WWE Is Finding New Ways to Capitalize on the Booming Business of Pro Wrestling

The way wrestling is consumed is constantly evolving, as is the way WWE delivers it.

As the company builds more and more momentum in the newest era spearheaded by Triple H, it has run into a real problem: Not every Superstar can be represented at WrestleMania—WWE's premier premium live event—with some being forced to miss it altogether.

Although this is an annual occurrence with The Show of Shows, it has never been more apparent than now, with the roster being the most stacked it's been in many years. Even with the event expanding to two nights starting in 2020, there is a finite number of spots for WWE's top talent.

WrestleMania 41, emanating from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 19 and 20, proved to be a prime example of this.

The Show of Shows featured its fair share of sleepers and stinkers, as well as monumental moments and poorly executed outcomes. Every installment does, but this one in particular stood out from the rest with the increased number of opportunities for Superstars to take part in branded matches, at least compared to the past.

Even something as simple as logos on the ring mat was frowned upon by the previous regime, but it has since been encouraged by WWE's new ownership, TKO. They've become especially prevalent on Raw on Netflix and PLEs.

At the end of the day, these branded deals generate additional revenue for WWE, and when executed correctly, they can also help wrestlers gain more exposure.

Clash of Clans was one of the leading sponsors of this year's 'Mania in Sin City, specifically for the World Tag Team Championship bout between The War Raiders and The New Day.

For a match with such minimal buildup going into it, the incorporation of the Clash of Clans partnership earned them a spot on the WrestleMania lineup they may not have had otherwise.

The two talented tandems seized the opportunity to have a quality contest and deliver a WrestleMania-worthy title change, with The New Day taking home the titles.

The successful mobile game has over two billion lifetime downloads and boasts the likes of Rhea Ripley as "Archer Queen," The Undertaker as "Grand Warden" and Rey Mysterio as "Minion Prince," among others.

It's yet another opportunity for WWE's most popular performers to break further into the mainstream and be immortalized as iconic personalities in the gaming realm.

WWE Brand Continues to Expand

It's a collaboration that only makes sense, given WWE's long-standing history with Clash of Clans over the last decade-plus, including its association with John Cena.

"John Cena used to say, 'Make sure to get your attacks in, they better be good!'" former WWE champion Big E said about his experience with Clash of Clans.

"It was a big part of our travels. We used it to connect, we built a community around it. [Actor] Stephen Amell was a part of it. We had this big WhatsApp group chat over it. For us, we need distractions on the road because we all travel, and this game that we all love and some of us have poured six figures into...it's just really cool."

Cody Rhodes, who just headlined his fourth WrestleMania against Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship, has quickly become a heavily played Superstar in the game with over 50 million total raid attempts on his base and has seen his stock soar outside of the squared circle in the past three years.

"Now I'm watching these Clash commercials with Cody and seeing him play as OverloadRhodes, that was his name years ago, when he was still Stardust," Big E said. "It's so weirdly full circle. It's a nerdy pursuit of ours that we're all obsessed with."

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the app game is Jey Uso, now known to Clash of Clans regulars as "Thrower." Although his "YEETer" troop has already been deployed in 212 million battles, the tag team specialist reaching such larger-than-life status would have been unfathomable just a few years ago.

"I'm just taking it all in as it comes," Uso said. "I never thought I'd be any kind of character in any kind of game because we're so used to creating ourselves. It's cool to be a character in the Clash of Clans game, for sure... I think my character has been played the most, I heard, so YEETers are number one."

It's appropriate Uso and Rhodes find themselves at the forefront of the Clash campaign now they're positioned as two of the top fan favorites in WWE coming out of WrestleMania 41.

"I've spent years building my legacy in WWE, but it's time for fans to know where I've landed most of my victories, in Clash of Clans," Rhodes said. "As OverlordRhodes, I don't defend, I conquer. Villages will fall, and any opposition will be crushed under my command. This isn't about playing fair in the ring, it's about ruling the battlefield."

WWE Learning from Past Mistakes with Sponsored Matches

Clash of Clans' product placement during WrestleMania's world tag team title bout was far more subtle and harmless than WWE's previous efforts at holding sponsored matches on PLEs.

Among the first—and arguably most egregious—instances came at WrestleMania Backlash in 2021 when Damian Priest and The Miz met in a Zombie Lumberjack match, serving as a promotional tie-in for Netflix's Army of the Dead film.

Actors portraying zombies surrounded the ring and the Superstars were instructed to act scared of them. Despite Priest picking up the victory, the stunt nearly killed his aura and ruined what was shaping up to be an entertaining event.

Bray Wyatt and LA Knight then battled in what was billed as a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at the 2023 Royal Rumble.

The bout was designed to promote the return of Mountain Dew's Pitch Black flavors. The rules weren't quite clear until showtime, when it was announced that it would be contested under black lighting with no disqualifications.

Even at only five minutes long, the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match was regarded as one of WWE's biggest flops in 2023, and the company was wise to avoid following that formula with future sponsored contests.

That was evident mere months later when Rey and Dominik Mysterio culminated their seven-month storyline in a highly anticipated outing sponsored by Cinnamon Toast Crunch at WrestleMania 39.

Beyond the branding on the turnbuckle posts and around ringside, the sponsorship hardly took away from the in-ring action, which ultimately went down as one of the weekend's most memorable show-stealers.

Now, it's nothing out of the ordinary for WWE matches to be backed by sponsors, as seen on the rest of the WrestleMania 41 card.

In addition to the Clash of Clans theming during War Raiders vs. New Day, Drew McIntyre had a Doom: The Dark Ages-inspired entrance for his Sin City Street Fight with Priest. Dominik Mysterio was sponsored by personal care brand Dude Wipes later in the night before winning the Intercontinental Championship, a moment that will forever be synonymous with the men's disposable wipe product.

Consequently, all of these tactics are translating to big business for the company.

According to WWE, WrestleMania 41 featured 28 partners, setting a new all-time event record for revenue. The show was also the most-viewed ever, up 114 percent from last year's installment, meaning there were more eyes on these sponsored matches, the wrestlers involved and the product itself than at any other point in the promotion's history.

WWE's status as a world-renowned entity has never been questioned, but the buzz around the on-air product has certainly fluctuated over the years, depending on various factors, including talent, storylines, and the strategic incorporation of pop culture elements when necessary.

TKO has discovered that WWE can't operate on its own. Partnering with other established brands and approaching each mutually beneficial promotion with creativity are the keys to boosting brand awareness for all parties.

The New Day vs. The War Raiders match, featuring Clash of Clans as one of many sponsored contests across the card at WrestleMania, was just a small taste of what fans should become accustomed to going forward.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.