10 Common Misconceptions About Modern Day WWE
1. WWE Have A Monopoly
It’s true that WWE are incredibly comfortable in their position at the top of the wrestling market, and that the likelihood of another company knocking them down is slim. WWE’s market share is gigantic, and this allows them to do as they please in most cases.
That being said, calling WWE a “monopoly” is inaccurate by definition. They are not single sellers providing a unique product in their market, and promotions like TNA, NJPW, and countless others provide close substitutes to WWE’s product. Instead, WWE’s situation is far closer to an oligopoly: a state of limited competition in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers.
WWE’s market share is secure, but it’s not unbreakable. Ring Of Honor are currently owned by a huge broadcasting group with impressive financial clout and TV stations around the USA, while Lucha Underground is ran by some of TV’s most prominent producers. TNA, meanwhile, were a huge part of a Viacom-owned TV network up until a couple of years ago. Each of these companies has (or had) the opportunity to move closer to WWE’s level, but chose against taking the financial risk.
The only sense in which WWE is a monopoly is that none of their competitors can match their reach. They do not, however, have complete control over the wrestling business, and unless they’re able to drive everyone else out of business, they never will.