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The Italian Job: Why “Clash in Italy” is a pivotal test for WWE’s global expansion strategy

Hungry wrestling fans in Italy are about to eat quite well soon enough. On May 31, the WWE will bring its Premium Live Event at the Inalpi Arena in Turin. We still don’t know the matchcard but fans didn’t care very much about it: the event went sold out in a matter of days, after the tickets sale began.

The anticipation for the event is already building, even if we are more than a month away. For anyone looking to take this opportunity to bet on the winners of the matches that will take place in Italy, or on future WWE events or championship matches, there are bonuses and promotions available. For example, there is one from BetMGM, reviewed by the popular aggregator oddschecker on the page linked above. Exploiting offers made available by operators is a great way to keep costs down and rely on secure and certified platforms.

Why bother bringing PLEs abroad?

Now that WWE is on Netflix and everyone may watch sports entertainment sitting on its couch, with a relatively cheap subscription to the big red N, why bother bringing Premium Live Events abroad? The question makes sense. However, simply relying on television won’t be sustainable, in the long run. Wrestling is made for the people. It is impossible to live long without meeting fans. Wrestling enthusiasts need to see their heroes, hug them, take pictures, show billboards, count aloud with the referee during a pin, scream and shout the superstar’s motto and so on. It’s not only the meet and greets, it is the sense of being part of the show that is unmissable for the fans.

Then there are the financial aspects. Moving events around the world is a nice way of demanding higher tv rights. PLEs costs increase when you move superstars, dressers, crew and everyone involved in a top-notch wrestling promotion around the globe on a weekly basis. In order to cover them, World Wrestling Entertainment asks for higher rights and the networks usually agree to pay them, after all the WWE Universe has a lot of fans worldwide and each airing of the company’s shows means a massive success.

The moment seems particularly good to bring a show in Europe. English superstar Paige recently came back, at Wrestlemania, and is bound to be one of the brightest stars in a women's division that can also count on Giulia, an athlete that has italian origins and can please a lot of fans should she go to Turin. Organizing a PLE in Turin it’s not a bad move at all right now.

WWE events are slowly becoming expensive touristic experiences

WWE typically asks for aid and grants to the cities where the events are held. They do know that their PLEs are highly anticipated events that can bring a lot of people to a given location. The hype for a European event is way higher than the one for a US one. When the company brought Backlash to Lyon, France, 11,682 people attended the event in the LDLC Arena. That time it was a meaningful event, right after Wrestlemania XL, but it underlined the huge potential of European shows. Backlash 2024 was a breakout success and convinced Triple H and the WWE top brass to insist on a strategy to bring more big shows overseas.

The idea is to create PLEs with good matchcards (not necessarily great ones, but typically with a top rivalry and a championship match) and have several superstars available to meet fans and chat with them. The schedule covers the whole day, with press conferences, meet and greets, pre-shows and post-shows. A Premium Live Event configures itself as a field-day for tourism in the city where it’s held and gives a nice chance to hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafes and even museums to put out special offers and promotions. 

 

 The company puts the location under the spotlight for a whole weekend and acts as a touristic catalyst. Of course, by doing so it gains popularity and a lot of money, from the tickets, which are always more expensive, and from town halls. It’s a formula that is proving to work very well for WWE.

 

 

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