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Third-Annual WWE® WrestleMania® Art Raises More Than $57,000 to Support Arizona Children

PHOENIX (July 22, 2010) – Arizona children are benefiting from the artistic talents of WWE Superstars® and Divas® showcased at the third-annual WWE WrestleMania Art event. The live and silent art auction in March raised more than $57,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Arizona and Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

On Wednesday, March 24, WrestleMania Art, held at the InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, launched a high-flying week of WrestleMania XXVI activities. WWE Superstars and Divas such as Bret “Hit Man” Hart, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler, Santino Marella, The Bella Twins, Beth Phoenix and others showed off their paintings, collages, sculptures, drawings and portraits.

Part of the proceeds raised included a $30,000 gift from The Vince and Linda McMahon Family Foundation. Cardinals Charities and Global Spectrum, which manages University of Phoenix Stadium, where WrestleMania XXVI was held on March 28, 2010, also joined in the excitement as WrestleMania Art sponsors.

“The support from WrestleMania Art is another example of the deep commitment that WWE brings to our wish kids in Arizona and around the world,” said Bethany Taylor, chief development officer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona. “Combined with the generous gift from the Vince and Linda McMahon Foundation and strong local support from Cardinals Charities and Global Spectrum, we will be able grant the wishes of several deserving Arizona kids with life-threatening medical conditions.”

“We are very pleased and excited with the results of WrestleMania Art and by the amount we raised for two richly deserving organizations within the Valley of the Sun,” said John Saboor, senior vice president of Special Events for WWE. “Our relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona and Phoenix Children’s Hospital was instrumental in helping to grow what has quickly become a great WrestleMania Week tradition.”

“The Arizona Cardinals Football Club is honored to be involved with organizations that help children when they need it most,” said Ron Minegar, executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Arizona Cardinals. “The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona and Phoenix Children’s Hospital are doing important work in the community, and we are committed to supporting their efforts.”

“Global Spectrum is proud to support the important charitable work that WWE undertakes each year,” said Peter C. Sullivan, general manager for Global Spectrum at University of Phoenix Stadium. “WrestleMania XXVI provided a tremendous economic impact for the Phoenix/Glendale area and we are happy that two local non-profits were able to benefit from this great event.”

WWE Superstar Santino Marella displays the pop art he created especially for WrestleMania Art. He was one of 30 WWE stars to create pieces of art for the WWE fundraiser that is featured as part of the festivities associated with the annual WrestleMania.

About the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Foundation began in Arizona in 1980 with a young boy’s dream of becoming a police officer and is now one of the world’s leading children’s charities. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona grants 200 wishes annually, with an average cost of $7,500 to fulfill a wish. For more information, visit wishaz.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish®.

About Cardinals Charities Founded in 1990, Cardinals Charities supports programs designed to improve the quality of life and enhance opportunities for children, women, and minorities in the state of Arizona. Since its inception, Cardinals Charities has distributed more than $3.5 million to more than 250 worthy Arizona charitable organizations on behalf of the Arizona Cardinals and the National Football League.

About Global Spectrum
Global Spectrum is the fastest growing firm in the public assembly facility management field with more than 85 facilities internationally. The Philadelphia-based company is part of one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment companies, Comcast-Spectacor, which also owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League, Flyers Skate Zone, a series of community ice skating rinks, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, a regional sports programming network, Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider, New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities, and Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company and 3601 Creative Group, a full-service in-house advertising agency. In a partnership with Disson Skating, Comcast-Spectacor annually produces 10 nationally televised figure skating spectaculars on NBC.

About WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly, PG content across all of its platforms including television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 500 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto and Mexico City. Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

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.


© 2006- Make-A-Wish Foundation of America