2. WWE Goes Public, Changing How WWE Makes Decisions
In 2001, the WWE became a publicly-traded company, after making their Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 1999. This created a whole new set of obligations for the companys figureheads. Now, not only did they have to deal with changes in fan attitudes and listen to the needs of their contracted talent, but now, stockholders, investors and sponsors also had a say in what happens in the WWE. The problem here is that these stockholder types often care more about short-term profit than long-term planning. This was one of the main reasons behind the Montreal Screwjob: Vince was ready to have Bret Hart sign an unprecedented 20-year contract, but he couldnt because going public made it virtually impossible for him to secure any long-term financial decisions. Moreover, as a general rule, the WWE would have to choose between two kinds of decisions: the popular decision that would be best for business as Triple H would say; or the most profitable decision. This is one of the reasons why WWE is often so squeaky-clean; appealing to a greater number of fans increases interest (any by consequence, merchandise sales), which increases the stock price (barring any bad news). The other problem with this decision is that the WWE can no longer keep many of its dealings secret. Wrestling, by nature, is a protective industry, where few people are usually willing to expose how it works (Mr. McMahons revelations notwithstanding). But with a publicly-traded company, the WWE has to explain everything to the stockholders where it is going or where it wants to go, and they have to be on board as well. This is why there are seldom any real surprises from the WWE anymore; someone always knows something, and with the growing number of wrestling insiders and the advent of the Internet, speculation and fan theories can ruin any true surprises. But the best example of this whole being public mess is the WWE Network. Some WWE higher-ups seem more concerned with keeping the WWE Network popular and gaining subscribers than producing good quality wrestling programming on a weekly basis. Ever since the second quarter numbers came in and demonstrated lower-than-expected subscriptions, the WWE stock price has fallen (again), and getting it back up seems to be a more important goal than ratings and storylines. If the WWE had remained a privately-owned company, with no influence whatsoever from Wall Street, then Vince wouldnt have to deal with cow-towing to people in suits that dont see the WWE as a wrestling and entertainment company but as a set of letter on the New York Stock Exchange. Though he's still the man in charge, it cannot be denied that Wall Street has influenced his decisions in many ways since the fateful day his company went public. But alas, the WWE is now a publicly-traded company with an extra set of demands to meet. Though the company is still profitable, if the WWEs top brass continue to focus on secondary matters, i.e. the network over the weekly TV shows, then the WWE might not be so profitable after all.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
