10 Reasons Why WWE’s Future Is Brighter Than You Might Think

4. The Localisation Strategy Is A Non-Starter

tyler bate pete dunne
WWE.com

Localisation - creating bespoke satellite leagues per country - is something WWE has experimented with in 2017. All talk of a weekly follow up to the United Kingdom Championship tourney of January has dissipated almost entirely.

Several performers drafted into WWE, in their headstrong rush to monopolise the white hot UK scene, have seen their development halted - as well as the development of the scene itself. The base pay is as low as the opportunities to work elsewhere are narrow. Fans - that total blinder of a Tyler Bate Vs. Pete Dunne match from NXT TakeOver: Chicago aside - get as little out of the arrangement. The rushed scheduling of the tournament, mere weeks before the Royal Rumble, aroused suspicion immediately. It felt to the cynical like WWE was pressing on purely to steal a march on growing companies without any consideration to anybody but themselves. Global Force Wrestling has promoted more shows in 2017 than WWE's UK arm. That says it all, really.

This might be a good thing; those performers were instantly stigmatised as fringe players to anybody outside of the region. The demarkation was made depressingly clear. If it had worked out, there was always a danger of ultimately homogenising a scene known and loved for its diversity. WWE was spitefully shooting itself in the foot with it. Bate and Dunne are so good because they've developed across several promotions in their tender years.

Few lessons were learned from the FCW years, evidently.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!