WWE library can be used as a key content strategy after WrestleMania

WWE has a library catalog of wrestling content that it should leverage during a time of uncertainty affected by the novel coronavirus.

Professional wrestling is attempting to remain as “normal” in a world that has been turned upside-down by the novel coronavirus pandemic. WWE is holding weekly shows in an empty Performance Center, which has been met with interesting feedback; both positive and negative.

One way the promotion has filled content is by showing past matches featuring the biggest names on their roster. As a strategy, this approach had strong potential but there has been hits and misses along the way.

As the current climate looks to head toward a landscape where large gatherings are “banned,” the WWE has a opportunity to leverage it’s massive content volume to remind people why they become wrestling fans, while potentially building their current roster through creative content development.

In the last few weeks, the WWE has shown past matches from its catalog of content. Those matches have included everything from the entire 2020 Royal Rumble, to the title vs. streak match between Asuka and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34.

This has the potential to be a sound strategy for the entertainment organization at a time like this, but the initial implementation hasn’t had a positive impact.

Take Monday Night Raw from this past week. That episode touted as the “go home” show for a WWE WrestleMania that’s “too big for one day” drew 1.92 million viewers. This show became the second lowest, non-holiday rated Raw in history. That’s a compelling situation to look at.

Yes, WWE and professional wrestling has been greatly hampered by a global pandemic. WrestleMania is a taped event in which Roman Reigns, one of the top stars in the organization, elected to not appear due to concerns around his health in relation to coronavirus. This is not “normal” times in any sense.

But these normal times haven’t impacted every industry in the same fashion. According to Newsweek, television ratings across various networks have increased as people are forced to stay home to practice social distancing.

During the week of Mar. 12, the video game industry saw a 63 percent sales increase and was up 44 percent compared to the same time frame in 2019. People are home and looking for something to occupy their time during this pandemic.

Unfortunately, this hasn’t translated to people watching WWE content. All Elite Wrestling has done it’s best to maintain its strong ratings performances, seeing numbers in the 900K and 800K ranges with closed door shows.

Once can expect the WWE to continue to do its best job giving fans content to enjoy. If much of that content is going to be past matches, then it’s time to begin breaking out the best and the classics.

Stone Cold Steve Austin appeared on Raw on Mar. 16, also known as 3:16 Day, which would have been perfect to show some of his best matches against the likes of The Rock, Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels instead of the awkward comedy segment that closed off the night.

As Bayley prepares to defend her title at WrestleMania, show the amazing match she had with Sasha Banks to headline NXT TakeOver Brooklyn II to remind everyone why she’s one of the best in the game.

This past Monday was the 12-year anniversary of Ric Flair’s WrestleMania retirement match against Michaels, another instant classic that could have been presented. Another option is that WWE can engage fans through social media voting to pick a classic match they’d like to watch on the show. The opportunities are plentiful, all it takes is some sort of creativity.

Much of the world is in a place of uncertainty, without any idea when things will go back to normal. Until then, people are looking for anything they can to take their minds off the issues.

Professional wrestling can be one of those things and welcome back the millions of lapsed fans around the world. WWE has the content that can play a large part of that. They must tap into their own history books to get people engaged once again.