It wasn’t that long ago that the wrestling world started worshipping at the altar of Triple H and his promise of a new era. The women’s division was growing, the jump to Netflix signaled the start of something new, and the creative vision seemed to be aimed at pushing wrestlers that had put in the work both in the ring and on social media. It felt right to be a fan. The WWE was distancing itself from Vince “the Devil himself” McMahon after the catastrophic lawsuit that forced him out of the company he built, and with it came a strong sense of hope that things would be different.
Simply put, it seemed as if the company was showing the fans the respect they deserved. Whereas Vince went with the money, Triple H went with the people. Or at least that was the image the company wanted to portray.
Well, fans are about to be put to test now as WWE has announced a new partnership with ESPN to bring its premium live events (PLEs, such as Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble) to the sports giant’s streaming platform. Peacock will no longer be the home for these events. ESPN is owned by Disney, which means the Mickey Mouse empire is betting on significant growth as a result. Peacock saw a 9 million subscriber boost in the first quarter of 2021 shortly after the ink dried on their WWE deal.
The ESPN move bumps the monthly price for access to PLEs from Peacock’s $10.99 to ESPN’s $29.99. Sure, ESPN subscribers get NFL games as well with the service, but those that had signed up for Peacock to get their wrestling fix in weren’t just getting that and nothing else. The service offered movies and series in addition to the WWE’s legacy library (its old shows archive).
This complicates fan access to WWE content, somewhat. If you want to watch RAW, you need a Netflix subscription. Smackdown is on the USA network. NXT is on the CW. Speed is on Twitter. Evolve is on Tubi. Essentially, hardcore fans would need to be subscribed to multiple streaming subscriptions while also keeping their cable services in play to get access to the entirety of the WWE universe.
Do you smell that? No? It smells a bit like hubris to me. The WWE seems to think its fans are so invested in their product that they’ll follow anywhere the company tells them to go. And it might be true. Demand for wrestling is at its hottest right now, and it has been for the past few years.
But this doesn’t mean the move is good for fans. If anything, it means that they’ll be forced to dig deeper into their wallets for the stuff they want at a time when every other segment of the entertainment world is doing the same. The WWE is betting on this fan commitment, with confidence.
Add to this Triple H’s embracing of the MAGA world with his involvement in president Trump’s new American fitness vision, which resulted in a promo video that played multiple times throughout the latest Summerslam broadcast to the aggressive booing of those in attendance, and it’s hard not to argue there’s a misguided sense of invincibility getting the higher ups drunk on their own supply.
Ultimately, fans will vote with their wallets on this latest venture. And as rabid as the fanbase is right now, there’s little doubt the ESPN deal will be met with success. That said, $10.99 is certainly more pleasant and reasonable than $30 for a lot of viewers, many of whom are already being more selective on which streamers to stick with. And even if they take the hit to pay for it, you can’t help but feel some degree of swindling from WWE corporate. Sustainability is uncertain though. Will viewers keep shelling out thirty bucks a month for this as the years pile on?
It’s easy to get why fans would compromise their budgets to indulge their passions, but there is such a thing as throwing a bucket of water on a people’s burning desire for entertainment. And for a lot of WWE viewers navigating this economy, that bucket can look quite refreshing.
Thank you for AT LEAST addressing WWE’S continued descent into the gutter. It would be nice if the BEAT would amplify other wrestling promotions — those which don’t blatantly associate with bigots and fascists — but this is a start. There’s a much larger (and more interesting) wrestling world outside of WWE. AEW, for example, has a superior product right now, and you don’t have to hold your nose as much to enjoy it.
Trick, enjoying almost all wrestling requires holding your nose. We all loved the Bloodline storyline – truly one of the biggest APA heritage reps in recent memory – but now Paul Heyman is showing different colors and if you read up on his history….he’s a problematic fave.
We are big AEW fans here at the Beat and have covered them in the past. For my part, WWE has lost me with its constant shilling for American Beer, energy drinks, whiskey, teasing edgy “roasts” and branding everywhere. I don’t expect Trips and Steph to turn against their MIL\/mom but the open T***P bootlicking is obsequious to say the least. It’s rapidly becoming like UFC and F1 and losing its edge fast.
Plus the current storylines are very uninteresting to me.
All of which is to say we have always been aware of the problematic nature of professional wrestling. And we will continue to cover it while acknowledging some of those aspects.
I appreciate the response, Heidi. Thanks. The BEAT does a great job of calling out problems (when necessary) within the comics industry– your writing, especially — so it was a little disheartening to see (what I perceived to be) article after article of “Gosh, Wasn’t That Last WWE PPV Just So Much Fun” without any mention of the toxicity bubbling beneath that company’s surface. It’s nice to know you’re all thinking about it and willing to speak out. I remain a loyal fan of the site. Wasn’t trying to be a troll. Sorry if it came across that way.
Jumping from Peacock to ESPN for WrestleMania and Royal Rumble drives the price from ~$11 to $30—that’s a steep climb for fans, even with NFL access. Feels more like a wallet squeeze than a win.
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