retire with [the title], but that stuff is out of my control. I can just do what I can do.”

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WWE News & Notes

Rhea Ripley recently liked several tweets criticizing WWE’s booking of their Women’s division following WWE dropping their plans for a match between her and Raquel Rodriguez at this Saturday’s SummerSlam 2023 event. This was part of a large online backlash against WWE on Twitter under the hashtag #WWEWomenDeserveBetter. Ripley also recently tweeted her disappointment at WWE booking her for a SummerSlam media appearance that revolved around her looks. Ripley stated “*SummerSlam media appearance look* for reasons we all know of.“

PWInsider’s Mile Johnson reported that his sources stated that WWE is currently in the process of migrating their content management systems for the international version of their WWE Network to Endeavor Streaming. Johnson reported that WWE Network had been housed until recently by Deltatre. Johnson also reported that this migration is part of WWE’s on-going process for their sale to Endeavor and Endeavor wanting everything to be in-house once they officially take over WWE later this year.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Robert Roode was seen in Detroit on Thursday ahead of WWE’s SummerSlam 2023 event in the city. In a separate report, Johnson reported that Becky Lynch was also recently seen in Detroit as well.

This past Wednesday’s episode of the WWE The Bump show featured co-host Kayla Braxton announcing that Megan Morant would be replacing her as the new co-host for the show going forward.

In a recent interview with the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch podcast, Becky Lynch revealed that she is currently hopeful for an early 2024 for her autobiographical book that is currently in the late stage of production.

Karrion Kross stated on Instagram that the recent rumors of him suffering a leg injury several weeks ago is not true. Kross stated that the reason why he had his leg tapped up was not due to any injury-related reason and the bruising on his leg was simply due to the effect of taking off the tape.

In a recent interview with ESPN, MMA fighter Nate Diaz revealed that he had turned down an offer to have a boxing match with Logan Paul due to issues involving WWE. Diaz stated “The WWE came in and then they wanted to take over the whole thing. And I’m like, ‘I just got out of the UFC, why am I going to sign with WWE?’ I fight for real. I’m not gonna be doing a real fight on a WWE card or no funny s— like that.”

In a recent interview with the Stick To Wrestling podcast, NXT talent Wes Lee revealed the origin of his Kardiack Kick finisher. Lee stated “It actually came from a mistake in the ring (Lee said about his Kardiak Kick finisher). I had attempted to do a back handspring and capture the person with my ankles and give them a headscissors and I misjudged the distance and as I went back for the back handspring, I was a bit further than what I had anticipated. So I swooped the legs through and I just jumped back and caught him with the kick, and yeah, I got a victory off of it and it’s kind of just stayed with me for the majority of my career. That was probably one of the first moves that really grabbed a lot of people’s attention and got them to take notice of me. So I gotta give a shout out to my homeboy out in New York for making sure people got to see the clip of the Kardiak Kick in its early stages.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

A recent episode of Up NXT on Snapchat featured Dominik Mysterio as the guest and one topic discussed included his thoughts on him joining Judgement Day being his favorite moment of his career in WWE so far. Mysterio stated “So far, I think my favorite moment being in WWE would probably be joining Judgment Day. That’s where I got my ‘Mami,’ I got Finn, and I got my boy, Damian. I’ve been having a blast with Judgment Day. We’ve clearly been taking over all of WWE. So I think joining them has been one of my favorite moments so far. I’ve gotten a lot of good advice from all the members in Judgment Day. Mami’s always in my ear, whispering sweet nothings that I will never, ever tell anybody. Finn is, you know, by far the most experienced of us. He’s conquered the world. So anything he says is great advice. Damian Priest, you know, came to NXT, he took over. He has so much experience, and he’s become one of my brothers. Whatever he says to me, I take it to heart and just run with it because, like I said, Judgment Day literally is a family. It’s honestly pretty crazy. People see us on TV, but you don’t understand how much of a family we really are.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with SI FanNation, Cody Rhodes gave his thoughts on his hopes that his brother Dustin Rhodes gets inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame and the potential of them teaming up together one more time for a match. Rhodes stated “I would like to induct Dustin into the Hall of Fame. I would also never turn down an opportunity to team with him again, and we’ve had an even better experience wrestling against each other.“