But is it fake?... For 23 full minutes, John Oliver's Last Week Tonight put World Wrestling Entertainment in a figure-four leg-lock. The Sunday night show claimed WWE wrestlers are independent contractors facing brutal work conditions. WWE shares fell 2.3% early Monday before rebounding back.
The ring of public opinion... That's where the stock's moves all played out. WWE was accused of blocking wrestler unions and offering them no benefits, just to save money. Then WWE aggressively denied everything from the HBO segment, claiming it could "refute every point in his one-sided presentation."
Feels like a docu-doozy re-run... High-profile exposés and documentaries that damage a brand can hurt share prices long-term. Here's who else has also suffered from the stuff on TV:
- Blackfish dampened SeaWorld park attendance for years.
- Leaving Neverland could hurt Michael Jackson's Sony music deal.
- The infamous 60 Minutes segment on Lumber Liquidators ripped the lacquer off the wood company's shares.