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HOW TECHNOLOGY CHANGED THE WWE FAN EXPERIENCE

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Is there any aspect of life that hasn’t yet been touched by technology in one way or another? It’s transformed how we work, how we connect, how we stay up to date with all goings-on and, oh, so much more. Across all sports, you’ll find the integration of technology, including in wrestling. WWE has always felt like a forward-thinking organization, one that’s willing to embrace new developments at the right time, and that’s just what happened with tech. Free from the constraints of tradition that made other sports slow on the tech uptake, WWE made it part of the foundation’s operations in a move that affected both fans and the organization.

In this blog, we’ll dive into just a few ways that the digital revolution has affected the WWE fan experience, for better and worse.

Interactive Wrestling

If there’s a sport that lends itself well to the gaming world, it’s wrestling. Today, there’s no shortage of official WWE and regular wrestling games for fans to enjoy, on consoles, on the web, and on their smartphones. Muscle Hustle is the most popular iOS wrestling game, while at wildz.com, you’ll find ‘Luchadora,’ a wrestling-themed slot machine game. WWE 2K will also hit Playstation 5 in October, but you don’t necessarily need to play the latest WWE game or even a game on the latest consoles — people are still playing WWF No Mercy on the N64! 

More Information 

The instant access to information that the internet allows has been a blessing and a curse for WWE fans. On the one hand, fans can dive head-first into as much data as they can get their hands on; so, if you’re in the throes of wrestling passion, then the internet has you covered. In fact, you can quickly become an expert. On the other hand, browsing the web exposes you to outcome spoilers that would otherwise have been difficult or impossible to come across in days gone by. If you didn’t watch the wrestling event live, you must tread carefully.

While this type of information has impacted WWE viewing figures, something the organization is keen to avoid, it has allowed for a greater fan experience in other ways. WWE can adapt their strategy based on the feedback of viewers in real-time. If the fans aren’t loving one aspect of WWE, all they need to do is share their opinion en masse, and it’ll likely disappear from their screens pretty quickly!

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Watching Old Footage

WWE has been around for decades in one form or another, and there have been a lot of matches during that time. The rise of streaming video, especially services like YouTube, allows fans to watch classic matches from way back when, which only strengthens the connection between fans and their passion. Everyone knows that Triple H is a titan of professional wrestling, but younger fans would struggle to understand what all the fuss was about unless they could watch his classic matches from down the years. Now, they can do just that, and usually simply by clicking a few buttons. For older fans who do remember Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker in their prime, the many hours (seriously, many hours) of footage allows them to take a trip down memory lane and remember why they fell in love with wrestling in the first place. 

As we said at the beginning of the article, WWE has been pretty smart and proactive with its approach to technology. With tech becoming a greater part of our lives all the time, the organization is likely to be working on new developments that’ll continue to shape and affect the fan experience in the future.

 

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