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Thursday, April 10, 2008

WWE®’s WrestleMania® Rocks Music Sales

Courtesy of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

STAMFORD, Conn.--(April 10, 2008)--World Wrestling Entertainment’s® WrestleMania XXIV pay-per-view used music to rock the Florida Citrus Bowl, and at the same time helped rock the charts for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Legend, Fuel and Rev Theory.

WWE Superstars making their colorful entrances on television and pay-per-view queued by audience-energizing theme songs can provide big dividends for musical performers. Fuel’s “Leave the Memories Alone” was the theme song for wrestling legend Ric Flair® at WrestleMania XXIV and the following night’s Monday Night RAW® on USA Network. The exposure led to the song experiencing a skyrocketing 999% increase last week, and a 409% increase this week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Fuel is thrilled with reaction to the song. “I think it's fantastic. It shows how genuinely passionate WWE fans are about their wrestling and their music. When you write a piece of music that was very passionate to you, it's nice to see people respond in the same manner, and that's what's happening here,” said Carl Bell, guitarist.

After serving as one of WrestleMania XXIV’s theme songs, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ single “Snow (Hey Oh),” and album “Stadium Arcadium” saw an increase in sales. John Legend’s album “Live From Philadelphia” also saw a sales increase following his live performance of “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania.

Rev Theory’s “Light It Up” also served as a theme song for this year’s WrestleMania event and had their sales increase 999% as well. Rev Theory performed during the final leg of WWE’s Fan Axxess Tour in Orlando in front of 20,000 people. They were so impressed with its reception, the band invited WWE Diva and fan Ashley Massaro™ to Los Angeles last week to star in their new video, “Hell Yeah.”

“This is yet another great example of the many levels of exposure WWE generates for performers. The music partnerships that we have are ever increasing and our commitment to create global awareness for music acts today is as relevant as ever; especially with the state of the music business,” Neil Lawi, General Manager WWE Music Group. “Bands that record theme songs for WWE promotional use are establishing themselves as pop culture icons by gaining coveted exposure to millions of fans worldwide while continuing to rock the sales charts.”

Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, copyrights and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, feature films, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events both domestically and internationally; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition to these risks and uncertainties, our dividend is based on a number of factors, including our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan, our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends and such other factors as our board of directors may consider relevant.

Contacts
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Media:
Gary Davis, 203-353-5066
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Investor:
Michael Weitz, 203-352-8642