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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

The following are additional highlights from WWE's First Quarter 2012 conference call with investors hosted by WWE CEO Vince McMahon on Thursday.

-- Asked why WrestleMania 28 business (which will be officially reported in Q2) broke PPV records and increased compared to previous years, McMahon said it was "better execution all the way around." He added it was "much better executed than years past."

McMahon specifically noted they started the promotion for the Mania main event of The Rock vs. John Cena one year out. He also endorsed Rock for bringing a spotlight to WWE, which helped reach the core audience for The Undertaker vs. Triple H "co-main event." McMahon added there was "something for everyone" at Mania.

-- WWE management said they still plan to shift NXT and Superstars back to TV in the domestic market. "We hope to place that on a traditional network in the near future," said CFO George Barrios. Barrios added that WWE is "in the market" shopping the shows around. (WWE stressed they are currently still monetizing the shows through international TV distribution.)

-- McMahon revealed WWE is planning to return to China for a show later this year. A date was not disclosed. WWE is also planning to go back to Abu Dhabi in the next six months for a return tour following their successful debut in February.

-- Management stressed the importance of their partnership with YouTube throughout the conference call. Barrios also revealed details on the financial structure. Under the previous partnership, which was just WWE placing videos on YouTube, the two companies shared in web advertising revenue. Under the current model of WWE distributing original webshows, WWE receives a licensing fee for the programming with "upside on advertising."

-- Concerning WWE Studios, WWE is targeting spending of $15-25 million over the entire year. Barrios said they expect spending to be evenly distributed over each quarter for the rest of the year. The range is due to WWE keeping options open to "look for the right opportunities to invest" in movies through their new partnership-driven model.

-- WWE revealed their 2012 business forecast. Despite first quarter revenue increasing vs. last year and strong WrestleMania business to be reported in the second quarter, WWE expects the full year results to be flat compared to 2011.

This is mainly due to anticipated WWE Network costs of $30-45 million for the full year. Also, potentially "tough" comparability of results over the remainder of the quarters because of WWE's additional spending plans in 2012 that did not occur in 2011.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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