5 Ways to improve WWE's Worldwide Popularity

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The one thing that every wrestling fan can hang their hat on is that The WWE has no plans on slowing down any time in the near future. Vince McMahon appears to be hell-bent on becoming a global entertainment giant that garners the same respect and power as Universal Studios, Viacom, or any other number of world-renowned media companies.

But of course it starts with wrestling, and in order to grow by leaps and bounds, The WWE will rely on what it knows best. In order to reach the ultimate goal of global domination, I give you a few first steps that just might get the ball rolling.

Make the RAW Draft a PPV!

What if instead of having the WWE draft on a three-hour RAW later this summer, The WWE made it a stand-alone event similar to The Hall Of Fame Induction ceremony.? I am sure that a theatre like Radio City Music Hall or even an arena setting would sell out well in advance. The WWE could heavily promote the event months in advance, and truly make the draft a major annual event.

Would it not be an awesome spectacle, having a live three-hour event on a Sunday afternoon, with WWE announcers breaking down the wrestlers attributes and values? They could incorporate trades and surprise draft choices, and even have a ring set-up for impromptu challenges and stipulation matches. An event like this would be a great opportunity for WWE to give wrestling fans a new experience that has not been tried before.

Take advantage of the female fanbase

What I am always most surprised by when I attend a live WWE event is how many women are really into professional wrestling. It has become less of a boys club in recent years, with the WWE heavily pushing its Divas division. Some weeks it seems we see more women with in-ring action on RAW than the men.

WWE could really take a leap forward with its female fan base with specialized marketing program geared towards girls under the age of thirteen. I think animated programming featuring the WWE Divas makes total sense. Now I am not saying I am 100 percent on board with the TV-PG era of WWE, but if they want to appeal to kids, than this is the way to go.

Another smart move would be to take advantage of the fact that Mattel toys exclusively produces WWE action figures and accessories. Mattel has also put out Barbie dolls for the last fifty years, and having an exclusive line of WWE Diva Barbie’s would probably be huge sellers. While they are at it, though it pains me to say it, a John Cena or Randy Orton Ken doll would likely fly off shelves as well.

More Major Events Held In Stadiums

OK, this could be a tricky one. But you only have to answer one question: Why not? Of course the fact that Wrestlemania has become the one major event every year that is held in a stadium or dome makes it that much more special, but you can not convince me that a Summerslam or Royal Rumble couldn't sell out similar places.

It might take a little bit away from Wrestlemania, but if WWE thinks they can put more people in the seats, than they will try it. I do not see the problem in making a few more annual events as big of a spectacle as Wrestlemania. The one thing that WWE can not worry about is over-exposure. They already sell out almost every night all over the country, actually the world, and if they tweak ticket prices just a little they might be able to put sixty or seventy thousand people into multiple events every year.

The exact opposite of the above!

This might seem a bit contradictory to the point I was making about holding events in larger arenas, but the selfish fan-boy side of me would love to see a few WWE events held in small theaters.

A few years back The Rolling Stones, who are still generate more money than any touring band in the world, did a small US club tour. The thought of seeing a larger than life band in a small setting is kind of a holy grail for music fans, and I feel that it might just apply to wrestling fans as well.

I don't really know if this would help grow WWE to bigger heights, but I decided to include it on the list anyways. Maybe they would call it "Fan Appreciation Night", where lucky fans could be given the opportunity to witness to an old-school type wrestling show featuring current WWE superstars. WWE could hold events like this in any city, and they wold be guarantee sell outs.

Many bands will release special posters or prints that are specially designed by local artists for individual concerts. This would be a great way to give local communities the chance to shine, by having contests for exclusive art to be used on shirts and posters for the event. The key to all this is that it would be a new concept for WWE, and could really make fans appreciate the current product on a new level.

Having your biggest star drop the belt at home

When John Cena promised the world that next year’s Wrestlemania match with The Rock will be for the WWE Championship, he was not lying. What he didn’t tell you is that The Rock will be defending the title in front of his home town in Miami.

It is a very obvious and very possible scenario. The bottom line is that The Rock will not be making many television appearances over the next six months. What the WWE basically wants is for everyone to all but forget about The Rocks involvement at Wrestlemania 28. Between now and next year John Cena will have his feuds and his matches, but will fail every time in securing the WWE title.

This brings us to January. Back in 1992, the WWE championship was left vacant and it was decided that the winner of The Royal Rumble would become the new champion. This led us to what I consider one of the top Royal Rumbles of all time. Ric Flair entered the Rumble third, and went the distance to become the new WWE champion.

The WWE universe should repeat history and have a vacant title going to the winner of the 2012 Royal Rumble. And your surprise entrant and new WWE champion is…The Rock. Having The Rock come back in January and securing the title will be the perfect start to the road to Wrestlemania. Having The Rock back on RAW every week, taunting John Cena, telling him that he made the people a promise, and couldn’t keep the promise, so The Rock had to come make sure that the people got what they deserved, a WWE championship match at Wrestlemania between The Rock and John Cena.

This is the perfect way to go into Wrestlemania, and since we all know that The Rock will never be back on a full-time schedule, having him put John Cena over in an epic Wrestlemania main event will be outstanding.

I'm not going to lie, the bleacher are the kings of talking pish but that scenario with a vacent title and Rock winning it at the Rumble is epic booking IMO

Yes, except given the number of guys the Rock as lost to in WM main events I don't see him wanting to lose another main event match there...

Plus any kind of Cena heel turn in that situation will be seen as a repeat of Austin in 2001

I actually like the idea of a draft being the PPV, that could make a great event.

Josh I don't think Rock is to concerned about his win/loss record, when you're as good on the stick as he is then it just doesn't matter, plus it will be 10 years since Hogan did the job for him, i believe Rock if good for the biz would put Cena over

Hero would you pay for something thats been free for years? Maybe if they had a legit phone vote to draft 1 talent then it might be an incentive

Im sure they're doing the Trade one instead of the draft this year.