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The biggest Company in Entertainment wrestling recently held its most lucrative event of the wrestling calendar year, and it is not what you might be thinking.

WrestleMania might be the most popular event the WWE has on offer, but as of today, it pales in comparison to the Crown Jewel Event Held in Saudi Arabia. The WWE is expected to receive about $50 million for each event and it committed to a 10 year deal in 2018 to host at least two events in a year.

Now on the surface it may look like a greedy move, and it is for the most parts, especially when you consider the apparent lack of scruples on the part of the company considering the Saudi Governments human rights record. However, there is a lot more to it.

The WWE has been on an expansion of its international base over the last decade or so with the drop in its popularity on the domestic market. The glory days of company were in the early 2000s known as the 'Attitude era' which drew record attendances and made superstars out of their wrestlers.

The Problem

Since then, the viewership have received a steady decline as interest continues to wane. There has also been a lack of polarizing figures of the past like 'The Rock' or 'Stone Cold Steve Austin'. Many of the modern day wrestlers simply cannot command and control a crowd like back in the day.

Of course, a rapid decline in viewers often signals the demise of any media company. Such decline has been occurring with the WWE for the last decade or so albeit slowly.

In addition, there has recently been an attempt to introduce stiff competition into a space which the company operated a near Monopoly with the launch of AEW wrestling. While competition might be good for the industry generally, for a company that refuses to innovate it may often be the difference between success and failure.

These changes though have not gone unnoticed by the WWE. To hedge this decline and possibly reverse the trend, There has been responses in kind to try and align with the changing times and a foray into international markets was just one of them.

Furthermore, some modern evolution has been allowed to occur such as the recognition and empowerment of female superstars from being attractive divas to being bona fide wrestling superstars. One of the most polarizing wrestling superstars over the last few years has in fact been a woman, Becky Lynch.

The Technological approach has also changed in some instances. Take for instance viewing, where rights were the exclusive purview of TV companies. Now the WWE Network operates a Subscription Video on Demand/ streaming service that can cater to anyone with an internet connection, anywhere in the World.

Conclusion

Some of these actions are necessary in other to protect the future of the company. The concept of choosing to innovate is a universal one and might just determine which content survive when the competition gets really tight.