10 Times WWE Stopped Promoting Its Own Products

WWE labeling its entire fanbase as the 'Universe' might have seemed like some branding tactic the company pulled out of thin air in time for the Network, but it actually went back further than that.

In the early 2000s, WWE knew social media platforms were the way of the future, but rather than immediately jump on board with the majors like Facebook and Twitter, the sports entertainment company tried to create its own platform originally called Fan Nation, later InterAction, and finally the Universe.

Fan Nation included blogs and allowed users to chat and trade pictures. It was most often referred to during the lead-up to certain vote-in events like Cyber Sunday.

For almost five years, WWE tried to push its own form of a social network with constant plugs during weekly programming. However, after it failed to catch on and new fan pages continued to show up on traditional social media sites, the company forfeited the idea and decided that it would join them if it couldn't beat them. From then on, all fans across all platforms were considered the WWE Universe, and the wrestling giant failed to bring up Fan Nation ever again.