WWE He is constantly looking to create new ideas and trends that get everyone talking about the company, especially things that can excite non-wrestling fans. It’s important to make noise around WWE and that’s something they always seek to achieve with their ideas.
Sometimes these trends work and are consistently followed by wrestling fans, but on the other hand, they can end up being complete flops that don’t last. There have been many of those situations over the years where WWE thought they had a great idea only for it to end up flop.
9 reseller
When it became clear that social media was growing up and becoming the next big thing, WWE tried to get ahead of the curve, but they backed the wrong horse and pressured all of their wrestlers into Tout accounts. Talent would create short videos to try to engage with fans, which was a good idea, but the problem was that people weren’t really using Tout.
They all ended up on other sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and that made it pointless for people to engage with Tout. WWE still pushed the concept though, which created some funny moments as Daniel Bryan constantly talked about it over the years.
8 Mixed Match Challenge
The Mixed Match Challenge was a good idea that WWE had that unfortunately never got off the ground. Every episode was on Facebook Watch, which was a new concept that the social media platform was trying to push, but the problem was that Facebook Watch hadn’t caught on either.
The matches also had zero bets, because despite WWE trying to push the tournament forward, all the partnerships were random and ultimately winning it meant nothing. Since the concept of social media didn’t become much of a problem, this quickly became something WWE gave up on.
7 WWF New York/The World
Theme restaurants were incredibly popular in the early 2000s and Rainforest Cafe became a real trend, and WWE tried to be a part of that. The company tried to start a trend by having their own restaurant where fans could eat and watch wrestling while there.
However, while WWE pushed it a lot by sending wrestlers there when PPVs were happening, it still didn’t take off to the level needed to sustain success. That’s why he finally shut down and put an end to this idea.
6 XFL
While this attempt to start a trend was Vince McMahon’s idea to create genuine competition for the NFL, he brought in a lot of wrestlers to try and get people interested in this. However, McMahon’s own soccer league never caught on, and the XFL ended up being a major financial failure for the company.
McMahon even attempted to revive this despite the failure that was during his first attempt. The second race didn’t work out either, and now Dwayne Johnson is hard at work trying to make this concept work for the first time.
5 Rise Up For WWE Campaign
Another attempt at trending that failed miserably was the ‘Stand Up For WWE’ campaign, which was an attempt to get as many people talking and promoting the company as possible. WWE wanted people to share things on social media and email others, always using the catchphrase ‘Stand Up For WWE’.
The slogan was not a good one, since it seemed that people were defending the company in an argument. However, the idea that fans should go to great lengths to spread the message that the company is great is not a good look.
4 world bodybuilding federation
Vince McMahon has always loved bodybuilding and that is why so many fighters who lacked talent but boasted great physiques have enjoyed careers with the company. This led McMahon to jumpstart his own company with the World Bodybuilding Federation, which McMahon hoped would get off the ground.
He promoted it heavily on WWE television, apparently thinking there was a crossover audience. The problem was that there was no crossing, so the WBF ended up failing.
3 wwf radio
Radio is great, but one that focuses exclusively on pro wrestling and WWE alone is always going to be a hard sell, but that didn’t stop WWE from trying. The radio station provided different commentary for certain PPVs, but that wasn’t something they noticed as people were fine listening to what was on TV.
There was also a calling program that worked for a while, but it didn’t catch on in the mainstream as ultimately few people are interested in that idea.
2 SmackDown your vote
Politics and professional wrestling are never something to mix because it will always turn out to be divisive and can cause arguments. But that didn’t stop WWE from getting involved in the SmackDown Your Vote campaign, in which the company pressured people to participate in the vote.
While it was a good idea, since getting more people to vote is always a good thing, WWE was obviously hoping to get some buzz out of the concept. That didn’t happen, and this idea was something that didn’t hold up long term.
Social networks are crucial in today’s world and that is something that WWE is very aware of. That’s why the company tried to create its own website specifically aimed at wrestling fans with the idea that everyone would come to it and just talk about the business.
The problem was that people didn’t want to do that and other social media platforms were much more popular. It led audiences to give up on this website and the company eventually accepted that it was a failed concept and moved on.