10 Major Challenges Facing WWE In 2018

9. The Fall And Rise

WWE Network Corporate
WWE

A WWE Network subscriber drop-off - if it even occurs - may only tangentially be linked to an upswing in New Japan World devotees, but with the NJPW service experiencing such a surge, it's not that wild to predict a knock-on effect.

Since launching in 2014, WWE hasn't increased the infamous $9.99 (adjusted for currency worldwide) price-tag, but would a slump in numbers trigger such a response?

The company has been able to use the over-the-top service as something of a fan litmus test in recent years, kicking off and cancelling in-house projects with reckless abandon as a test of subscriber durability. Further instability with pay-per-view frequency in 2018 continues to offer no guarantee of content consistency in the near future.

The small annual bump experienced by the Royal Rumble-to-WrestleMania stretch acts as something of an inflation, but little else moves the needle significantly from the core number. Fortunately for the company, there's been little evidence of a forthcoming reduction in users, but the aforementioned spike for NJPW could be the first significant difference-maker in some time.

For the first time in a long time, wrestling fans have a choice not just between WWE and miniature subsidiaries, but between Vince McMahon's vision of the industry and an entirely different one.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.