WWE Business Class Day 4: Exploring the Non-Wrestling Ventures in the Company

Welcome, students, to Day 4 of WWE Business Class. My name is Doctor Chris Mueller and I will be your instructor. I am not really a Doctor, but I play one in my head.

In this five-day course I will take you through five lessons which can help to improve WWE in several different ways.

On Day 1 we discussed how to reschedule the WWE PPVs, on Day 2 we discussed three new pricing structures which could help sell more PPVs and save people money and on Day 3 we discussed how to manage a large roster.

Today's lesson will not be on how to fix something, but rather which things WWE is already doing right.

WWE has many aspects to it which makes it more than just a wrestling promotion. It is a global entity which has grown into a media conglomerate.

Even though there have been failures in the past like the XFL, we cannot overlook the things WWE does very well.

In this article I will discuss three parts of the business which have made WWE a great success.

Charity Work and Dedication to the Troops

If WWE is as evil as some people would like us to believe, then they are certainly playing the wolf in sheep's clothing role by doing so much charity work.

John Cena has been the face of WWE's charitable ventures by being the top-requested superstar by the Make-A-Wish foundation.

John and numerous other superstars dedicate time they could be using to warm up for matches or spending with their families and they grant wishes for fans.

This may not seem like a huge deal, to take a little time to visit with a sick kid, but when you do it as often as the WWE superstars do, then you are spending more than just a little of your time.

This is just one of the organizations which WWE has devoted its time to. Another big campaign WWE has been a part of is the B-A-Star campaign against bullying.

WWE is a somewhat violent product which portrays fighting, and there is no way around that, but that does not mean they support bullies picking on weaker people.

Almost everyone has an experience where they were bullied at some point as a child and no one will tell you that it was enjoyable.

WWE superstars go to schools and events all over the country to bring the message of unity to our children, and that is a great contribution.

Another cause WWE has taken on is supporting our troops. They do not just put up some flags and do a few salutes, they really do a lot.

Military personnel will be given free tickets to events on a regular basis, and WWE has been performing an annual Tribute to the Troops show for several years, many times having performed the shows in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.

WWE has taken a neutral stance on the war itself, never fully endorsing or condemning it, proving that you can support the troops without having a pro-war agenda.

All of these things—on top of the other charitable causes WWE devotes time to—has made them one of the most socially conscious sports companies on the planet.

Merchandise

WWE may be a wrestling company, but a large part of their revenue comes from the sale of merchandise.

The images of WWE superstars have been plastered to just about every kind of product you can imagine, and a few you might not even know existed.

Do you know what pizza prints are? I didn't until I saw WWE selling them. It is essentially a small disc containing an image which is placed over the center of the pizza and cooked along with it. It is edible, in case you were worried.

WWE has their normal line of merchandise like DVDs, shirts and hats, but they also sell tons of other stuff, too.

Clocks, garden gnomes, jewelry, replica belts and action figures help round out WWEShop.com's selection of random goods.

If WWE is good at anything, it is making products their fans will want to buy. They may not all be home runs, but a lot of the items will sell well regularly, especially those for the most popular superstars.

When WWE decided to embrace the idea of selling anything they could slap a logo on, they effectively increased their possible profits in a big way.

WWE also produces a lot of DVD releases each year. The standard 12-13 DVDs are always released along with documentaries and match compilations.

These give fans the ability to relive some of their favorite moments over and over without having to go to YouTube to look for them as well as get a look at some of the history from before they were fans.

I once had a business teacher tell me "If you can think of it, there is someone who will buy it." Someone at WWE must be living by this mantra because there is always something that does not seem to fit in their product line, but you know someone buys it anyways.

Production Value

A big reason WWE surpassed the other promotions to become the biggest wrestling company out there is that they have always prided themselves on a high level of production value and product presentation.

When you attend a WWE event, it is on a whole different level than when you attend an Indy show, and I am not just talking about the fame of the superstars.

There are pyrotechnics, music and high-quality video packages that all add to the experience of being at a WWE show.

While the video packages may be shown a bit too often, there is no denying that WWE has one of the best production and editing staffs in the entertainment business.

The entrance videos, the recaps, the hype videos all have effects edited in to make them more cinematic, which in turn makes the whole WWE experience more enthralling.

Think about how cool those "It Begins 2012" videos were when we first saw them. It was like watching the trailer to a horror movie based on a better Japanese horror movie. I hope someone gets that reference.

When the Undertaker returned a couple years ago and everyone thought it would be Sting is another great example of a series of intriguing videos WWE had produced.

When you add that much style to a product that was once reserved for carnivals and fairs, then you create something that is completely new and different from the original concept.

Conclusion

For all the criticism WWE receives, even their critics have to admit that WWE is a company that surpassed even the most hopeful expectations of everyone.

Call it wrestling if you want, but when you take apart the company and examine it piece by piece, it is so much more than just wrestling.

The charity work, other profitable branches of the company and production value have made WWE the global leader in sports entertainment and from a business standpoint, you have to respect them for being successful while being attacked by critics for various reasons at every turn.

Thanks for reading and please join me tomorrow for the fifth and final day of WWE business class, where we will be looking at the future of the business and what can be done to assure longevity in an uncertain economic climate.

If you would like to check out the first three days from this series, you can find the links below.

Day 1: Rescheduling PPVs

Day 2: New PPV Pricing Model

Day 3: Managing a Large Roster