10 Times Wrestling Fans Didn’t Know What They Had Until It Was Gone

Though WWE's switch to a streaming model has allowed fans access to each pay-per-view along with their exhaustive library of content for just $9.99 a month (an astonishing deal especially for those in the United States), the death of pay-per-views has allowed WWE to set some dangerous precedents over the last several years.

For starters, the company now has to put little to no effort into building their premium events. Go-home shows of Raw and SmackDown used to be key, as they were WWE's last chance to convince you to part with your hard-earned cash come Sunday. Now, the company already have your money in their pocket, so there is little to gain from going all-out on story developments just before an event takes place, making episodes of Raw and SmackDown feel far less essential.

The other issue with the end of pay-per-views is that it has restructured WWE's model for making money, which has led to negative impacts on the product. With the company now making a fraction from their monthly events as they were before, Vince McMahon is now more reliant on securing expensive TV rights deals than anything else. Because of this, sagging ratings need to be fixed quickly, which has resulted in the reliance on hotshotting and stars of the past.

Though the Network is something that fans certainly benefit from, its introduction has led to issues with the product that were not present in the age of the pay-per-view.