Alright, let’s talk about this WWE Pay-Per-View thing. I’ve been a wrestling fan for a while now, and I’ve seen how this whole PPV thing has changed over the years.
So, back in the day, if you wanted to watch the big WWE events like WrestleMania, you had to order them through your cable or satellite provider. It was called Pay-Per-View, and you’d pay a set price for each event. I remember it being a big deal when we’d order one. We’d invite friends over, order some pizza, and make a whole night of it.
The Old-School Way
The process was pretty simple. You’d call up your cable company or use your remote to order the event. The prices varied, but I recall it being a bit of an investment, especially for the bigger shows. Here’s a rough idea of what it used to cost:
- Lower bowl seats: $75 to $300
- Floor seats: $300 to $1,000
- Ringside seats: Even more!
The Rise of WWE Network
Then came the WWE Network. This was a game-changer. For a monthly subscription, you could get access to all the PPV events, plus a huge library of older content. I signed up for this. I can watch all kinds of old wrestling stuff from way back in the 80s. This is awesome. I don’t have to buy DVDs anymore, and I’m saving a ton of money. I think it was initially priced at something like $9.99 a month, which was a steal compared to the old PPV prices. For any wrestling fan, this was a dream come true. You could watch all the classics, relive your favorite moments, and keep up with the current stuff. It’s like a non-stop wrestling party on your TV or computer.
The Peacock Deal
Now, things have changed again. In 2021, NBCUniversal got the exclusive rights to show WWE stuff in the US. This means the WWE Network is gone in the States, and you have to go through Peacock to watch the events. It’s a bit of a bummer for those who liked the WWE Network setup, but it is what it is. It costs $4.99 a month, so it’s a bit cheaper. Or you can pay $9.99 to get the WWE Network, and that’s a better deal. I guess I can see why they did it, but it’s still kind of annoying to have to switch to another service.
Outside the U.S., the WWE Network is still around, but from what I hear, it’s going away in January 2025. It’s all going to be on Netflix then. That’s a big change! But in the U.S., you can still order the events the old-fashioned way, on regular Pay-Per-View. They say this whole WWE thing is worth like $9.3 billion. That’s a lot of money!
So, that’s my experience with WWE Pay-Per-View. It started as a special event thing, then it became a subscription, and now it’s a mix of streaming and the old-school way. The way we watch wrestling has definitely changed a lot, but the excitement of the big events is still there. It’s just a matter of figuring out where to watch them and how much it’s gonna cost.
