10 Most Unthinkable WWE Changes In The Last 5 Years
1. The WWE Network
Of all the changes WWE have made in the past five years, none are more significant than the WWE Network’s introduction. It has not only changed the way in which millions of viewers consume WWE’s product, but completely revolutionised the sport as a whole, even at an independent level.
The days of forking out exorbitant sums of money to watch a PPV are dead. A flat monthly fee of £9.99 not only gives access to live shows that once cost four or five times that amount, but complete, unrestricted access to the most comprehensive wrestling video library ever assembled. WWE, WCW, ECW, and many more: it’s all there on the WWE Network, and with decades of history at your fingertips, wrestling has never been more accessible.
Want to watch Ric Flair’s epic Royal Rumble 1992 triumph, or Hulk Hogan turning heel to join the nWo in 1996? You can now do so in a matter of seconds, where once you’d have had to track down an out-of-print DVD on eBay, pay 10-15 bucks, and wait for it to arrive in the mail.
Any wrestling promotion worth their salt has their own video on demand service nowadays, and it’s all thanks to the Network’s tremendous success. From classic PPVs and archived footage to outstanding documentaries and original shows like Ride Along, there’s something for everyone on the WWE Network, and it’s still growing.
Amassing such a gigantic content library would’ve been impossible 5 years ago, but streaming video has become a necessity in today’s industry. For all their failings over the years, the Network goes down as one of WWE’s greatest ever triumphs.