Posted by Mike Sheahan on 08:11:35 24/05/02:

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2002--World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWF) today announced that its upcoming WWE(TM) Global Warning Tour Melbourne presented by Xbox sold out within the first 48 hours of going on sale.

Fans purchased more than 47,000 tickets for the WWE(TM) event scheduled for Melbourne's Colonial Stadium on Saturday, August 10, 2002. Additional tickets may become available pending stadium configuration.

"Australia is a strong market for us," said Roger Marment, Executive Vice President of International Business Development at WWE, Inc. "The holding of a mega-event marks a major push into the market that encompasses all elements of our business. We are very pleased to have Xbox as a sponsor of the event and will be making further announcements shortly regarding new home video and DVD distribution arrangements, licensing partnerships and sponsorship commitments."

The Ticketmaster7 Internet site, ticketmaster7.com, the national Call Centre, and Outlet network were swamped with loyal WWE(TM) fans from all over the world eager to get their hands on the hottest ticket in town. The demand was so huge that Telstra recorded over 150,000 callers attempting to secure tickets via the phone in the first hour.

Ticketmaster7's Managing Director, Maria O'Connor was impressed by the magnitude of WWE(TM) fans desperate to secure tickets and said, "in my 20 years in the ticketing industry I have not witnessed such a large number of avid fans so desperate to secure tickets. With all points of distribution experiencing heavy demand, ticketmaster7.com continued to be the preferred point of sale, demonstrating that the Internet creates equity and access for thousands of patrons purchasing tickets simultaneously."