Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world and is very popular in countries like the United States, Mexico and Japan. Wrestling offers actual man-to-man fights and can always guarantee the necessary spectacle. Yet it fails to captivate viewers from all around the world. Recently, the number of new viewers tuning in to this sport has been dropping. How do we ensure that viewers will continue to tune into professional wrestling?
Honoring European heroes
Heroes are needed to raise viewer enthusiasm. In the United States, wrestling is wildly popular because viewers identify with the wrestlers and lose themselves in their backstories and exploits. Wrestling attracts millions of viewers within the US every year although, unfortunately, the numbers are beginning to decrease a bit now as well. In Europe, wrestling is less popular despite the fact that Europe is an interesting market for sports television. There are also quite a few European wrestlers active in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The European viewer may become enthusiastic for the sport through making the connection to their own wrestling heroes.
There are plenty of those heroes. The most notable are the Bulgarian Alexander Rusev, the Dutch Aleister Black and the Irish star, Becky Lynch. With recognizable faces and the right stories, European viewers can become more fervent fans of the sport as they are able to identify with a hero from their own country.
Betting on potential winners
Americans love to bet, but they cannot bet quickly on who will win a WWE match. This is not an available option in many sports clubs in the United States. Instead, they have betting opportunities for more popular sports, such as American football or baseball. Thanks to various online platforms that specialize in sports betting, it has become very easy and affordable. Americans can place their NFL bet of the day in seconds. This opportunity has also long been available to fans in other countries, as fans elsewhere in the world, including Europe, enjoy following American football. This also applies to WWE. Nevertheless, betting on the outcome of WWE is a niche that is constantly growing. Despite the perhaps somewhat scripted nature of this entertaining sport, it does draw people to online betting sites. The intrigue from the outcome of the game always keeps viewers in suspense. Enthusiasm for sports betting can also draw in more viewers for the televised match.
The arrival of Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny is a popular rapper from Puerto Rico whose job is to draw the new crowd to the WWE’s matches. By his own admission, Bunny has been a fan of wrestling for years and first appeared in WrestleMania 37 in 2021. It is not uncommon for celebrities to compete in the WWE, however, with the arrival of Bad Bunny, a new kind of audience has been gained in the very young fans of the rapper who wanted to see how their rap hero performs in the ring. Bad Bunny has also dedicated a new song to former wrestler and current WWE commentator, Booker T. Through Bunny’s involvement in the wrestling world, the WWE hopes to increase the number of viewers in the future.
More attention for female wrestlers
For years, wrestling was dominated by men and watched by men. Those days are long gone. Wrestling divas are now just as popular in the WWE as their male counterparts, and, according to Forbes, the number of women watching wrestling has grown significantly in recent years. In 2018, roughly 40% of women were already tuned into WWE. That is almost half the viewers, and this can only increase, particularly if female competitions are given more airtime and attention in the coming years.
According to Stephanie McMahon, WWE’s Chief Brand Officer, much of the success comes from the reality shows Total Divas and Total Bellas, which have been created around female sports heroes. These types of shows serve to increase interest in the women of the sport because, in addition to the action in the ring, viewers also get the drama and spectacle behind the ring.
Spectacular clips on YouTube and streaming platforms
Additionally, more viewers can be attracted by sharing the most spectacular moments and clips of wrestling on the internet. Utilizing social media in this way grabs the interest of younger viewers in particular. Currently, the WWE’s viewership is aging rapidly, with younger viewers preferring to focus on other sports. Switching to more integrated and digital platforms places WWE in the arena of the younger generation. The WWE is therefore moving to streaming via Peacock in order to cater to the needs of modern television viewers. Perhaps this will also make the WWE more interesting to other streaming services around the world?
