Denver, CO (My Sportsbook) - The scheduling conflict between World Wrestling Entertainment and the
Denver Nuggets in regards to a double-booking next Monday at the Pepsi Center has been fixed, but not after a shocking development and a verbal battle between Vince McMahon and Kroenke Sports Enterprises.
WWE announced Tuesday that due to the debacle caused by Kroenke Sports Enterprises, namely Stan Kroenke, owner of the Nuggets and the Pepsi Center, regarding Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, the organization was moving its Monday Night Raw show from Denver to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
It just so happens the Nuggets are set to play Game 2 of their series at the Staples Center on Thursday night. Games 3 and 4 are slated for the Pepsi Center, Saturday and Monday nights, respectively.
Right after the Lakers beat Houston in Game 7 of the conference semifinals, there was a scheduling conflict. WWE said it secured the Pepsi Center last August for the May 25 date, and had sold more than 10,000 tickets, but despite the double-booking, the Nuggets weren't budging from their schedule to host Game 4 on Memorial Day.
Kroenke Sports announced that despite reaching an agreement in principle with WWE chairman McMahon on Tuesday afternoon, a formal agreement could not be reached to reschedule the Raw program. KSE released a statement saying as of late Tuesday afternoon, it believed it had "used its best efforts to meet WWE's terms for rescheduling the event to this Sunday night," and that McMahon was okay with the new deal. However, McMahon apparently changed plans overnight to move it to Los Angeles.
"Despite the propaganda campaign launched by WWE and chairman Vince McMahon, the KSE team maintained a professional manner throughout this process," Kroenke Sports executive vice president Paul Andrews said in a statement. "We had hoped for, and worked hard toward an amicable resolution - which we verbally had on Tuesday. "We understand there will be many disappointed WWE fans in the Denver area. It's unfortunate and disappointing that WWE executives ultimately chose this path. The sensationalism employed by WWE in this instance is not surprising. The amount of publicity and coverage enjoyed by their group over the last few days has clearly become their new business goal instead of finalizing what we thought was a favorable solution and would have ultimately allowed their fans to attend the event."
Not only did WWE announce the switch in dates, but also said due to overwhelming support by the Lakers, the organization has added a second show for next Tuesday night at the Staples Center. Additionally, instead of returning to the Pepsi Center, WWE will hold a show at the Denver Coliseum on Friday, August 7.
"WWE is extremely grateful to the Lakers and the STAPLES Center for the hospitality and professionalism shown to WWE during this whole situation," said McMahon. "We apologize to all of the WWE fans in the Denver area who have been inconvenienced by Kroenke Sports Enterprises. We look forward to bringing two consecutive nights of WWE excitement to Staples Center this Monday and Tuesday night."