Business has been on a downward trend the last few years in WWE, through mostly their own fault but that’s a discussion for another day. I want to talk about the wasted revenue that sits in their massive video archives. There was almost a 40% drop in home video sales according to their latest financial statements. I’m sorry but there is no excuse for that. Vince McMahon owns almost all relevant wrestling footage and while they have produced some awesome DVD sets, they have only scratched the surface on what could be a huge source of revenue for them. They have released complete box sets for WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and the first 10 years of Survivor Series. They have made two fantastic documentary DVD’s in The Monday Night War and The Rise and Fall of ECW. Many superstars including Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, etc… have been given great DVD releases. Some have had documentaries and some were just match compilations but most were at least good. I appreciate and am thankful they have released everything I mentioned but like I said, they haven’t even come close to utilizing their video library correctly.

 

Documentaries have seen a resurgence in the last 20 years thanks to some amazing filmmakers and their teams. NFL Films and their fantastic work pretty much created the lore of the NFL and is a reason why the NFL continues to be the most dominant force in sports. ESPN 30 for 30 project was a huge success and inspired a lot of enthusiasm in their fan base, it has even been extended for another run beyond the original 30 films. In both cases from the narration, to the production, to the music, to the content, all of it was put in the hands of incredibly talented people and executed almost to perfection. Wrestling and WWE have the content to fill 1000 documentaries. Ok maybe I am exaggerating a bit but you get the point, there is no shortage of potential documentary projects. If WWE put the same effort and money into their projects as NFL Films and ESPN 30 for 30, not only would they bring in major revenue from the films but they would also help create a culture with the new fans. When WWF changed to WWE it killed the culture and connection it had established for 23 years, it’s a major reason why business has gone down, I address this and go more in depth in my next blog. But since they changed names they need to re-establish a connection and culture with the fans and there is no better way than through documentary film. There is one major point that there is no room for bullshit on, they cannot try and give us WWE revised history documentaries. It needs to be the facts and it needs to be real. No bullshit, no cover-ups. They even might have to work with guys not in WWE but it’s worth it. Obviously don’t make a documentary that will hurt your company but there are only a few things I can think of that should be off limits. Just to show how easy it would be I sat down for 15 minutes and came up with some ideas for documentary projects:

 

–         WrestleMania – Every single WM should have it’s own documentary. Backstage footage, feud highlights, comments from everyone involved. It would be great to hear Vince’s comments on why he did certain things.

–         The Murder of Bruiser Brody – Brody def should get his own DVD but a doc focusing on the murder would be riveting.

–         Magnum TA Crash – He was about to set the world on fire and then it was all gone.

–         Survivor Series 97 – Of course they would have to do this one, close the book once and for all.

–         Monday Night War – they could do 3 or 4 parts and go more in depth than the original DVD.

–         The WWF 80’s – The wrestlers were like rockstars and they acted like it. They could do a 5 part series going 2 years at a time exploring the highs and lows of arguably the best period of wrestling.

–         The WWF 90’s – Same style as the 80’s, would be very interesting.

–         Hogan vs Andre – Exploring the whole feud and its impact then and now.

–         Piper’s Pit – Looking at the controversial history of this great show.

–         Flair vs Steamboat – One of wrestling’s greatest rivalries. Best seller for sure.

–         The last days of WCW – Would be interesting to hear them talk about the potential sales and final storylines.

–         Bret vs Shawn – Their storied rivalry both on screen and off would be a must see.

–         Droz – I don’t know that he has enough matches for a DVD release so a good doc on his life, injury, and courageous continued journey in life would be a nice tribute and very inspiring.

–         Joey Marella – Greatest ref of all time IMO, such a shame he died so young. Would love to see his story on the screen.

–         Wrestling Families – I know they did a DVD but they could put together hours of great stuff on each individual family.

–         The XFL – I know Vince would hate this one but it’s definitely a topic people would have interest in watching.

–         Controversies of the Titles – This could be a continuous series that explores controversies surrounding all titles in all promotions. Man the great stuff they could do with this one. Whether it’s the kayfabe storylines or real life behind the scenes controversy, it all works.

–         Japan – This can be another multi part series that explores the rich history and huge impact of Japanese wrestling both overseas and in North America.

–         Luchadore – Same style as Japan. They can take some of the great luchadores and tell their story. I’m sure there are some great stories just waiting to be told.

–         The MegaPowers – They can look at the great run they had and how crazy popular they were.

–         The Enhancement Talent – It would be nice to look at the art that was being a “jobber” and highlight some of the guys that were very good at it. Seriously it’s a very important part of wrestling and it’s missing from today’s product. It would be good to hear perspective from people in the biz.

–         HHH vs The Rock – A look at their great rivalry would make a damn good DVD.

–         A year-by-year Encyclopaedia of WWF/E, WCW, ECW, AWA, Stampede, and any other promotion that they own the video library. Documentary about each year and the best matches from that year as extras.

–         Raw, Smackdown!, Nitro, Thunder, Saturday Night, ECW Hardcore TV should all get the season DVD releases. Not best of but full episodes. Break each year into 4 part DVD releases so you can maximize profit. It’s a fair trade for releasing full episode seasons to the fans.

–         Referee’s – They have a very hard, thankless job but a good ref is crucial to any successful match. Looking at the job and it’s impact would be great TV. Plus it would be nice to see the greatest referee’s from wrestling history get profiled.

–         Giants – Looking at the fascination with big men of fans and promoters and their successes and failures.

–         Stampede – A look at the great history of Stampede Wrestling and the men and women that made it all work. A lot of wrestling’s greats passed through Stampede.

–         Forgotten Stars of Wrestling – There are many wrestlers that were great before TV and national exposure and because of that they have got lost in time. It would be great to see them get their proper respect.

 

Ok so I think I’ve shown that there are plenty of topics out there to make money with and I didn’t even really go into all the feuds. They could literally put one out for every feud major or minor. I mean it’s a goldmine if done properly. Documentaries don’t cost a lot of money to make so the costs of producing them would be minimal and if done right the results could mean millions in potential revenue. I know they have a TV network coming and might want to save footage for that. I’m also aware they might have a fear that the more footage they release the less people will come to them to watch it but that won’t happen. Seinfeld reruns were on TV at least twice a day in most markets yet people still begged for them to release the DVD’s. They did and they have brought in hundreds of millions in revenue but the reruns also still continue to bring in hundreds of millions in revenue. People just want the option of being able to watch it whenever they want. If they go full steam ahead with documentary and superstar releases, people will still watch a WWE TV network even if they will own a lot of the content. You just have to find different ways of presenting it to people. And make sure to price each project accordingly, if it’s a big star/event then the retail price will be higher and go down from there. They could make tons of cash doing WalMart exclusive DVD’s at lower prices dedicated to the lower tier wrestlers like Doink, Koko B Ware, etc… If they make it look good then it will work, half ass the project and it will bomb.

 

That is just half of what they could potentially be using to earn money. They need to re-release all the old PPV events from all promotions like they have done with Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. Not only could they put out box set anthology collections for events like King of The Ring, In Your House, Starrcade, etc.. but they could also release yearly PPV box sets to include the secondary monthly ones. I’m a little ashamed to say I would by both even though it would be a lot of repeat content haha but I’m sure I am not alone in that. Once again even if they released all these events, people would still watch on a TV network. It goes back to people wanting the option of watching it whenever they want but will still watch on TV. It just makes no sense for all this revenue to just be wasted because Vince wants to hold onto his video library. Even if Vince was reading this and green lit all the projects, it would take many, many years for even half of this footage to be released so there is no reason to fear over exposing your product.

 

This is a win-win situation for both fans and WWE. Fans win by getting new content and matches/events we have been waiting to see. WWE wins by bringing in a tidal wave f revenue for years to come and they re-establish a connection with their new fans. Not only the new fans but also the older fans that have gone away from the product may come back too. That’s what NFL films and ESPN 30 for 30 accomplishes, so that direction is what must be the next step for their Home Video. I will be posting another blog immediately after this one discussing the impact of the WWF switch to WWE and why it is so important that they re-establish the connection they lost.

 

When it comes right down to it I’m just a big wresting fan that wants to re-live the great moments in history wrestling has given us. I admit I am jealous of football and sports fans of the content that they get to watch through the previously mentioned documentary series. I want to see all the greatest moments and superstars of wrestling get their special moment to shine, there are so many talented filmmakers that could do great things with access to the WWE video library. So that will do it for this one, hopefully I was able to paint a clear picture of what they could be doing with their goldmine. Use the past to make the present better and to solidify the future, don’t hold onto or dwell on it.