WWE's 10 Biggest Money Performers In 2018
Cash Of The Titans
What makes money in professional wrestling in 2018?
Is it nuanced characters, interwoven evocatively in the business of other nuanced characters for the benefit of a match that could feasibly considered a box office attraction? Is it the perception of stardom, the value of one wrestler’s name as a reason to invest financially emotionally, particularly if they’re paired with somebody of equal acclaim? Is it even just a shirt with their name on, rich in style and quality - itself a reflection of the talent in question?
For Bullet Club’s 'All In' supershow, it’s proven to be all three. A unique coming together of storylines from NJPW, ROH and even YouTube sensation ‘Being The Elite’, the show sold out without promise of a single match but the possibility of several. Virtually every major name involved were promoted ahead of time, and the 10,000 fans expressed their faith in the movement with their wallets. Branded t-shirts were chucked too - discerning credits will now literally wear their loyalties with pride.
But, what makes money in WWE in 2018?
Short answer? Television.
The jaw-dropping deal with Fox to air SmackDown Live! going forward has rendered their bang average output the ideal live time-filler on a network crying out for DVR-proof content. Treadmill maintenance has become the key creative driver over the need for tangible ticket-sellers and master marketeers. Perhaps by design, WWE has rendered the Stamford superstar superfluous - what even makes a 'money' talent within the tall tenement of Titan Tower anymore?
10. Daniel Bryan
Though Daniel Bryan's rather rapidly been shunted back down to a legitimate 'B+ Player' status thanks to the impossibly bleak vortex of fun that is the WWE main roster, he still exists as one of the few genuine ticket-sellers the company currently has on the books. Or was, before his feud with Big Cass, anyway.
WWE appeared to test his drawing mettle - with some success - on their most recent European Tour. The post-WrestleMania swing across the Atlantic has been seemingly less and less appealing to local audiences over the years, with diminishing numbers at house shows and even the London-based television tapings failing to sell out in what was once considered a red hot market.
Mindful of the fantasy booking most fans were doing upon Bryan's return, WWE supplied audiences with the opportunity to see something of a contemporary 'dream match' - the 'YES! Man' tangling with career-long irritant The Miz on a selection of dates in April. There were spikes in sales as a result, fleshing out the venues enough to suggest that the performers had tapped into something people genuinely wanted to pay to see - a true rarity in 2018...