By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE COO Donna Goldsmith was criticized on Tuesday for saying that WWE's business is generally not affected by MMA promotions, such as UFC, in the sports entertainment industry. She based her conclusion on the idea that MMA does not have "real stars."

Goldsmith acknowledged that MMA promotions compete with WWE for revenue in the PPV industry, but she said WWE has a competitive advantage over MMA because WWE can re-package wrestlers even after suffering losses. (WWE has its work cut out for it with Randy Orton.)

"Can you say they take a share of dollars? Maybe on the PPV front, which is a tough business," Goldsmith said at Tuesday's Noble Capital Small Cap Conference when asked whether MMA takes a share of WWE's revenue. "We have not felt it in our other business areas. The reason being is they don't have real stars. They don't have a storyline. Somebody gets knocked out and they're hurt, that may be the last you ever see from them again."

Goldsmith said WWE owning having intellectual property rights to the wrestlers on the roster means they can rebuild or re-package a wrestler even after suffering losses that would debilitate a legitimate fighter's career in a legit sport.

"With our guys, there's a soap opera; there's a storyline that continues and they come in as a new character," Goldsmith said. "The fact that we own the characters has made a big difference for us and has not hurt us."

Goldsmith acknowledged WWE needs to fight harder for PPV revenue, while reinforcing her belief as WWE's Chief Operating Officer that she doesn't believe MMA poses a competitive threat to WWE's overall business.

"As far as the PPV goes, we need to find new ways to innovative and to get that share of dollar. We are competing for that same share of dollar," she said. "But, I must tell you, up until this point, we have not really felt any of that pain from those competitors. I think somewhat, it's a different audience. We're still learning because it's still relatively new on that front."

Link: Watch VIDEO of Goldsmith's comments.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE NEWS: Superstars SPOILERS - Results from Chicago Raw

WWE NETWORK: Monday, Oct. 12 Schedule - Raw pre-show, Sting DVD preview

WWE NEWS: Lana & Rusev reportedly engaged - follow the interesting 2015 timeline