Could someone compete with WWE? Rey Cash puts together a true to form business plan that addresses the obvious, and not so obvious, moves someone needs to make to compete with Vince McMahon.

For nearly 40 years, World Wrestling Entertainment has been the preeminent wrestling organization in the world.  They’ve ascended to heights no other company could ever dream of, all the while defeating their closest competition so forcefully, that it’s been nearly 15 years since there has even been a viable number two.  What has Vince done so well that nobody else, sans Eric Bischoff and Ted Turner for 83 weeks, could replicate to this level?  How is the WWE is much stronger than everybody else?  Or, maybe the question should be, why is nobody else able to be as strong as the WWE?

Those two questions are some that fans spend days debating.  There’s no denying that there is an air of WWE fatigue; I mean, they’re their own competition!  And while plenty of other companies have taken the de facto mantle as the number two wrestling organization in the world, nobody has gotten as close as WCW did in the late 90s.  So, how do we change that?  What will it take for another wrestling company to legitimately compete with the WWE?

First, before we even begin to think of how that’s possible, we have to acknowledge a few things.  Realistically, competing with WWE is a fairly futile idea.  It’s not impossible, but highly improbable.  WWE controls the entire market share for professional wrestling.  The reason that they can get 2 separate $1 billion deals is because for 25+ years, they’ve had a consistently top drawing show on two separate nights without taking a week off.  Every major American star of the past 40 years has spent some time in the WWE world.  It’s truly the juggernaut of its industry.

So, what a company would have to achieve before they can even think about competing is to steal some of the market share of the wrestling industry, have at least 25 years of consistent top-level business, and create at least 5 home-grown world-wide stars.  And this is the bare minimum they’d need to achieve to be considered on the same playing field.  WWE has created stars who the entire world knows, such as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, The Undertaker, Dave Bautista, and to a lesser extent, guys like Ric Flair, Triple H, and of course, Vince McMahon himself.  A new company would have to do the same so that when fans think of that wrestler, they think of their respective company.

So, let’s break down what a company could do in the mean time to compete.  I’ve come up with 12 things that a new company can do to make a dent in the market share and to start to become a viable number two in a fairly quick amount of time.  Now, this is akin to fantasy booking, but I tried to be ultimately realistic in all of my ideas.  This will be fairly long, so bear with me.

Hire a Hollywood director and/or producer to run the production

One of the major things that sets WWE apart from other companies is their production.  It’s impeccable.  It’s head and shoulders ahead of all of the competition.  The graphics, the set designs, the video packages…all of it has set a precedent of how we expect to view wrestling.  This is the very first step for a new company to start to compete.  Having a Hollywood producer or a director will allow for a professional vision and a different lens, all to make the product look the absolute best and hopefully different than the WWE.

Hire a mix of former wrestling people and Hollywood writers for the creative team

I realize that this infuriates some die-hard fans, but wrestling is and always has been an entertainment entity.  So, while what happens in the ring can largely be sport, the storylines and plots have to be entertainment based.  So, while the WWE has too many Hollywood writers and other companies have none, a perfect mix is the desired goal.  So, I’m thinking of maybe Jim Cornette, Dave Lagana, and Jake Roberts, and Max Landis, Freddy Prinze Jr., and Seth Green on the Hollywood sign.  The key is a mixture of different styles and ideals, and you want writers who are fans of the business.  I’d also have two wildcard writers involved.  That way, maybe you could get some buzz by hiring an actual fan with a writing background, or you could have a place for a current wrestler or something of the like.  For the record, I have a head booker in mind, but I’ll mention that person later.

EMBRACE the casual fan…

This will also infuriate the die-hard wrestling community, but casual fans are what takes a wrestling company from a small Indy organization to a global powerhouse.  Every company has patrons who will support no matter what or will never support no matter what.  It’s the 80-10-10 rule.  10% of people will love you regardless, 10% will hate you regardless; the goal is to cater to that 80%.  This is why the WWE is king, and all of the other companies are struggling to reach their level.  WWE has billion-dollar deals in America, high paying deals in other major countries, has its own wrestling network with a free first month for new subscribers, and storylines that are catered to create buzz among casual fans.  The casual dollar is what can help grow the company into a powerhouse.

…but CATER to the die-hard fan…

While everything I said in the prior paragraph is true and paramount to competing at the highest level, you have to cater to your main base.  This is the part where a good portion of the fan base is disgruntled.  Raw and Smackdown are largely catered to the mainstream, while NXT and 205 Live are catered to the core.  The problem is, however, that NXT and 205 Live openly referred to as lower tiered shows than the flagship programs.  Enter the new company.  You have to aim to get the casuals, but you have to grow and keep your core first.  WWE has a 70-year head start on growing a fan base; we’re trying to do this in a matter of years.  So, grow the die-hards with the hope of training the casuals to want what the die-hards do.  It’s a tough ask, but it’s necessary for the goal in mind.

…and Embrace the Internet

 We’re in a different time in the world.  The Internet is king.  Now, if a company doesn’t have a presence on the Internet or social media, then you’re fighting from behind.  Think about how once WWE started their network, how many other companies then were forced to create their own.  It’s not even a matter of copycatting; it’s a necessary business move.  So, use what’s available to you.  The Internet, while massively used, is still largely untapped in this market.  Use social media to your advantage.  Have live shows for the Internet.  Find a way to make your own niche within this market.  It will only help.

Have a good mixture of known stars and up and coming wrestlers with potential

If what we’ve talked about so far is the foundation or the bread of the sandwich, this is the meat.  The prior 5 points are moot without a fantastic roster.  And with this being the most talented and talent rich time in history, it shouldn’t be hard to achieve this.  Now, nobody in this section is obviously going to be one of the 5 world wide stars overnight, or ever.  That’s fine.  This is building a base to grow to that point.  This is also a perfect spot for The Elite.

If the rumors are true that they’re considering starting their own company, those 6 men would be the perfect front men for a venture like this.  They’re known in the wrestling community, have a tremendous buzz, are massively talented in the ring, and have aspirations on par with the company.  I’d also pick some younger, lesser known talent to build up the roster and grow.  Off the top of my head, I’m thinking of people like Shane Strickland, Maxwell Joseph Friedman, David Starr, Austin Theory, Joey Janella and Penelope Ford, Jordynne Grace, Shotzi Blackheart, and others similar to them.  You want to have the best wrestling roster possible.  That matters.

Build or team up with a top-level training center

The WWE Performance Center is revolutionary.  What Triple H has done is create a talent recruitment and training department that wrestling has never seen.  Now, WWE wrestlers are trained like the top-level athletes they are.  To be at their level, this is practically a necessity.  Much like college football programs compete with each other through their locker room and football facilities, wrestling organizations will start doing the same.  Now, building your own may not been necessary if you can find an existing one and team up with it.  That brings me to point number 8…

Make connections with other companies, both in and out of pro wrestling

WWE has the market share on professional wrestling.  But they don’t have the market share on sports or entertainment individually.  They’ve controlled their own section of the world, but what if we expanded that world?  Now, at the beginning, I said that this would be akin to fantasy booking, but I was going to try to keep it realistic.  So, if I’m the owner of this company, and I want to move up the timeline of competition to be the number one wrestling organization in the world, you can’t just focus on wrestling.  What I would do is create a new multi-sport organization.  I’d start the new wrestling company, I’d buy Bellator and make a stake in Mixed Martial Arts, and I’d create a new boxing organization.  I’d not just try to take over pro wrestling; I’d takeover combat sports in general.  That is a fight Vince is not ready for.  Also, I’d buy a smaller wrestling organization as a developmental federation.  So now, you have a top-level professional wrestling, mixed martial arts, and boxing organizations.  They can all train the same, and even cross promote and compete.  This is a juggernaut that is possibly the haymaker that could rock Vince.

Hire at least three (3) needle movers

This point is the one that will get the most publicity.  This is where you make your statement to the world that you’re seriously in this for the long haul.  Everything we’ve done so far has build the foundation, created the base, and expanded the scope.  Now, we need to have the front men to lead the organization.  And when I say needle movers, I mean people who are known in the mainstream and will draw interest and viewership instantly.

So, to start off my needle movers, the first guy I’m picking is Chris Jericho.  Now, this is a fairly obvious pick seeing as Jericho has become one of the hottest commodities in wrestling.  With a top-level rock band, a popular podcast, and an expansive television resume, Jericho is the perfect guy to be the wrestling face of the company.  I wouldn’t even have him wrestle.  He can be the face of the organization.  The host or authority figure, so to speak.

Secondly, I’d hire the MMA fighter Jon Jones.  Jones is a wrestling fan and has a checkered past with the UFC.  He’s still young enough to be an asset in the wrestling business as a performer, and he still has a lot to give in the MMA realm.  I’d sign him to a dual deal, where he’d fight in Bellator and wrestle in our organization.

And my third needle mover will be his natural and arch rival.  I would hire Brock Lesnar, with Paul Heyman coming in as my head booker.

I can hear the audible groans now at the mention of Lesnar’s name.  Hear me out.  The goal is to become a viable wrestling organization in the quickest way possible, and steal some of the market share that WWE has.  Brock Lesnar is the biggest name is pro wrestling that currently wrestles.  The only two men who are close are John Cena, who is a part-timer now, and Roman Reigns, who is battling leukemia for the second time.  Both men bleed WWE.

Lesnar has shown that he’s simply in it for the money.  You don’t think that he’d salivate at the thought of a great pay day, being able to wrestle and fight in a top organization as he pleases, and being able to fight the one guy he’s always wanted to fight?  On top of that, his advocate (in storyline and real life) is the head booker?  It’s almost a perfect deal.  Now, with these three men, four if you count Heyman, you have a real idea of what the landscape can possibly be.  I truly believe we’ve built something sustainable that can compete.

Be ready to not make a real profit for at least 5 years, possibly 10

Have you ever heard the economic expression, “There’s no thing such as free lunch?”  The meaning of that is that everything costs money, even if it’s free.  So, with what we’ve built, there’s a cost.  We didn’t choose the long game like most companies do.  We’re trying to make a difference immediately.  Because of this, we’re having to make a ton of moves nobody else has ever attempted to make before.  We have a Hollywood director and/or producer running our production, we have a very knowledgeable but highly paid creative team, we’ve bought other organizations, we’re cultivating a top-level training center, and we’ve built a roster with the best we can get, including three of the highest paid competitors on the market.  The payment for all of that is not expecting a profit immediately.

The point of any business is to make money, yes.  That’s why we have Bellator and the boxing organization.  The wrestling company will make money too.  But we’ll inevitably be in the red for at least 5 years.  And that’s for one singular goal – being a viable alternative to the WWE.  We want to compete on their level.  And that money is one that comes with billions of dollars in possible revenue.  The money is out there in wrestling.  We’re trying to get the absolute most possible.  So, we have to take a hit in the hopes and goal of breaking though to another level of profit and success down the line.

With these goals, this business plan, and this mindset, you’ll need an owner who has the 3 P’s of business – they’re passionate, proven, and patient.  Not a lot of business owners are wiling to follow a business plan such as this, and don’t subscribe the 3 P’s.  I’ve come up with one though.

The perfect owners for this venture are The Fertitta Brothers.

The Fertitta Brothers are the guys who, along with Dana White, took the UFC from an organization who couldn’t have shows in more than half of the United States to a global powerhouse.  They own and manage Zuffa Inc., and recently they sold the majority of their shares in the UFC to WME.  So, I’m choosing them because they’re patient – they watched UFC grow from a small-time organization that was ostracized to the biggest MMA organization ever, they’re proven – they sold their majority shares in UFC for $4.2 billion, and they’re passionate – they’re huge fans of the sport and we’re mainstays in the crowd.  They have the perfect mix of capital and know-how to take this venture from a business plan to reality.

Cultivate a sport style to match the organization

 I’m a sports entertainment fan, through and through.  I don’t care as much about a wrestler’s move set as much as I do about their entertainment factor.  I can acknowledge, however, that there is a group of fans that is the opposite.  On top of those fans, we’ve built an organization that houses 2 major legitimate sporting companies.  So, to match that and to create an alternative to the WWE, we need to cultivate a sport style.  What I mean by that is we will have weight classes and defined divisions – heavyweight (225 lbs. to 265 lbs.), cruiserweight (205 lbs. to 225 lbs.), and light heavyweight (205 lbs. and below) for the men and lightweight (135 lbs. to 155 lbs.), bantamweight (115 lbs. to 135 lbs.), and strawweight (115 lbs. and below) for the women.  We’ll also have an openweight championship that anybody can compete for, regardless of weight class or gender, and it will be defended with no rules.  There will also be a tag team championship, that can also be competed for by anybody.

Part of the reason of buying an MMA and boxing company is the hopes of cross over appeal and competition.  So, people like Chael Sonnen and Rampage Jackson who are currently signed to Bellator can fight and possibly wrestle, while somebody like Jake Hager (a.k.a Jack Swagger) can wrestle and possibly fight.  This will be helped by the weight classes.  It also allows for the company to make each weight class championship on an even playing field.  And more than anything, it will set us apart from WWE.

Buy a TV Channel

We’re at the end of this business plan, and this idea is the least likely, but it’s the final ace in the hole.  Vince McMahon owns the award-winning WWE Network.  It’s excellent in every way, except that it’s a pay service Internet network.  If Vince owned a real TV station, he’d be in a different stratosphere.  That’s our goal.  It’s not a necessity, but if we can buy a television station, we can not only house our own content, but we an also charge what we want in advertising and get rights fees for other content on our channel.  Imagine having the premier combat sports organization in the world with the premier combat sports television channel in the world!  We can even buy FITE TV and put its content on actual television.

I know this has been a long journey, but competing with Vince McMahon and the WWE takes this long of a business plan.  He’s created an empire for a reason.  No other person in history has had the mind to mix business and wrestling as well as he has.  So, with all of the 12 ideas we’ve come up with here, we bridge that gap instantly.  Now, we’re not only on the hook with wrestling.  We have a premier organization with numerous companies and prospectively, a television channel.  You’re instantly in WCW territory with the possibility of competing directly with Vince for the market share.

Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta?  You’re welcome.  I’ll be waiting for my consultation fee.

FIN

@itsreycash