Vince claims he turned down The TV channels

hat tip to Paul O'Brien: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-wwe-network-20140108,0,2623775.story#ixzz2q0vZYlcT

While a more traditional channel could ensure a certain level of distribution, McMahon, chairman of WWE, said in an interview that the terms pay-TV distributors wanted in return for carrying a WWE channel were "too restrictive." McMahon said WWE had deals ready to go with major distributors for a network that would have generated fees of 20 cents per month, per subscriber."I said, much to the chagrin of my staff, I’m not going to sign it," McMahon said.

Weird.

There's two major sources for information on the WWE network: what WWE releases in their SEC regulatory filings and investor presentations, and what WWE says in major conference calls and at major events.

As Dave Meltzer has pointed out, the million subscriber "break-even" point is directly from the WWE filings.  They've been quoting that number for months, and even when the network seemed to evolve from a premium channel on MVODs to a over-the-top streaming network, they remained at one million subscribers. (Their CFO specifically talked about how even though it was a different method, the math worked out similarly, which surprised some of us doing the back-of-the-envelope game, but suggests how expensive the infrastructure and startup costs must be under this scenario.)

When I wrote my first piece about the viability of the Network, I went through and tried to find every article and mention that had been recorded about the network.  See: http://indeedwrestling.blogspot.com/2013/11/can-wwe-network-succeed.html

Things you notice:
1. Every mention of the Network into 2013 was about it being a cable network.
2. WWE wanted 40M homes for 2012 but had none signed up come WM.
3. Vince has long postured that any delays in launching the network were on their end. Whether there is some truth to this or just posturing, it's hard to say but when you look at the fact they specifically earmarked bonus/incentive money in 2012 to get a network launched, and they still couldn't do it.

A real telling moment was last month when the CFO spoke at the UBS conference. See: http://indeedwrestling.blogspot.com/2013/12/wwe-chief-strategy-and-financial.html
He's in front of media professions so he can't bullshit them the same way you can with newspapers and magazines.  Those networks were there as speakers.
 What does he say?

George Barrios: "And the pushback continues. I want to be fair to -- you are having this commercial discussion, everybody wants what everybody wants and sometimes you can’t agree on what is fair terms. I don't want to mischaracterize the other side in the discussion. What I will say is I have not understood and still do not understand why the pay-per-view transition to a subscription service delivered by the MVPDs did not make sense, I still don't understand it."

That doesn't sound like networks beating down the door.

They didn't want to change from getting half of fifty to half+ of ten. 

Barrios also admits that they didn't think the Netflix model was viable until very recently.

And that brings me to the next point, the challenge that I've written about for WWE hitting a million domestic subscribers is that by their own admission they have a older base of viewers that hasn't even subscribing to services like Netflix.  I run through all of the numbers here: http://indeedwrestling.blogspot.com/2013/12/streaming-statistics-by-age-group.html
When you see that 75% of US adults have access to cable or satellite and only a quarter have access Netflix streaming, you can tell that it's not as simple as assuming that your TV viewing audience instantly equals your Network purchasing audience. I'm just surprised that they think they can go from converting 1/20 of the raw audience thats buying an expensive PPV into 1/4 that will buy the network (setting aside my whole premise that one million fans does not equals one million subscription households).  

What's tough is that everyone is that it's really hard to think across age, demographic and social strata when you're contemplating adoption of something like this.  I always had cable TV so I keep it, but I never watch football.  It astounds me that there are people who live with only Netflix.  But they do, and as I dive into the weird world of Harris polls and Nielsen statistics! I learn a lot about how others consume media.

I love the a Network idea, and have been astonished at people from far reaches giving it praise. My non-fan buddy sent me this article and said he was thinking about getting it so he could host a WM party this year. That's impressive buzz and gives me hope.

[quote]To try to get across just how big—and how good—a deal the WWE Network is, here's a brief description of it denuded of the word "wrestling." In its place, swap in anything you love; sports, genres, individual channels, animals that think they're people. Your niche.

Here's a streaming network that offers a 30 year back catalog of [THING YOU LOVE]. Add in free access to live [THING YOU LOVE] events that normally cost in the neighborhood of $45 a pop and happen roughly once a month. On top of that, toss in some goofy original content about [THING YOU LOVE], every reality show format you can think of, reframed to specifically target [THING YOU LOVE] in a way that feels like a fever dream of access and delight. You can access this network on nearly any device that you own, perpetually just a few clicks away from [THING YOU LOVE] streaming in 720p.

And it costs ten bucks a month.

http://gizmodo.com/wwe-figured-out-the-future-of-tv-last-night-1498110969/@tcraggs22[/quote]

But that's only one segment and I don't know there's a enough people in that segment to reach a million domestically.  I said 425k. Maybe the first six months will be higher : 700-800k possibly, by SummerSlam, but I can't see them ending the year 2014 at a million domestic, McMahon swagger aside. 

As for the mythical channel, perhaps Vince is talking about when they were looking for someone to take G4 (UFC was rumored interested until the fox deal skyrocketed them).

Dear Forbes... what?!

There's a not very good piece on Forbes by Merrill Barr about the WWE Network.

Wow.

So, does the writer believe that by launching the WWE Network, somehow McMahon will force the hands of NBCU and Viacom to do.......... what?  Move Raw & Smackdonw on to his WWE Network?  Hilarious.  Vince would be threatening to walk away from $106M in domestic TV Rights Fees so he could try to somehow recoup that money on the Network.  That's beyond laughable.  

WWE needs the new TV Rights fees money to subsidize the projects like WWE Network so it has time to get legs and grow.  WWE is now primarily a television company.  Consider that 75% of US Adults have Cable/Satellite service. Meanwhile, the next biggest over-the-top competitor, Netflix, is subscribed by 29% of US Adults. (source)  (That's for an established OTT service, not something new like WWE Network.)  WWE couldn't survive if they weren't on weekly television.

In fact, if you really understood the business, Forbes would have been talking about how WWE just basically endangered $60M in domestic PPV money that MVOD (cable/satellite providers) get from WWE PPVs (through their PPV split).  He put that money on the chopping block by launching this Network, especially by including Wrestlemania.  In fact, the whole narrative that WWE spread at the conference (beside their ludicrous household affinity numbers) was "death of pay-per-view" which was a thumb to the eye of the companies that'll be bidding on his shows. This is right before WWE is trying to nail down new TV Rights fees by April 2014.  I never thought they'd go ahead and launch before they had the bidding sewn up, but they did.

I love the WWE Network. I think it's a great project. But I will be astonished if they don't lose money on it (should you factor in the drops in other core business) by end of 2014. It doesn't matter a lot because they're poised to get some huge TV Rights Increases... from the Networks! I guess the WWE Network puts WWE in the news, but it certainly isn't what this writer thought it was. Especially when the narrative should have been something about how all these "quaking in their boot" MVODs actually turned WWE down several times when they tried to launch their network as a channel (basic or subscription-based)!

Baffling.

WWE Network is Announced.

We've been blogging about it every day for the last two months.

I was pleased but not too surprised. 

If anything, I was flabbergasted that the echo chamber of pro-wrestling reporting was actually right.  Special recognition to the DAVEs (David Parker, David Bix, Dave Meltzer), Justin Labar, Keith Harris, JDW and Rich Kraetsch who provided the context, analysis, debate and breaking news throughout the last sixty days.

Here's what most of us expected (and got):

• $9.99/month 
• 6 month commitment
• Will include live PPVs
• Will include Wrestlemania
• Will be over-the-top (ala netflix)
• Will include both a "programmed" feed as well as on-demand
• On demand will include past WWE Library including PPVs, Raw, Smackdown
• Will have pre and post shows for Raw and Smackdown
• Will move the Hulu-exclusive shows like NXT and Superstars to the WWE Network
• Will launch domestically (US) in 2014 on 2/24 (the day after the elimination chamber in mpls)
• Will be launching in english-friendly speaking countries (Canada, Nordics, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, etc.) in 2015ish hopefully
• They are using MLBAM as the backbone for the system
• Will be available on a whole lots of different apps and devices including video game consoles, SmartTV, mobile devices and Roku boxes 

The new hashtag/company line is #bestvalueinentertainment.  I thought they might try to undercut Netflix when I saw that.  Yet, pro-wrestling media is niche product; I already think they're vastly underpricing themselves already. I guess $9.95 because I figured the $10 mark was about what people consider "cheap enough to try" these days.  They also mentioned in today's SEC filing that they'll be offering one week trials (ala Hulu/Netflix) so they're learning.

I believe they'll get around 600k subscribers for the first 6 month cycle and will be contemplating a domestic price increase by 2015 (to $13-$15 range). I don't believe that they'll hit a million subscribers unless they have an expansive and expensive ad campaign (Sports Illustrated, USA Today, maybe Super Bowl Ad) aimed at older and lapsed fans and I don't think that's the direction... yet.

What I was surprised at was that they are coming along with International so quickly (especially with issues like data caps in Canada!) and that they're only doing a 6-month commitment cycles (no month-to-month). I was also surprised at how little they had in terms of old territorial library content, but we'll know more once it's launched and we can actually see the VOD offerings. 

What's especially interesting is that they aren't allowing signups until 2/24 - launch day. I feel that's a risky move because you're basically counting on a system to start processing orders at 9 AM and go until 11 PM when suddenly they actually turn the whole thing live (following Monday Night Raw). They can't afford a big failure, but I wouldn't be surprised if that first week was almost "free" because they don't have to start processing credit cards that very instant.  Are they waiting until 2/24 so they don't undercut the Elimination Chamber PPV?  (Which really is already going to be hurting because the cat is out of the bag.)

Exactly how this shakes out for Wrestlemania PPV income in the future (we're talking almost $20M domestically - and that's just the half that goes to WWE! There's another $20M that goes to the cable/satellite operators...) and how this changes things like their DVD/BluRay business (they're advertising they put their whole library of releases on demand, which is cool) will be intriguing.  Home Entertainment is a $28.9M annual business for WWE.

It's definitely going to be hurt by launching the Network and putting materials up there. I think one reason they've been doing the $5 DVD blowouts at Walmart was to get ahead of announcements like this.

However, you're right that it's not the end for DVD/BluRays.

a) Older consumers (keep in mind more than half of WWE viewers are over the age of 37) are far more likely to continue to purchase physical media. That's why there's such a split in the Netflix Streaming vs Netflix DVD Rental population by age (DVD peaks in 37-48 while streaming is bigger in 18-36)

B) Content is King. They're going to be putting releases in Big Box Stores (if BestBuy is gonna sell it, they're gonna stock it) and trying to get other companies (like Netflix) to license it. (On an related topic, I don't think we'll see the end of WWE materials on Netflix in 2014 by any means.) Plus, this becomes programming you can use on the Network and then use it to increase your library bragging rights.

c) They're still publishing a magazine. They're still doing C-level PPVs. If they can turn a profit on it and they're already doing it, they'll likely keep doing it. (WWE Films/Studios is another matter though!)

My guess a few months ago was a 1/3 cut to Home Entertainment in 2014. We'll see how that plays out and whether they time delay DVD/BluRay releases versus availability on the Network by several months.

There's still a lot of questions about getting older people to order something like this. More than half of WWE viewership is over the age of 37 and they have the lowest propensity for using streaming services and are far more attached to cable/satellite television as well as physical media. I think they've got to do some heavy-duty selling to convince people that this is going to work and when you're not supporting something like the Wii which was a strong gateway vehicle for people like my parents to using Netflix, you're risking cutting out that older generation if you rely too much on the Roku Boxes and PS4 of the world. Still, nothing's guaranteed!  Plus, it looks like while they couldn't announce it at CES, WWE Network will be available on the AppleTV.

It's been fun following this drama for the last few months; that's for sure!

Questions to ask at tomorrow's WWE Network launch event...

It's really all but confirmed that tomorrow evening's "groundbreaking announcement" will be unveiling of the WWE Network.  Today, WWE released a bland PR announcement (mentioning business personalities including Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Michelle D. Wilson, Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, Executive Vice President, Talent & Live Events Paul Levesque, Executive Vice President and Digital Media Perkins Miller).  More interestingly, there was a bit of a misfire as the Corporate Site also added an event for 1-08-2014 called, "WWE Network Announcement".  (This also triggered an email blast to IR Alert subscribers with a broken link.  Correct link is here.)

I expect tomorrow's event will cover the basics:

Yes, WWE Network is launching in 2014 prior to Wrestlemania.  

Yes, WWE Network is launching as an "over-the-top" network and will be available on a variety of platforms (akin to Netflix).  

Yes, this new "network" will include live WWE Pay-Per-View Events.

Yes, WWE Network will only cost a fraction of the current WWE PPV retail price as a monthly subscription.

Yes, this is an exciting and groundbreaking development for Sports Entertainment Fans.

But WWE is going to CES and has invited journalists to attend.  Let's hope we get specifics.

Here's some of the questions I'd love to have answered:

• What happened with the negotiations with MVPD (Multi-channel Video Programming Distributors) to launch the WWE Network as either Premium Channel or as a part of the normal tier of channels (taking the place of something that already had coverage like G4)?
• What specifically did WWE learn about Netflix's success that led WWE to believe that an over-the-top network was now viable in 2014?
• What is the relationship with MLB Advanced Media and WWE Network?  Are they providing any backbone and tech. support or were they just consulting on the process?
• How does the WWE Network service compare and contrast to UFC 'Fight Pass' network?
• What is the rationale behind the Network pricing?  Are you comparing to the monthly Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu  or against traditional PPV costs?
• What is the roll-out schedule for this in terms of international expansion?  Do you anticipate issues with Canadian customers due to ISP data caps?
• How does this launch correspond with Television Rights negotiations (both domestically and internationally)? 
• In your projections do you expect to draw mostly from active WWE viewers or do you anticipate this service will be attracting a substantial percentage of lapsed fans?
• How soon will replays of current WWE programming be available on the Network?
• How does the percentage of monthly subscription cost that WWE receives through an over-the-top WWE Network compare against what they would have done with normal channel clearance and with premium channel subscriptions?
• How similar is programming an "over-the-top" network akin to programming a traditional television network?
• What's the timetable for remaining committed to this project?
• What portion of domestic PPV and Home Entertainment Sales are expected to be cannibalized by this venture?
• Is there a strategic direction concerning the future of Wrestlemania as either a PPV event for 2015 onwards?
• Given the rash of streaming event failures in the past with other companies what safeguards are being put in place to prevent buffering and crashing for major events?
• How soon will subscription numbers be available?
• How will the spending for original content compare to the production costs for a show such as Total Divas on E!?
• What are the licensing and royalty issues involved with airing old footage on the WWE Network and with on-demand content?
• What are the reasonable subscriber metrics for the 30 day, 90 day, 180 day marks?
• What is the annual investment for the Network going to look like in terms of re-occurring and one-time costs?
• Will the Network revenue and expenses be split into a separate revenue division for reporting?
• What's the relationship between WWE Films/WWE Studios and the WWE Network?  Will WWE remain in the movie business?
• Does this signal a forever departure from the monthly PPV cycle?  How many more years do you expect a sizable portion of viewers will continue the traditional ordering methods?  Will this change how television is programmed, especially alongside large new TV rights deals starting in 2015?
• For international distribution, will there be a focus on English-speaking countries first?
• How robust of a marketing campaign outside of the "normal" WWE channels will there be to advertise the WWE Network service?  How much has WWE committed to spend for marketing?
• How do the demographics of the normal WWE Network subscriber compare to the normal WWE television viewer?  (How do they reconcile the split between strong skew of younger folks using streaming services compared to older people still with Cable & Dish TV subscriptions?) 
• How will the WWE Network launch affect the availability of WWE material on Hulu, Netflix and Youtube?  (Also, what's going on regarding Yahoo!?)
• Has the WWE completely given up on the idea for a traditional channel to be launched alongside the over-the-top WWE Network?
• How will these events affect payments to talent?  How can you estimate "buys" for PPVs and will that matter in the future?
• Will there be any advertising or commercials on the network?
• Are you expecting to have live interactive programming such akin to WWF LiveWire?
• What role does the WWE App play in this Network launch?  
• What future on-demand options do you anticipate offering?
• Will the launch of the network correspond with additional interactive advances in the WWE portfolio?
• How do you reconcile any contractual issues that might arise about exclusivity on PPV airings - especially in international markets?
• What about content that may seem especially vulgar or distasteful in current television norms (racist, homophobic or xenophobic topics from territorial archives) - will there be selective editing around these angles?

I know that the majority of these questions would just receive a normal PR answer of "it's going to be great; how do we know yet? everything happened just like we planned!" but maybe one or two of them would actually give us some real insight to the past, present and future for this ambitious project.

What questions do you have which you'd love to see answered?

WWE readies to spin the giant network roulette wheel!

On Wednesday, WWE chairman Vince McMahon along with a bevy of available superstars (John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin and Triple H are all being advertised to appear) will make his "groundbreaking announcement". According to the WWE website, interested parties outside of Las Vegas will be able to watch a stream of the event:

Watch LIVE this Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!, Google+, Pinterest and Pheed.

(Note: David Bixenspan noted that the Facebook invite said 9:00 pm EST in the text and 9:15 on the invite. Clear your schedule people!) 

The prevailing opinion still remains that this will be the latest (and hopefully final) announcement for a launch date for the rumored WWE Network.  We've been covering the evolution of the WWE Network here at this blog.  (Interested parties are encouraged to check out the free 40-page PDF we released on the subject.) Now, if rumors are to believed, the latest WWE Network model will take the form of a monthly subscription over-the-top video distribution service (similar to Netflix) with a backbone provided by MLB Advanced Media which would provide both daily streaming content (a "channel" with programming) along with an extensive on-demand library.

It's ludicrously appropriate that WWE would be making this announcement during CES 2014 in Las Vegas because launching the WWE Network does represents quite the gamble for the company. In particular, WWE is readying itself to fundamentally change how their viewers can access their library of old content and altering their distribution method for new "PPV" content.  (I did look at dissecting possible positive and negative revenue impacts from the Network last month.)

In my mind, there's two major revenue streams that WWE would endanger should they launch the WWE Network (at least, in the form as described above): Domestic Pay-Per-View Revenue and Home Entertainment/Consumer Products. I discussed why DVD sales would probably fall in the last post, let's focus on domestic PPV impact.

DOMESTIC PPV

While WWE reports annual Pay-per-view Revenue numbers, they don't often break out domestic versus international PPV totals. However, with some creative estimates*, we can make an educated guess:

(*) Methodology: WWE PPV Buys from 2006-2013 (domestic/int'l split) were reported in the Wrestling Observer; these numbers were extracted from the monthly KPIs and quarterly SEC filings. These estimates were compared against individual PPV prices by quarter and the reported total PPV quarterly revenue. It was possible to run a regression and estimate the quarterly revenue split for each event. (This leads to an interesting result that while PPVs buys hover around 61% domestic, PPV revenue is estimated to be more like 76% domestic).  I did notice that Meltzer's estimates include "late buys" attributed to the original event, so there is some degree of incongruence between using periodic revenue numbers without backing out prior event buys.
Note: TLC 2013 was not available but a fair estimation was used to provide a complete 2013 fiscal year.

EDIT: My numbers are a little off.  WWE did publish 2006-2011 Domestic/International PPV splits which were several million dollars higher: (see my earlier post on this at http://indeedwrestling.blogspot.com/2013/11/wwe-network-to-feature-wrestlemania.html).

A few observations on the chart above:

1. Domestically, back-to-back Cena vs Rock main event was strong enough (especially when coupled with HD orders) to deliver strongest domestic WM numbers with 2007's event (the battle of the Billionaires) nestling nicely into third place.
2. Weakness in 2013's Summer Slam (the event that Vince McMahon called a "Swing and a miss") was evident as that event essentially tied for the weakest event in years.
3. Contrary to popular sentiment, domestic PPV is not dead. In fact, the last two years have represented significant improvements over the 2009-2011 slump.

On that third point, consider that domestic Non-WM PPV revenue dropped from $52M-$54M annually (2006-2008) to $37M-$43M annually (2009-2013).  There are many factors involved, but certainly raising the domestic PPV price five dollars in a year where the unemployment rate shot up to the decade's pinnacle, played a significant role.  Obviously, some of this drop is due to cutting back on the number of PPVs (2006 has 16 while 2012 had only 12), but keep in mind that the revenue per PPV for the non-core events (the "Other PPVs" in blue) dropped 15% from $3.24M/event (2006-2008) to $2.75M/event (2009-2011).  That suggests that even if WWE had run a similar number of events, they'd still be down at about five million in domestic PPV revenue.  (This "domestic PPV revenue per other event" number has rebounded in recent years above the three-million dollar mark to about $3.13M).  As you can see, while a $5.0M SummerSlam number may pale in comparison to huge years (2008 with Undertaker/Edge in Hell in a Cell did particularly well with nearly $7.0M), it's still a much bigger event than your normal B-show.

What is remarkable is how the important the "big three" (Summer Slam, Royal Rumble and especially Wrestlemania) are to WWE.  It's telling that the last three years more than half of the annual income comes from those three events, and it appears to keep growing.  Seeing that writing on the wall, it makes sense that WWE's strategy for luring viewers to their new revenue stream (the WWE Network) would involve a hook that includes the big events.  Offering viewers the option of catching the next "Battleground" PPV simply will not due.

The next big question is how many people are going to order such a network. In an earlier post, I applied Netflix subscription statistics by age group to WWE Viewers (assuming a four million person base) and came up with about 415,000 annual subscribers.  (This assumes WWE offers a huge hook like Wrestlemania in exchange for an extended subscription guarantee).  Still, at this moment (and the much higher price point) there's only about 121,000 domestic PPV buys per non-major WWE PPV.

Assuming about a $10 price point, 415k annual subscribers would generate about $50 million in income, but would be less than half of what WWE has repeatedly stated would be their break-even point for the project.  Considering that annual domestic PPV is only estimated around $63M annually, the WWE Network (as projected) would not be a full substitute for current WWE Domestic PPV revenue.  (Yet, it might just cover all of the domestic PPV revenue sans Wrestlemania: ~$42M.)

So, the question remains - if (when?) WWE launches the Network, how many subscribers can we reasonable estimate will buy the network and moreover, how many people will continue to purchase PPVs?

One question asked about the prior analysis was why I chose "four million" as my base.  It's a fair point because WWE themselves claims 15 million weekly viewers.  I chose 4 million based on WWE's Flagship show ratings and the fact that WWE currently has both their big shows (Raw and Smackdown) on Cable television.  (When Smackdown was both brand-exclusive and broadcast on over-the-air channels, I believe they had a much bigger unique audience as compared to now. However, at this time I don't have any numbers to back up this assertion.)

But, for the sake of argument, if we took the WWE's claim of fifteen million weekly viewers seriously and applied out Netflix streaming calculations, that would give us a blended average of 1.5 million annual subscriptions.  (We'll use WWE's age distribution quoted in the 15M number and apply the Netflix streaming statistics from the Harris Interactive Poll and my "household adjustment" number to correct for households where one subscription supplies more than one person.)

• (19% x 37% streaming [under 18] + 23% x 41% streaming [18-34] + 21% x 24% streaming [35-49] + 37% x 15% streaming [50+] ) x 15M x 35.6% household adjustment =  1.444M subscriptions
• (23% x 41% streaming [18-34] + 21% x 24% streaming [35-49] + 37% x 15% streaming [50+]) x 15M x 52.2% household adjustment = 1.568M subscriptions

(Essentially, either model predicts about 10% of the "base" would be candidates for subscription.)

In this scenario, about 4 million people of the original 15 million weekly viewers would have access to the network.  (Note: this assumes that the subscription base for the WWE Network would be people included the current "15 million" number; there's still the whole matter of the lapsed/casual fans with a "strong affinity" to WWE Programming - a number that WWE has quoted as high as 57 million households.)  The question is whether a significant portion of the remaining 11 million weekly WWE viewers (over 70%) would continue to purchase PPVs.  Personally, I believe that the people with the greatest propensity to buy PPVs would be most attracted to the WWE Network service.  What a conundrum.

Main Event PPV Ratings (WWF)

WWF

YEAR	AVG	COUNT
1985	1.82	15
1986	0.31	4
1987	(0.13)	2
1988	1.36	14
1989	2.55	5
1990	2.55	5
1991	1.60	5
1992	2.90	5
1993	2.17	12
1994	2.53	16
1995	2.10	17
1996	2.93	19
1997	3.23	20
1998	1.88	28
1999	2.15	21
2000	2.89	22
2001	3.49	21
2002	2.80	19
2003	2.28	18
2004	3.16	22
2005	3.07	22
2006	2.83	33
2007	3.00	24
2008	3.19	37
2009	3.20	33
2010	3.05	30
2011	3.21	32
2012	3.33	27
2013	3.40	27

WCW Winning Percentages by Year (1989-2001)

Information was collected from CageMatch for "World Championship Wrestling".  The results filled in some gaps that I had in my WCW data (particularly TV taping) but I think this exercise was not nearly as complete as the WWF version that I posted a few days ago (and also appeared on reddit and Voices of Wrestling).

(To be included on this chart, a wrestler needed at least 30 non-rumble matches in a single year.  Someone like Kevin Nash was active in 1997, but this dataset only had 28 matches for them that year.)

Records

More than 1,000 matches
Sting: 1037 matches (792-190-47 and 8 rumble victories) = 81% win

More than 700 matches
Lex Luger: 776 matches (544-163-62 and 7 rumble victories) = 77% win
Rick Steiner: 729 matches (533-125-67 and 4 rumble victories) = 81% win

More than 500 matches
Ric Flair: 658 matches (343-281-33 and 1 rumble victory) = 55% win
Buff Bagwell: 631 matches (356-259-16) = 58% win
Booker T: 604 matches (377-201-26) = 65% win
Bobby Eaton: 600 matches (210-356-34) = 37% win
Arn Anderson: 590 matches (261-287-42) = 48% win
Scott Steiner: 580 matches (411-115-52 and 2 rumble victories) = 78% win
Dustin Rhodes: 570 matches (418-114-37 and 1 rumble victory) = 79% win
Diamond Dallas Page: 556 matches (330-208-17 and 1 rumble victory) = 61% win

More than 400 matches
Chris Benoit: 482 matches (303-145-33 and 1 rumble victory) = 68% win
Brian Pillman: 472 matches (292-160-20) = 65% win
Stevie Ray: 465 matches (215-226-23 and 1 rumble victory) = 49% win
Steve Austin: 462 matches (206-207-49) = 50% win
Kevin Nash: 450 matches (215-202-31 and 2 rumble victories) = 52% win
Johnny B Badd: 413 matches (289-113-11) = 72% win
Barry Windham: 413 matches (222-177-14) = 56% win

More than 300 matches
Lord Steven Regal: 385 matches (172-176-37) = 49% win
Billy Kidman: 383 matches (215-154-14) = 58% win
Konnan: 383 matches (280-95-8) = 75% win
Brian Knobbs: 369 matches (230-126-13) = 65% win
Disco Inferno: 359 matches (122-231-6) = 35% win
Dean Malenko: 358 matches (230-111-15 and 2 rumble victories) = 67% win
Ricky Steamboat: 350 matches (232-101-15 and 2 rumble victories) = 70% win
Rey Mysterio Jr: 343 matches (229-101-13) = 69% win
Ron Simmons: 337 matches (239-82-16) = 74% win
Alex Wright: 334 matches (184-140-10) = 57% win
Brad Armstrong: 314 matches (142-166-6) = 46% win
Michael Hayes: 313 matches (144-159-9 and 1 rumble victory) = 48% win
Scott Hall: 311 matches (126-162-22 and 1 rumble victory) = 44% win
Juventud Guerrera: 309 matches (155-145-9) = 52% win
Chris Jericho: 302 matches (168-124-8 and 2 rumble victories) = 58% win
Eddie Guerrero: 300 matches (177-112-11) = 61% win

More than 200 matches
Vader: 291 matches (166-107-17 and 1 rumble victory) = 61% win
Goldberg: 289 matches (252-21-15 and 1 rumble victory) = 92% win
The Z-Man: 284 matches (167-107-10) = 61% win
Terry Taylor: 281 matches (120-146-15) = 45% win
Chavo Guerrero Jr: 280 matches (125-149-5 and 1 rumble victory) = 46% win
Jim Duggan: 275 matches (185-79-11) = 70% win
Paul Orndorff: 273 matches (119-148-6) = 45% win
Jerry Sags: 273 matches (183-82-8) = 69% win
Perry Saturn: 271 matches (167-98-6) = 63% win
The Barbarian: 268 matches (131-130-7) = 50% win
Sid Vicious: 268 matches (131-120-16 and 1 rumble victory) = 52% win
Meng: 268 matches (155-98-15) = 61% win
Hugh Morrus: 264 matches (130-126-8) = 51% win
The Giant: 263 matches (155-90-17 and 1 rumble victory) = 63% win
Jeff Jarrett: 253 matches (142-104-7) = 58% win
Ricky Morton: 244 matches (125-111-8) = 53% win
Ernest Miller: 231 matches (168-58-5) = 74% win
Cactus Jack: 228 matches (103-115-10) = 47% win
Rick Rude: 226 matches (117-105-3 and 1 rumble victory) = 53% win
Kevin Sullivan: 226 matches (123-87-16) = 59% win
Randy Savage: 220 matches (125-78-16 and 1 rumble victory) = 62% win
Prince Iaukea: 214 matches (97-115-2) = 46% win
Curt Hennig: 214 matches (86-119-9) = 42% win
Shane Douglas: 209 matches (136-65-8) = 68% win
Fit Finlay: 207 matches (100-97-9 and 1 rumble victory) = 51% win
Van Hammer: 206 matches (129-68-7 and 2 rumble victories) = 65% win
Scotty Riggs: 206 matches (76-127-3) = 37% win
Jimmy Garvin: 206 matches (96-102-8) = 48% win
Steve Armstrong: 204 matches (77-126-1) = 38% win
Psychosis: 202 matches (74-122-6) = 38% win
Ray Traylor: 201 matches (103-94-4) = 52% win
Chris Kanyon: 201 matches (67-124-10) = 35% win

More than 100 matches
Mike Rotunda: 192 matches (94-92-6) = 51% win
Larry Zbyszko: 187 matches (68-109-9 and 1 rumble victory) = 38% win
Brian Adams: 185 matches (78-99-7 and 1 rumble victory) = 44% win
Scott Norton: 184 matches (79-94-11) = 46% win
Tommy Rich: 182 matches (78-101-3) = 44% win
Raven: 180 matches (66-103-11) = 39% win
Norman Smiley: 179 matches (103-75-1) = 58% win
Big Josh: 175 matches (122-47-4 and 2 rumble victories) = 72% win
Bryan Clarke: 174 matches (104-63-7) = 62% win
2 Cold Scorpio: 173 matches (116-44-13) = 73% win
Dick Slater: 173 matches (46-120-7) = 28% win
Hulk Hogan: 170 matches (92-64-14) = 59% win
Paul Roma: 167 matches (66-100-1) = 40% win
La Parka: 166 matches (52-110-4) = 32% win
Bam Bam Bigelow: 165 matches (59-97-9) = 38% win
Tracy Smothers: 157 matches (71-86-0) = 45% win
The Junkyard Dog: 153 matches (119-32-2) = 79% win
Rocco Rock: 152 matches (75-72-5) = 51% win
Erik Watts: 152 matches (81-60-11) = 57% win
Kaz Hayashi: 151 matches (53-96-2) = 36% win
Johnny Grunge: 150 matches (75-70-5) = 52% win
Jerry Flynn: 143 matches (48-88-7) = 35% win
Silver King: 141 matches (52-85-4) = 38% win
Vampiro: 139 matches (70-63-6) = 53% win
Road Warrior Hawk: 138 matches (73-27-34 and 4 rumble victories) = 73% win
Al Green: 138 matches (43-92-3) = 32% win
Bunkhouse Buck: 136 matches (46-88-2) = 34% win
Evan Karagias: 135 matches (49-81-5) = 38% win
Steve Mcmichael: 134 matches (84-44-6) = 66% win
The Great Muta: 134 matches (68-63-2 and 1 rumble victory) = 52% win
Butch Reed: 134 matches (58-61-15) = 49% win
Kenny Kaos: 128 matches (44-78-6) = 36% win
Davey Boy Smith: 128 matches (98-22-8) = 82% win
El Gigante: 128 matches (91-18-15 and 4 rumble victories) = 83% win
Road Warrior Animal: 126 matches (65-28-33) = 70% win
David Taylor: 125 matches (28-90-7) = 24% win
Shanghai Pierce: 124 matches (26-91-7) = 22% win
Maxx Payne: 122 matches (72-46-4) = 61% win
Patriot: 121 matches (89-31-1) = 74% win
Steve Williams: 118 matches (59-44-15) = 57% win
Tex Slazenger: 117 matches (23-90-4) = 20% win
Sgt Buddy Lee Parker: 117 matches (14-102-1) = 12% win
Bret Hart: 117 matches (52-54-11) = 49% win
Lash Leroux: 117 matches (45-70-2) = 39% win
Mike Enos: 115 matches (31-80-4) = 28% win
Dan Spivey: 112 matches (55-41-15 and 1 rumble victory) = 57% win
Nikita Koloff: 110 matches (45-38-27) = 54% win
Joey Maggs: 110 matches (10-100-0) = 9% win
Big Vito: 109 matches (63-42-4) = 60% win
Scott Armstrong: 107 matches (20-87-0) = 19% win
Fidel Sierra: 107 matches (9-96-2) = 9% win
Vincent: 106 matches (29-76-1) = 28% win
Pn News: 104 matches (79-22-3) = 78% win
David Flair: 104 matches (41-54-9) = 43% win
Jack Victory: 104 matches (18-86-0) = 17% win
Chris Adams: 104 matches (48-54-2) = 47% win
Mark Starr: 100 matches (13-87-0) = 13% win

More than 75 matches
Ultimo Dragon: 98 matches (69-28-1) = 71% win
Devon Storm: 98 matches (37-57-4) = 39% win
Dick Murdoch: 97 matches (51-34-11 and 1 rumble victory) = 60% win
Super Calo: 96 matches (31-64-1) = 33% win
Horace Hogan: 96 matches (33-62-1) = 35% win
The Wall: 95 matches (42-52-1) = 45% win
Terry Funk: 95 matches (49-38-8) = 56% win
Glacier: 95 matches (57-37-1) = 61% win
Dave Sullivan: 95 matches (38-48-9) = 44% win
Mike Awesome: 93 matches (46-40-5 and 2 rumble victories) = 53% win
John Tenta: 93 matches (35-54-4) = 39% win
Lenny Lane: 92 matches (13-79-0) = 14% win
Kendall Windham: 92 matches (32-55-5) = 37% win
Robbie Rage: 91 matches (29-57-5) = 34% win
Ron Harris: 91 matches (43-41-7) = 51% win
Villano V: 90 matches (7-81-2) = 8% win
Curtis Hughes: 87 matches (28-59-0) = 32% win
Chuck Palumbo: 87 matches (43-38-5 and 1 rumble victory) = 53% win
Don Harris: 84 matches (36-41-7) = 47% win
Barry Darsow: 84 matches (29-55-0) = 35% win
Shannon Moore: 83 matches (38-44-1) = 46% win
Lance Storm: 83 matches (50-33-0) = 60% win
Ed Leslie: 83 matches (46-33-4) = 58% win
The One Man Gang: 82 matches (26-52-4) = 33% win
Shane Helms: 82 matches (43-38-1) = 53% win
Stan Lane: 81 matches (49-31-1) = 61% win
Eddie Gilbert: 81 matches (41-37-3) = 53% win
Ice-Train: 80 matches (50-25-5) = 67% win
El Dandy: 80 matches (18-60-2) = 23% win
Rip Morgan: 79 matches (11-66-2) = 14% win
Damien: 78 matches (10-66-2) = 13% win

More than 50 matches
Villano IV: 75 matches (12-63-0) = 16% win
Tim Horner: 75 matches (28-45-2) = 38% win
Barry Horowitz: 74 matches (1-71-2) = 1% win
The Renegade: 71 matches (20-50-1) = 29% win
Sean O'Haire: 71 matches (39-28-2 and 2 rumble victories) = 58% win
Yuji Nagata: 71 matches (33-38-0) = 46% win
The Gambler: 71 matches (5-65-1) = 7% win
Halloween: 71 matches (18-50-2 and 1 rumble victory) = 26% win
Madusa: 70 matches (50-16-4) = 76% win
Dutch Mantel: 69 matches (5-64-0) = 7% win
Sgt Craig Pittman: 68 matches (33-33-2) = 50% win
Johnny The Bull: 68 matches (44-20-4) = 69% win
Shawn Stasiak: 66 matches (25-36-4 and 1 rumble victory) = 41% win
Yang: 66 matches (25-41-0) = 38% win
Jim Powers: 66 matches (16-50-0) = 24% win
Rip Rogers: 65 matches (4-61-0) = 6% win
Joe Gomez: 65 matches (18-47-0) = 28% win
Mean Mike: 64 matches (4-58-2) = 6% win
Abdullah The Butcher: 64 matches (26-21-16 and 1 rumble victory) = 55% win
Fatu: 64 matches (33-15-16) = 69% win
Mike Graham: 63 matches (23-39-1) = 37% win
Bobby Duncum Jr: 62 matches (24-35-3) = 41% win
Tough Tom: 61 matches (4-55-2) = 7% win
Jean-Paul Levesque: 61 matches (26-33-2) = 44% win
Lizmark Jr: 61 matches (25-36-0) = 41% win
Elix Skipper: 61 matches (27-34-0) = 44% win
Mark Jindrak: 60 matches (21-35-2 and 2 rumble victories) = 38% win
Greg Valentine: 60 matches (33-26-1) = 56% win
Samu: 59 matches (30-13-16) = 70% win
Bobby Walker: 58 matches (21-35-2) = 38% win
Robert Gibson: 56 matches (23-29-4) = 44% win
Jerry Lynn: 56 matches (9-46-1) = 16% win
Johnny Ace: 56 matches (37-18-1) = 67% win
Jamie Noble: 54 matches (16-38-0) = 30% win
Lodi: 54 matches (12-41-1) = 23% win
Tank Abbott: 53 matches (35-11-7) = 76% win
Syxx: 53 matches (34-18-1) = 65% win
Jim Neidhart: 53 matches (25-25-3) = 50% win
Frankie Lancaster: 53 matches (10-42-1) = 19% win
Kwee Wee: 52 matches (16-36-0) = 31% win
Jeff Farmer: 52 matches (20-31-1) = 39% win
Johnny Gunn: 51 matches (13-37-1) = 26% win
Black Bart: 51 matches (5-46-0) = 10% win
Scott Vick: 50 matches (10-40-0) = 20% win
Mike Shaw: 50 matches (41-9-0) = 82% win

More than 25 matches
Johnny Swinger: 49 matches (8-41-0) = 16% win
George South: 48 matches (1-47-0) = 2% win
Marcus Laurinaitis: 47 matches (21-25-1) = 46% win
Dale Torborg: 47 matches (17-29-1) = 37% win
Todd Champion: 45 matches (27-15-3) = 64% win
Ranger Ross: 45 matches (24-20-1) = 55% win
Blitzkrieg: 44 matches (8-34-1 and 1 rumble victory) = 19% win
Hak: 44 matches (15-25-4) = 38% win
Lt James Earl Wright: 43 matches (4-39-0) = 9% win
The Iron Sheik: 43 matches (13-30-0) = 30% win
Mike Sanders: 42 matches (10-32-0) = 24% win
Firebreaker Chip: 42 matches (21-18-3) = 54% win
Steve Casey: 41 matches (5-36-0) = 12% win
Rick Fuller: 41 matches (4-37-0) = 10% win
Bull Payne: 41 matches (0-41-0) = 0% win
Stan Hansen: 40 matches (15-23-2) = 39% win
Keith Cole: 40 matches (19-19-2) = 50% win
Larry Santo: 40 matches (0-40-0) = 0% win
Bill Irwin: 40 matches (5-35-0) = 13% win
Mike Thor: 39 matches (0-39-0) = 0% win
Sam Houston: 39 matches (13-25-1) = 34% win
The Maestro: 38 matches (18-20-0) = 47% win
Masahiro Chono: 37 matches (20-15-2) = 57% win
Brian Armstrong: 37 matches (5-32-0) = 14% win
Kenny Kendall: 36 matches (0-36-0) = 0% win
Bobby Blaze: 36 matches (7-29-0) = 19% win
Buddy Landel: 35 matches (5-30-0) = 14% win
Jushin Thunder Liger: 35 matches (17-16-2) = 52% win
Tommy Angel: 34 matches (1-33-0) = 3% win
Maxx Muscle: 33 matches (6-25-2) = 19% win
Scott Putski: 33 matches (8-22-3) = 27% win
Bob Cook: 33 matches (0-33-0) = 0% win
The Honky Tonk Man: 32 matches (22-9-1) = 71% win
Carl Ouellet: 32 matches (14-16-2) = 47% win
Randy Culley: 31 matches (3-28-0) = 10% win
Bobby Fulton: 31 matches (11-19-1) = 37% win
Hector Garza: 31 matches (15-15-1) = 50% win
Terry Gordy: 30 matches (20-6-4) = 77% win
Barry Houston: 30 matches (1-29-0) = 3% win
Kent Cole: 30 matches (20-8-2) = 71% win
Kensuke Sasaki: 30 matches (11-17-2) = 39% win
Randy Rose: 29 matches (9-19-1) = 32% win
Jacques Rougeau: 29 matches (13-14-2) = 48% win
Ron Reis: 28 matches (7-20-1) = 26% win
Brad Anderson: 28 matches (1-27-0) = 4% win
Bill Kazmaier: 28 matches (14-10-4) = 58% win
Reno: 27 matches (11-15-1) = 42% win
Road Block: 27 matches (8-19-0) = 30% win
Roddy Piper: 27 matches (16-10-1) = 62% win
Tommy Rogers: 26 matches (10-16-0) = 38% win
Pat Tanaka: 26 matches (3-21-2) = 13% win
Pat Rose: 26 matches (0-26-0) = 0% win
Mona: 26 matches (20-6-0) = 77% win
Marty Jannetty: 26 matches (10-16-0) = 38% win
Sonny Trout: 26 matches (0-26-0) = 0% win
Dr X: 26 matches (0-26-0) = 0% win
Adrian Byrd: 25 matches (2-23-0) = 8% win
Chris Sullivan: 25 matches (1-24-0) = 4% win

More than 10 matches
Ricky Santana: 24 matches (2-22-0) = 8% win
Rick Thames: 24 matches (1-23-0) = 4% win
Kid Romeo: 24 matches (16-8-0) = 67% win
Fred Ottman: 24 matches (23-1-0) = 96% win
The Raider: 23 matches (0-23-0) = 0% win
Yoshi Kwan: 23 matches (15-8-0) = 65% win
John Peterson: 23 matches (0-23-0) = 0% win
Manabu Nakanishi: 22 matches (8-14-0) = 36% win
Tokyo Magnum: 22 matches (1-20-1) = 5% win
Trent Knight: 22 matches (1-21-0) = 5% win
Mike Winner: 22 matches (4-16-2) = 20% win
Big Sky: 22 matches (5-17-0) = 23% win
Bob Starr: 22 matches (0-21-1) = 0% win
Buddy Lee Parker: 22 matches (1-21-0) = 5% win
Big T: 22 matches (5-17-0) = 23% win
Frank Andersson: 22 matches (22-0-0) = 100% win
Todd Morton: 21 matches (1-20-0) = 5% win
Paul Heyman: 21 matches (1-19-1) = 5% win
Pez Whatley: 21 matches (2-18-1) = 10% win
Thunder: 21 matches (11-10-0) = 52% win
Jim Steele: 21 matches (14-5-2) = 74% win
Dave Burkhead: 21 matches (1-20-0) = 5% win
Fred Avery: 21 matches (0-21-0) = 0% win
Bryant Anderson: 21 matches (8-13-0) = 38% win
The Angel Of Death: 20 matches (6-14-0) = 30% win
Joe Cruz: 20 matches (0-20-0) = 0% win
Bob Emory: 20 matches (0-20-0) = 0% win
Johnny Attitude: 20 matches (2-18-0) = 10% win
Col Robert Parker: 20 matches (5-15-0) = 25% win
Charlie Norris: 20 matches (16-4-0) = 80% win
Hardbody Harrison: 20 matches (2-15-3) = 12% win
Steve Keirn: 19 matches (3-15-1) = 17% win
Lee Scott: 19 matches (0-19-0) = 0% win
Gary Royal: 19 matches (0-19-0) = 0% win
Mark Kyle: 18 matches (0-18-0) = 0% win
The Italian Stallion: 18 matches (3-15-0) = 17% win
Nasty Ned Brady: 18 matches (0-18-0) = 0% win
Jake Roberts: 18 matches (8-10-0) = 44% win
Chris Candido: 18 matches (8-8-2) = 50% win
The Black Scorpion: 17 matches (1-16-0) = 6% win
Tom Burton: 17 matches (0-17-0) = 0% win
Wayne Bloom: 17 matches (3-13-1) = 19% win
Black Blood: 17 matches (12-5-0) = 71% win
Greg Sawyer: 17 matches (1-16-0) = 6% win
Asya: 17 matches (8-7-2) = 53% win
Mike Justice: 16 matches (2-14-0) = 13% win
The Russian Assassin #1: 16 matches (3-13-0) = 19% win
Keith Steinborn: 16 matches (0-16-0) = 0% win
Jw Storm: 16 matches (4-12-0) = 25% win
Bob Orton Jr: 16 matches (10-3-3) = 77% win
Bill Ford: 16 matches (0-16-0) = 0% win
Ivan Koloff: 16 matches (6-10-0) = 38% win
Robbie V: 15 matches (7-8-0) = 47% win
Samoan Savage: 15 matches (7-8-0) = 47% win
Chip Minton: 15 matches (3-11-1) = 21% win
Dusty Rhodes: 15 matches (13-2-0) = 87% win
Eddie Jackie: 15 matches (0-15-0) = 0% win
Chuck Coates: 15 matches (0-15-0) = 0% win
Hector Guerrero: 15 matches (2-12-1) = 14% win
Scott Sandlin: 14 matches (0-14-0) = 0% win
Paul Lee: 14 matches (0-14-0) = 0% win
Torrie Wilson: 14 matches (7-6-1) = 54% win
Tony Mella: 14 matches (0-14-0) = 0% win
Butch Long: 14 matches (0-14-0) = 0% win
King Kong: 14 matches (9-5-0) = 64% win
Art Barr: 14 matches (11-3-0) = 79% win
Manny Fernandez: 13 matches (0-13-0) = 0% win
Ron Oakes: 13 matches (0-13-0) = 0% win
Ray Candy: 13 matches (0-13-0) = 0% win
Shaggy 2 Dope: 13 matches (7-6-0) = 54% win
Mean Mark: 13 matches (6-4-3) = 60% win
Brady Boone: 13 matches (1-12-0) = 8% win
Dennis Condrey: 13 matches (7-6-0) = 54% win
Akira Hokuto: 13 matches (11-1-1) = 92% win
Johnny Rich: 13 matches (1-12-0) = 8% win
Joe Cazana: 13 matches (0-13-0) = 0% win
Rick Martel: 12 matches (8-4-0) = 67% win
Violent J: 12 matches (7-5-0) = 58% win
Owen Hart: 12 matches (12-0-0) = 100% win
Mikey Whipwreck: 12 matches (2-10-0) = 17% win
Tygress: 12 matches (6-5-1) = 55% win
Rex King: 12 matches (0-12-0) = 0% win
Paisley: 12 matches (5-7-0) = 42% win
Awesome Kong: 12 matches (7-5-0) = 58% win
Chic Donovan: 12 matches (0-12-0) = 0% win
Jim Boss: 12 matches (0-12-0) = 0% win
Hercules Hernadez: 12 matches (6-6-0) = 50% win
Chris Nelson: 12 matches (0-12-0) = 0% win
Nick Dinsmore: 11 matches (0-10-1) = 0% win
Paul Ellering: 11 matches (4-7-0) = 36% win
Major Gunns: 11 matches (3-8-0) = 27% win
Scott D'Amore: 11 matches (0-11-0) = 0% win
Tc Carter: 11 matches (1-10-0) = 9% win
Mike Davis: 11 matches (1-10-0) = 9% win
Jc Ice: 11 matches (1-9-1) = 10% win
Kip Abee: 11 matches (1-10-0) = 9% win
Chase Tatum: 11 matches (3-8-0) = 27% win
Emory Hale: 11 matches (4-7-0) = 36% win
Louie Spicolli: 10 matches (2-7-1) = 22% win
Malia Hosaka: 10 matches (5-5-0) = 50% win
The Cheetah Kid: 10 matches (2-8-0) = 20% win
Tim Parker: 10 matches (0-10-0) = 0% win
Rikki Nelson: 10 matches (1-9-0) = 10% win
Wolfie D: 10 matches (1-8-1) = 11% win
Scott Allen: 10 matches (0-10-0) = 0% win
John Nord: 10 matches (9-1-0) = 90% win
Keith Hart: 10 matches (0-10-0) = 0% win
Hiroshi Hase: 10 matches (3-7-0) = 30% win
Bambi: 10 matches (1-9-0) = 10% win
Leroy Howard: 10 matches (0-10-0) = 0% win

Highest Winning Percentage (above 75%)

• Sting: 1037 matches (792-190-47 and 8 rumble victories) = 81% win
• Lex Luger: 776 matches (544-163-62 and 7 rumble victories) = 77% win
• Rick Steiner: 729 matches (533-125-67 and 4 rumble victories) = 81% win
• Scott Steiner: 580 matches (411-115-52 and 2 rumble victories) = 78% win
• Dustin Rhodes: 570 matches (418-114-37 and 1 rumble victory) = 79% win
• Goldberg: 289 matches (252-21-15 and 1 rumble victory) = 92% win
• The Junkyard Dog: 153 matches (119-32-2) = 79% win
• Davey Boy Smith: 128 matches (98-22-8) = 82% win
• El Gigante: 128 matches (91-18-15 and 4 rumble victories) = 83% win
• PN News: 104 matches (79-22-3) = 78% win
• Madusa: 70 matches (50-16-4) = 76% win
• Tank Abbott: 53 matches (35-11-7) = 76% win
• Norman the Lunatic / Mike Shaw: 50 matches (41-9-0) = 82% win
• Terry Gordy: 30 matches (20-6-4) = 77% win

Lowest Winning Percentage (below 25%)

• David Taylor: 125 matches (28-90-7) = 24% win
• Shanghai Pierce: 124 matches (26-91-7) = 22% win
• Tex Slazenger: 117 matches (23-90-4) = 20% win
• Sgt Buddy Lee Parker: 117 matches (14-102-1) = 12% win
• Joey Maggs: 110 matches (10-100-0) = 9% win
• Scott Armstrong: 107 matches (20-87-0) = 19% win
• Fidel Sierra: 107 matches (9-96-2) = 9% win
• Jack Victory: 104 matches (18-86-0) = 17% win
• Mark Starr: 100 matches (13-87-0) = 13% win
• Lenny Lane: 92 matches (13-79-0) = 14% win
• Villano V: 90 matches (7-81-2) = 8% win
• El Dandy: 80 matches (18-60-2) = 23% win
• Rip Morgan: 79 matches (11-66-2) = 14% win
• Damien: 78 matches (10-66-2) = 13% win
• Villano IV: 75 matches (12-63-0) = 16% win
• Barry Horowitz: 74 matches (1-71-2) = 1% win
• The Gambler: 71 matches (5-65-1) = 7% win
• Dutch Mantel: 69 matches (5-64-0) = 7% win
• Jim Powers: 66 matches (16-50-0) = 24% win
• Rip Rogers: 65 matches (4-61-0) = 6% win
• Mean Mike: 64 matches (4-58-2) = 6% win
• Tough Tom: 61 matches (4-55-2) = 7% win
• Jerry Lynn: 56 matches (9-46-1) = 16% win
• Lodi: 54 matches (12-41-1) = 23% win
• Frankie Lancaster: 53 matches (10-42-1) = 19% win
• Black Bart: 51 matches (5-46-0) = 10% win
• Scott Vick: 50 matches (10-40-0) = 20% win
• Johnny Swinger: 49 matches (8-41-0) = 16% win
• George South: 48 matches (1-47-0) = 2% win
• Blitzkrieg: 44 matches (8-34-1 and 1 rumble victory) = 19% win
• Lt James Earl Wright: 43 matches (4-39-0) = 9% win
• Mike Sanders: 42 matches (10-32-0) = 24% win
• Steve Casey: 41 matches (5-36-0) = 12% win
• Rick Fuller: 41 matches (4-37-0) = 10% win
• Bull Payne: 41 matches (0-41-0) = 0% win
• Larry Santo: 40 matches (0-40-0) = 0% win
• Bill Irwin: 40 matches (5-35-0) = 13% win
• Mike Thor: 39 matches (0-39-0) = 0% win
• Brian Armstrong: 37 matches (5-32-0) = 14% win
• Kenny Kendall: 36 matches (0-36-0) = 0% win
• Bobby Blaze: 36 matches (7-29-0) = 19% win
• Buddy Landel: 35 matches (5-30-0) = 14% win
• Tommy Angel: 34 matches (1-33-0) = 3% win
• Maxx Muscle: 33 matches (6-25-2) = 19% win
• Bob Cook: 33 matches (0-33-0) = 0% win
• Randy Culley: 31 matches (3-28-0) = 10% win
• Barry Houston: 30 matches (1-29-0) = 3% win

(Among those with at least three years data..)

Lowest Standard Deviations: Paul Orndorff, Meng, Psychosis, Chris Kanyon, Norman Smiley

Highest Standard Deviations: Lex Luger, Bobby Eaton, DDP, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Tom Zenk (Z-Man), The Giant

• Luger was riding high from 1989-1998 (with a detour to WBF/WWF in the middle there), but his winning percentage really took a tumble during the dying years of WCW.
• Bobby Eaton was all over the map depending on whether he was a focal tag team (ala 1989/1991) or a utility player (1994-1996).
• DDP built his reputation up to it's zenith in 1996-1998 but his winning percentage slipped  in the final years.
• Kevin Nash's early days with the company under ridiculous gimmicks (Oz, Master Blaster Steele, Vinnie Vegas) did him little favors, but his powerful return in 1996 as one-half of the Outsiders was a remarkable change for the win column.
• Likewise, when Big Sexy's running mate Scott Hall transformed from the Diamond Studd to his own name as one-half of the invading New World Order as represented a high-water mark for the former Razor Ramon's victory totals.
• As with many territories, when someone was on their way out of a company, they went from favored nation status to jobber to the stars.  Tom Zenk exemplified this with his plummeting record from 1991-1993 as did The Giant Paul Wight from 1996-1998.
• Meanwhile, one-half of the Faces of Fear Meng (Haku!) won about two-thirds of his matches from 1996-1999. That seems to be the magic percentage since Screamin' Norman (Norman Smiley) also had a very similar record during his 1998-2001 reign.  
• Paul Orndorff's shower shoes were slightly below parity during his 1993-1995 adventure. Sadly, his second run with WCW was cut short when his body broke down during the ill-fated Buffalo PPV.
• A terribly underutilized star, Psychosis lost more than he won during his horned 1997-1999 adventures.
• A man at work, a worker at heart, and not lot of winner's purses exemplified Chris Kanyon's (Positively Kanyon, Mortis) 1998-2001 crusade through WCW.

Highest Winning Percentages by Year

1989

Rick Steiner:  86-21-10 (80% win)

Lex Luger:  82-7-4 (92% win)

Sting:  79-10-5 (89% win)

Fatu:  31-10-16 (76% win)

Shane Douglas:  45-9-2 (83% win)

Dick Murdoch:  36-10-8 (78% win)

Samu:  29-9-16 (76% win)

Ricky Steamboat:  38-12-0 (76% win)

Johnny Ace:  37-12-1 (76% win)

Jimmy Garvin:  23-7-3 (77% win)

Sid Vicious:  21-4-6 (84% win)

The Z-Man:  23-0-0 (100% win)

Bob Orton Jr:  10-3-3 (77% win)

1990

Rick Steiner:  31-3-1 (91% win)

Scott Steiner:  30-4-0 (88% win)

Lex Luger:  26-6-1 (81% win)

Sting:  32-0-0 (100% win)

Ricky Morton:  18-5-1 (78% win)

Ron Simmons:  12-3-9 (80% win)

The Junkyard Dog:  17-3-0 (85% win)

Mike Shaw:  17-0-0 (100% win)

Kevin Nash:  15-2-0 (88% win)

Al Green:  13-3-0 (81% win)

Art Barr:  11-2-0 (85% win)

El Gigante:  11-1-0 (92% win)

1991

Sting:  132-37-13 (78% win)

Lex Luger:  133-19-19 (88% win)

Rick Steiner:  135-19-13 (88% win)

Dustin Rhodes:  127-14-20 (90% win)

Ron Simmons:  90-22-1 (80% win)

El Gigante:  77-17-6 (82% win)

Scott Steiner:  93-2-7 (98% win)

Pn News:  75-17-3 (82% win)

The Junkyard Dog:  53-12-1 (82% win)

Vader:  21-3-3 (88% win)

Rick Rude:  13-2-0 (87% win)

Mike Rotunda:  13-0-0 (100% win)

Owen Hart:  12-0-0 (100% win)

Madusa:  10-0-0 (100% win)

1992

Dustin Rhodes:  84-17-3 (83% win)

Ron Simmons:  79-12-2 (87% win)

Barry Windham:  77-11-2 (88% win)

Scott Steiner:  72-7-9 (91% win)

Rick Steiner:  69-5-9 (93% win)

Terry Taylor:  37-11-0 (77% win)

Nikita Koloff:  33-6-2 (85% win)

Van Hammer:  26-6-1 (81% win)

Shane Douglas:  25-1-0 (96% win)

Erik Watts:  22-3-0 (88% win)

The Junkyard Dog:  16-4-1 (80% win)

Steve Williams:  14-4-2 (78% win)

Terry Gordy:  13-3-1 (81% win)

El Gigante:  2-0-9 (100% win)

1993

Dustin Rhodes:  90-26-10 (78% win)

Sting:  99-20-3 (83% win)

Johnny B Badd:  67-15-4 (82% win)

Davey Boy Smith:  78-6-2 (93% win)

Ric Flair:  51-7-2 (88% win)

Jerry Sags:  39-12-0 (76% win)

Van Hammer:  30-9-2 (77% win)

Kent Cole:  19-5-2 (79% win)

Fred Ottman:  22-0-0 (100% win)

Charlie Norris:  16-4-0 (80% win)

Ice-Train:  17-2-0 (89% win)

1994

Sting:  96-8-4 (92% win)

Buff Bagwell:  82-22-0 (79% win)

Brian Knobbs:  73-23-0 (76% win)

Jerry Sags:  73-22-0 (77% win)

Johnny B Badd:  77-14-2 (85% win)

Dustin Rhodes:  74-16-1 (82% win)

Ricky Steamboat:  60-17-4 (78% win)

Patriot:  60-16-1 (79% win)

Jim Duggan:  49-5-1 (91% win)

Alex Wright:  26-4-1 (87% win)

2 Cold Scorpio:  25-6-0 (81% win)

Hulk Hogan:  24-1-0 (96% win)

Frank Andersson:  16-0-0 (100% win)

Jim Steele:  12-1-0 (92% win)

1995

Sting:  65-3-1 (96% win)

Johnny B Badd:  46-15-2 (75% win)

Alex Wright:  45-12-2 (79% win)

Randy Savage:  42-9-1 (82% win)

Vader:  26-7-0 (79% win)

Sgt Craig Pittman:  17-5-0 (77% win)

Dustin Rhodes:  19-2-0 (90% win)

Lex Luger:  14-4-0 (78% win)

Hulk Hogan:  16-1-1 (94% win)

Eddie Guerrero:  11-3-2 (79% win)

Road Warrior Hawk:  8-2-1 (80% win)

1996

Lex Luger:  90-28-10 (76% win)

The Giant:  73-19-4 (79% win)

Diamond Dallas Page:  63-15-1 (81% win)

Konnan:  56-6-0 (90% win)

Scott Steiner:  28-9-11 (76% win)

Rey Mysterio Jr:  30-8-1 (79% win)

Scott Hall:  33-2-4 (94% win)

Kevin Nash:  33-2-4 (94% win)

Ed Leslie:  23-3-0 (88% win)

Jeff Jarrett:  20-3-0 (87% win)

Road Warrior Hawk:  13-4-6 (76% win)

Johnny B Badd:  15-3-0 (83% win)

Syxx:  16-0-1 (100% win)

Glacier:  14-1-0 (93% win)

Jacques Rougeau:  10-2-2 (83% win)

Carl Ouellet:  10-2-2 (83% win)

Fit Finlay:  10-2-2 (83% win)

Brian Pillman:  11-1-0 (92% win)

1997

Lex Luger:  50-11-7 (82% win)

Diamond Dallas Page:  48-12-3 (80% win)

Rick Steiner:  42-6-5 (88% win)

Scott Steiner:  40-6-5 (87% win)

The Giant:  37-5-7 (88% win)

Kevin Sullivan:  11-3-2 (79% win)

Goldberg:  11-0-1 (100% win)

Jim Duggan:  11-0-1 (100% win)

1998

Lex Luger:  115-10-13 (92% win)

Goldberg:  130-3-3 (98% win)

Konnan:  97-28-3 (78% win)

Diamond Dallas Page:  102-15-6 (87% win)

Booker T:  75-17-5 (82% win)

Chris Benoit:  70-16-8 (81% win)

Dean Malenko:  68-18-3 (79% win)

Sting:  58-18-3 (76% win)

Ernest Miller:  68-6-2 (92% win)

Rick Steiner:  57-4-6 (93% win)

Bryan Clarke:  45-14-2 (76% win)

Jim Duggan:  37-7-2 (84% win)

Ric Flair:  22-4-1 (85% win)

1999

Billy Kidman:  106-26-5 (80% win)

Rey Mysterio Jr:  109-25-3 (81% win)

Booker T:  85-24-2 (78% win)

Konnan:  77-14-1 (85% win)

Sting:  67-21-4 (76% win)

Goldberg:  70-11-7 (86% win)

Buff Bagwell:  57-16-4 (78% win)

Raven:  26-7-1 (79% win)

Shane Douglas:  12-2-1 (86% win)

Steve Mcmichael:  13-0-1 (100% win)

2000-2001

Goldberg:  41-7-4 (85% win)

Tank Abbott:  34-11-4 (76% win)

Mona:  10-1-0 (91% win)

Vince Russo:  5-1-2 (83% win)

Emory Hale:  4-1-0 (80% win)

WWE "enhances" their Talent Philosophy

WWE updated their "Talent Philosophy" page recently:

Old Talent Philosophy Page: 10/14/2013
Current Talent Philosophy Page: 12/15/2013

Three Major Changes Noted:

• Lowered number of performers from 150 to 140. 

That surprises me a bit because I thought that opening the Performance Center would result in more talent under contract.

• Dropped the claims about how much an "average full-time, main-roster performer" works, 4.5 days/week, and the average annual compensation claims of $550k. 

This number had seemed ridiculous skewed, especially since the specifically call out that 'They do not have corporate responsibilities or duties.' yet they're probably including HHH's million dollar comp in that number.

• Changes "WWE's Talent Life Skills program" to "WWE’s Professional Development program" and greatly expands on what they're offering: Life Skills, Education, Wellness and Career Success. 

The third part is really where they've greatly expanded on what they're offering:

Life Skills: Provides talent with practical skills and solutions to manage their careers both in and out of the ring. Educational presentations and seminars help talent with decision making and the development of their personal brand.

Education: Assists talent in reaching their full potential through programs that include financial education, college tuition reimbursement, language courses and media training.
* Financial Education – A partnership with Money Management International (MMI) is designed to provide talent with educational resources that offer them valuable financial insight to build a bright future. This includes budget counseling, debt control, goal setting, understanding financial values, saving, choosing a tax professional and choosing a financial advisor.
* Media Training – Provides talent with a comprehensive training program that focuses on understanding today’s media landscape, delivering key messages, tips and techniques for conducting interviews and the effective and appropriate use of social media. WWE’s Talent Media Training program is conducted in partnership with Kevin Sullivan Communications.
* Continuing Education – Offers tuition assistance to all active WWE talent for college level courses, certificate programs or language courses.

Wellness: Through programs designed in collaboration with WWE’s Medical Team and Talent Relations department, talent receives relevant knowledge to aid their overall well-being and longevity. Seminars will provide information on living a healthy lifestyle as well as injury/illness prevention.

Career Success: Designed to aid a talent’s progression within WWE and beyond, career success provides assistance to talent the NXT and main roster levels, as well as those transitioning to prepare for life after WWE. A comprehensive rookie orientation program provides new talent with all relevant WWE information, including wellness education, strength and conditioning, financial education, media training, social media and continuing education.

Nope, it's not that Kevin Sullivan. Instead, it's a company started by a former White House Communication Director under GW Bush who also worked for NBCUniversal/NBC Sports. On the company website they list WWE in their digital brochure.

I'll be curious whether Cena's recent Chinese lessons are related to the "language courses", or if WWE provided tuition assistance for Xavier Wood's degree. Also, one is always be curious what career paths and suggestions the "life after WWE" training includes.