Is It Only a Matter of Time Before WWE Uses More Corporate Sponsorship on TV?

One thing I have always given WWE credit for is the lack of corporate plugs they have. Sure, they have the usual "Tonight's show is brought to you by..." lines but they are so much more low key than other sports.

In a world where we have NASCAR events named after every product (Sprint Cup) under the sun and corporate owned arenas named after insurance companies (Allstate Arena) and cell phones providers (US Cellular Field), WWE stand alone as a company who uses minimal sponsorship.

I live near Chicago and we have the Allstate arena named for the insurance company, US Cellular field named for the phone provider, The United Center named for United Airlines and the Sears center. That is a lot of corporate-named arenas in one city.

If you think about all the ways WWE could sell ad space that they choose to ignore, you have to give them credit for being a company who puts the fans' experience first.

Some viewers will remember the days when WCW rings had Slim Jim logos slapped on all over the place, and TNA has been known to do the same thing. I think Jeremy Borash will even plug products before main event matches sometimes.

WWE could easily stamp a big logo in their ring and sell ad space for it to companies like Pepsi or Coca-Cola, but they choose to leave the mat bare so we can focus on the action on top of it.

Their ring aprons are big logos for their shows when they could easily be big banners for snack foods and car insurance. Even UFC is embracing the corporate logos these days.

WWE could even just sell half of the aprons and keep the other half as their own logos, but they don't and it really makes you realize what they have given up in terms of revenue to keep a high quality product running week after week.

The big graphic wall WWE has put under the titantron could be showing a corporate sponsored logo when it is not showing the entrance graphic for a superstars, but WWE instead chooses to leave it as the show logo when there is action in the ring.

When you watch a baseball game the whole wall surrounding the field is covered with electronic billboards and posters for random companies who pay good money to have their name and logo featured in front of millions watching at home.

WWE could do the same thing with their barricade around the ring, but instead they leave it blank with only the occasional WWE logo on the side, and not even a big logo at that.

By even selling a quarter of the space on the barricade, WWE could make some serious money for giving a product placement to millions of people every week.

Let's not forget about event names. WWE always uses their own in-house names for events when they could make a quick payday renting a monthly PPV to a company who will pay big bucks to be associated with a worldwide production.

Could you imagine the Raman Noodles Royal Rumble, Progressive Insurance Elimination Chamber or the PNC Bank Vengeance PPV? Me neither, nor do I want to.

WWE has shown great control by not giving into the pressures of corporate sponsorship in sports. By only giving the companies a plug while showing a graphic every hour or so, WWE has made themselves unique in the world of broadcast sports.

This may not last forever though. WWE is looking to launch a network sometime down the line and that is an expensive and risky venture. If they get desperate for some quick cash later on, then we could see some of these things start to pop up.

I am not expecting to see the Kotex Clash of the Champions or anything, but I would not be shocked if WWE used some of the areas at their disposal to sell ad space.

With WWE entering a new era in terms of who is running the company, we could also see some people embrace these things when Vince never would have.

Whatever way you look at it, you have to at least give WWE the respect they deserve for not selling out and shoving a bunch of logos and brand names down our throats.

As always, thanks for reading, and as a bit of fun, submit your ideas for funny corporate themed WWE event names like the ones I have already given. A good example is the "Cash-n-Go Capital Punishment PPV" or something like that.