So Which Media Company Could & Should Buy The Empire?

With the nuclear bomb dropped on the wrestling world this previous week within the type of disgraced WWE Chairman Vince McMahon pulling off a hostile re-takeover of the company allegedly in the interest of selling it all, followers and pundits have been debating aloud the potential patrons and what could be in store for the wrestling empire.  Names thrown out have ranged from main media gamers like Disney and Comcast to these flush with never-ending wealth, such because the Saudi Authorities.  But when it had been all as much as me (and god is aware of it is not), there is a best-possible state of affairs the place the WWE may very well be bought by a bigger entity and be the higher for it going ahead.

First, let’s take a look at a crucial asset that WWE presently has that I believe might assist kind of information this sale in the fitting course: the Efficiency Middle in Orlando, Florida.  No matter your opinion is of NXT and its deserves as a TV present, there has at all times been near-unanimous reward for Triple H‘s different creation within the Efficiency Middle.  Not solely serving as a state-of-the-art coaching facility for the WWE stars of tomorrow, however the Efficiency Middle additionally exists for present superstars to coach, recuperate from accidents, and fine-tune their abilities with the intention to be the very best model of themselves within the ring.  That is partially why so many prime WWE stars personal houses within the Orlando space and lift their households there.  If Stamford, Connecticut, is the house of WWE company, Orlando is the house of WWE expertise.

With a lot invested within the facility and with so lots of the firm’s stars calling the world residence, there’s little or no likelihood will probably be moved because of a WWE sale.  So it will make all of the sense on the earth to capitalize on the Orlando location, and if you consider Orlando, two main names come to thoughts: Disney and Common.

Now, although they might shock us all, let’s simply use some frequent sense to take away Disney proper off the bat.  Sure, WWE is a beneficial mental property, and sure, Disney’s best powerplay over the previous decade-plus has been shopping for up different large properties.  However let me ask you, is there any means you see WWE and all of its historical past and baggage becoming in with Disney?

Any IP is just as beneficial as its characters (Marvel, LucasFilm, and so on., that Disney has been profitable with), and whereas WWE clearly has loads of characters, they don’t seem to be simply drawings on a comic book web page or film characters.  Wrestlers are inseparable from the boys who painting them, warts and all, and you can’t recast them with somebody of higher ethical standing.  Sure, Hulk Hogan is a do-gooder superhero within the ring, however exterior of it, he is a reasonably divisive and controversial individual.  Are you able to see a parade down Foremost Avenue within the Magic Kingdom with a kickline of “Stone Chilly” Steve Austins giving children the center finger and chugging beers as a part of a dance routine?  How about an Undertaker look-alike strolling round scaring the hell out of previous girls and youngsters?  Would Kane be a central determine within the nightly fireworks present?

These are issues to think about as a result of Disney is all about synergy via each facet of their output, together with and particularly their theme parks.  Marvel and Star Wars match properly into that synergy.  WWE doesn’t.  That leads us to look down the street a bit to what I believe is a much-better match and perhaps even a really perfect one: Common.

Common Studios has at all times been the considerably “edgier” counter to Disney World.  After all, it is nonetheless household leisure, however Common’s at all times featured sights primarily based on horror movies, violent motion movies, and even R-rated stuff just like the Terminator franchise.  There’s an enormous portion dedicated to The Simpsons, and their nice annual Halloween Horror Nights by no means pull any punches.  On the very least, Common is certainly for the older children, and that’s WWE’s wheelhouse.

Together with the content material becoming higher, there’s additionally a historical past there and a present setting.  Common Studios is part of NBCUniversal, which owns Peacock.  I needn’t let you know, however Peacock is the streaming residence of WWE and already options their digital library and premium reside occasions.  In the event that they had been to purchase WWE outright, there would not should be any transition of streaming or something like that.  They clearly know the corporate nicely and what it gives and have an infrastructure in place to not solely maintain it however by no means have to fret about buying media rights offers ever once more.

NBCUniversal additionally owns the USA Community, the longtime residence of WWE Uncooked and NXT, so there could be no fear about switching networks for his or her flagship present.  However what about WWE SmackDown?  Nicely, if FOX needs it dangerous sufficient, they might merely license the present from them or if FOX is not prepared to pay to play, SmackDown might go to NBC or any of NBCUniversal’s quite a few different high-profile channels.  Plus, who would not be nostalgically excited to see the return of Saturday Night time’s Foremost Occasion on NBC?

However let’s head again to Orlando for a second and see how promoting WWE to NBCUniversal couldn’t solely positively affect the corporate but additionally the wrestlers’ lives.  It is no secret that WWE presently makes nearly all of its cash from its media offers and merchandise gross sales and never a lot from reside attendance.  The touring present circus way of life just isn’t working and has at all times largely contributed to the performers’ private falls and vices simply to maintain going.  So what if these days ended?

If NBCUniversal owned WWE totally, they might actually put money into making Orlando THE vacation spot for the product.  It is well-known that Common Studios has large aspirations within the close to future to enormously develop its theme parks and sights within the space to dwarf even that of Disney.  So what in the event that they constructed a ten,000-seat enviornment on property that may be the official weekly residence of Uncooked and SmackDown, so the expertise and crew not should journey 300 days a yr?  That will get rid of touring prices whereas additionally bettering their lives and doubtless considerably chopping down accidents.  Whereas performing within the ring will at all times lead to some put on and tear, I believe quite a lot of followers underestimate simply how a lot of a toll day by day journey (particularly on airplanes) takes on the physique.

However what concerning the premium reside occasions?  Nicely, these they might nonetheless maintain in main venues all over the world and would in all probability drive curiosity and gross sales for them as a result of it will be much more of a giant occasion for followers to see it reside and in individual.  Your private home venue is good & all, however the Tremendous Bowl being at a serious exterior venue makes it really feel above all of it, and that is what they might do right here.

With two main live-televised exhibits weekly on-premises (that, after all, they might promote tickets to each week) and the venue getting used day by day for reside wrestling that includes up-and-coming expertise (to present them extra expertise performing for a reside crowd) that park-goers might sit in on (suppose much like the scheduled stunt exhibits at any main theme park), the venue would greater than pay for itself in little time.  However there’s another large attraction they might add to Common Studios: a bodily WWE Corridor of Fame.

Consider it: WWE merchandise all around the parks, a pleasant venue that includes day by day wrestling the place you possibly can see Uncooked and SmackDown each week, and the Corridor of Fame to tour?  Common would not simply be shopping for the WWE for some IP worth; they might turn into absolutely the supply for WWE, each digitally and bodily.  A real vacation spot for WWE followers each at residence and in individual.  WWE has at all times wished to be the middle of the wrestling universe, and if all this stuff had been to come back along with such a associate, they might lastly obtain it in methods followers might solely think about.