10 Secrets Behind WWE's Stunning Current Success
1. The Pandemic
Leave it to a man so often luckier than he was good to grow his live entertainment business during a time when nobody could even leave the house.
Vince McMahon hated the idea of shutting his shows down more than most - he fought tooth and nail to keep WrestleMania 36 alive as a stadium show when literally everything else was closing/closed down in March 2020 - but things couldn’t have worked out better for him in the long call.
Disgustingly ruthless talent cuts between 2020 and 2021 were marked off as budgetary, but moved the roster on from a pathetic and grabby warehouse era caused by AEW’s mere existence. Money losing house shows existed mostly to solidify the brand, but that schedule was cut and never returned. And TV shot from the Performance Center/ThunderDome was a struggle for viewers at times, but rarely did it worry the company - production costs were down exponentially with the same set in situ every week.
The return to normal got butts back in seats, but the money saved and lessons learned by the enforced societal changes helped see WWE to record financials year-on-year despite a scenario that left countless other businesses counting the cost.