QOTD 159: (T)here Comes (Goes) the Money

WWE Stock - Lifetime

WWE U.S. Audience Profile:
Demographics

• 61% are male
• 15% are ages 12-17
• 67% are ages 18-49
• 41% are males 18-34
• 33% are non-white
• 29% have a HHI of 75K or higher
• 15% have a HHI of 100K or higher

So the WWE lost a bunch of money, huh? Over a TV deal and a gamble on the WWE Network. Thankfully it's more-or-less theoretical money and I doubt the stock dive will affect attendance / the fanbase.

If you were the WWE what would you do to solidify investor relations? What can the WWE do to generate the same massive positive impact the WWE Network had on stock?

  My theory? I present to you "The Troll Zone"

Reality TV owes quite a lot to Pro Wrestling - they both in a sense dramatize competition and feature largely manufactured interpersonal drama between cast members. The only issue is that Reality TV still has Kayfabe. I vote the WWE shows it who's boss.

With WWE already having a presence on Total Divas and such - it'd be easy to have feuds and story-lines branch out to things like concerts, MMA fights, sporting events, TMZ, and so on.  In my world I envision John Cena throwing out the first pitch at a Red Sox game and getting attacked by Bray Wyatt, or "The Whole World in his Hands" music coming on over the PA system.

If TMZ catches Triple H in an airport, I want Triple H complaining about Daniel Bryan / The Shield etc - in a way that's still professional and 'out of character' but still enough to juice the given feud. Remember the time Bret Hart went H.A.M on Will Sasso and the cast of Mad TV? How AWESOME was that as a kid (sure the feud turned to shit but the moment was cool!)

Even better is if the WWE captured these things in a way they didn't deliberately acknowledge (but actually did themselves). For example if they obtained some disturbing 'fan captured' footage of Kane shopping at a local hardware store for implements of destruction for his PPV match.

If the WWE did this right, they'd find themselves in a situation where they're getting coverage on a variety of networks, TV shows, and internet sites that the buzz would grow rapidly just because of how interesting and wide-reaching it could be - especially if they kept the media outlets they're trolling mostly in the dark. Sure, most people would know it's fake, but the fact we wouldn't be 100 percent sure, would make it worth talking about.

Essentially I want everything the WWE does that isn't a typical promo, to feel dynamic enough where we have no idea where the next plot point will come from - a youtube video, public appearance - anything. Change the WWE from "Anything can happen in the WWE" to "Anything can happen where the WWE goes". 
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But what we'll get in reality is probably a consolidation and the WWE Relying on the tried-and-true. I got a chance to talk to a pretty popular TV producer a few years ago and she made a GREAT point about television.

Essentially that when things go rough for a TV show that relies heavily on ratings and they start to wane, they focus on the things that they ASSUME their audience is there for. So for CSI it's all the cool science / gruesome stuff. For Scrubs it was smaller stories self-referential humor, Lost double-downed on the characters, and so on.

So for the WWE I thiiink this means if we see a change at all, it'll mean more Cena, more Triple H, more Shield, more Bryan, and I would imagine more special attractions. Don't be surprised if the WWE backs up a BRINKS truck to CM Punk and Steve Austin at some point because they're known commodities that put asses in seats.