10 Ways The WWE Network Has Changed Since It Launched

2. The Promotion's Own Outlook On Traditional Wrestling

Dusty Rhodes Ric Flair
WWE.com

As aforementioned, WWE's early belief that monthly pay-per-views and a vast event library would be enough to lock customers in for good changed after the Network launched. Suddenly, the company realised they needed more and more to keep people coming back.

One thing they didn't count on was that old-school wrestling would be a major reason for the Network's success.

Current Co-President George Barrios admitted during a Q&A (at the Global TMT Conference in Las Vegas) this past January that he and other executives were shocked by how much traditional wrestling content Network subscribers were viewing. The fact that wrestling fans might want to explore the history of their hobby was apparently lost on WWE when the Network started.

Barrios was speaking after WWE had released a ton of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling content to subscribers. He, and others in the board room, were dumb-founded that fans eagerly tuned into these shows rather than solely watching current stuff.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.