WWE: Vince McMahon And Triple H Need An Exclusive WWE Network Championship To Keep Subscribers
Vince McMahon and Triple H face the problem of convincing even more people in the WWE Universe to sign up for the WWE Network for “only $9.99.” Could it be possible that exclusive content like a WWE Network Championship belt is what is needed to make this happen?
In a related report by The Inquisitr, there are multiple WWE stock holders suing Vince McMahon personally, based upon allegations that the WWE management violated SEC regulations by manipulating the WWE stock price with their public comments on potential deals for the WWE Network. Articles published by the official WWE website are also claiming that Triple H will eventually make NXT just as big as Monday Night RAW and SmackDown, which gives the WWE Universe an idea where they are heading into the future. Triple H also once claimed he wanted NXT to become the next WCW.
Still, there is a question of who is running the show. Kurt Angle told the world that Triple H is essentially running the WWE now, although Paul Levesque himself once said McMahon will never retire. There’s also rumors claiming that Levesque and Stephanie McMahon are quietly fighting against other WWE executives like Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George Barrios and Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Michelle Wilson, who were in charge of the WWE Network launch and negotiating the WWE TV network deal that has received so much criticism. While it’s said Vince McMahon and Triple H butted heads on what to do with Roman Reigns and KENTA, if HHH is essentially in charge, then it will be up to him to make the WWE Network a success in the long term.
At this point, it could be said the WWE Network has an unofficial monopoly on professional wrestling. While, yes, there are other competitors like TNA, Ring Of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Mexico’s AAA, Vince McMahon has long made it clear he considers the WWE Network to be “sports entertainment,” and as such considers his real competitors to be the NFL, UFC, and other popular large scale sports.
This means the WWE currently suffers from a lack of external competition, which in general can cause a product produced by a company to suffer. Fans have long complained that the WWE Network streaming app needs more features, and they demand more reasons to pay that $9.99 monthly price besides having access to all of the WWE PPV events. This is quite a problem since providing the streaming platform is very expensive, and they still have a ways to go before they become profitable.
Thus, the only way to build up the product is to create internal competition based upon brands. At one point, Monday Night RAW and SmackDown ran different rosters and offered this type of internal competition. Although the NXT continues to be used as a place for developing wrestlers so they can join the main WWE roster, as a brand there’s no reason it can’t be used to build up exclusive content for the WWE Network. Creating a new WWE Network Championship belt would also give a reason for the NXT and WWE Superstars to go head-to-head in exclusive matches reserved only for WWE Network subscribers, which might be enough to fan the flames of subscriber interest.
The WWE Network also needs to give a major reason for the WWE Universe to maintain their subscription right now. Those who signed up for the WWE Network at the last minute for WrestleMania 30 just started having their six-month minimum subscription period end this past weekend. If they don’t renew in large numbers, Vince McMahon and Triple H will quickly realize they are in serious trouble, and the only way to entice those subscribers back would be to give them a reason to keep the WWE Network. Otherwise, in the worst case scenario they’ll be forced to pull the plug on the WWE Network since they can’t meet their goal for subscription numbers, or perhaps they’ll renew their focus on cable TV deals.
WWE Universe: Would an exclusive series of WWE Network Championship matches be enough to keep you subscribing to the WWE Network?
