10 Really Strange Modern Wrestling Phenomenons
3. The Death Of The Fan
As projected by Chris "Mookie" Harrington - who with respect to Dana Brooke is wrestling's preeminent statistician - WWE, by next year, will draw more revenue through corporate streams than via fan income.
What we think has barely mattered over the last few years, what with the inexorable, inexplicable onscreen lurch of Roman Reigns and the borderline extinguishing of red-hot acts Daniel Bryan and Rusev and the temerity they displayed to get over of their own accord. The Network Era secured a static audience willing to put up with artistic tripe, since the only substantial expenditure is patience. The eye-watering TV rights deals struck over recent weeks will only exacerbate this nihilism-generating paradigm shift.
This explains why the company is performing better financially with Roman on top than it did with Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. In a sense, it doesn't matter who is positioned as talisman. The brand is the draw, if draw is even the applicable word. WWE no longer relies on drawing money, per se, but rather squeezing it from sponsors and broadcasters who could care less about the company's abysmal creative direction.
Content - any content - is king in 2018. That's why no one megastar wears the crown.