The WWE Network is a massive diamond mine sitting under fans' feet. The trick to perfecting it will be finding a way to help fans navigate all the mine's tunnels.
The streaming service can be overwhelming.
It's bursting with years of wrestling history. Decades' worth of offerings from WCW, ECW, WCCW and WWE itself await.
Content isn't the main issue with the WWE Network, though. Rather, it's the fact that it leaves the viewer to do the work of finding his way through that mass of mat artistry.
If you know wrestling history well enough, you'll know exactly where to go to find the network's best components. Those kinds of fans don't need to be convinced to sign on for the WWE Network. They were watching old clips of battles inside Madison Square Garden from the day the network launched.
It's the casual fans who would become diehards whom WWE needs to pull in order to move past a million subscribers.
The WWE Network should guide them, cater to their tastes and intensify their love of the squared circle. It can do that by borrowing from Netflix.
Rate, Recommend, Discover
One of the best aspects of Netflix is that it begins to know you better than some of your in-laws do. The service offers up suggestions that are often spot on.
Why yes, I would love to watch this Czechoslovakian surrealist horror film from 1970. How did you know?
The WWE Network can do this as well, introducing fans to lesser-known wrestlers or finding grapplers from yesteryear they have yet to discover. The WWE Network needs a rating system where fans can give between one and five stars to individual matches and shows as a whole.
This is how the service can begin to reveal its depth to the viewer—by showing fans more of what they are into.
Should a viewer rate a lot of Luke Harper and Sheamus matches highly, the network could recommend a few Stan Hansen brawls. Should he start watching a lot of tag team matches, maybe the network suggests bouts featuring The Midnight Express.
Fans old enough to remember Starrcade 1986 would seek that event out on their own. Younger fans would likely leave it untouched, not experiencing the full scope of the network.
To go further, the WWE Network can feature a page dedicated to recommendations. It would feature oft-updated lists of places to start.
Fans open the page to find five suggestions each for categories like brawls, high-flying bouts, hardcore matches and mat-wrestling clinics.
It should also have a section for the week's most-watched videos and the matches that have earned the highest ratings from fans. These additions offers a variety of paths to take, helping to fast-track viewers to the network's best stuff.
Feud/Storyline Playlists
A la carte matches can be plenty enjoyable. Even without proper context, it's hard not to watch Randy Savage and Tito Santana go at it on Prime Time Wrestling in 1986 without falling back in love with wrestling.
That grueling art form, though, is all about its story arcs.
The WWE Network contains some of the greatest rivalries ever contested between the ropes. They just aren't laid out for a fan to gobble up in successive bites. One has to know what to search for and then piece together the narrative himself.
In addition to the fabulous WWE Rivalries series, WWE should put together playlists of classic feuds.
Take the award-winning Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels rivalry from 2008, for example. Offer a collection of the key matches and moments in that story in a single place, somewhere fans can digest the entirety of Jericho and Michaels' hatred at their own pace.
| Event | Match/Segment | Notes/Match Type | |
| Backlash 2008 | Michaels vs. Batista | Jericho is guest referee. | |
| Judgment Day 2008 | Michaels vs. Jericho | ||
| Raw, May 26, 2008 | Michaels vs. Jericho | ||
| Raw, June 9, 2008 | Highlight Reel | When Jericho smashes Michaels into the Jeritron. | |
| Night of Champions 2008 | Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston | Jericho loses IC title due to Michaels' distraction. | |
| Great American Bash 2008 | Michaels vs. Jericho | ||
| Unforgiven 2008 | Michaels vs. Jericho | Unsanctioned Street Fight | |
| No Mercy 2008 | Michaels vs. Jericho | Ladder | |
| Raw, Nov. 10, 2008 | Michaels vs. Jericho | Last Man Standing |
Match Info from ProFightDB.com
Put together the best of Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko's feud in 1980. Show fans who have only heard of The Von Erichs and The Freebirds' rivalry what it was all about. Make it easy to relive Triple H's battles with Mick Foley in 2000.
New playlists are added over time, offering new large chunks of wrestling story to enjoy. From the Invasion storyline to The Summer of Punk, there is a long list of angles fans would love to see for the first time or experience again.
Superstar Pages
Type in Ric Flair's name into the WWE Network's search engine now, and his match with David Flair is one of the first things to pop up. Below that lies his clash with Shane Douglas at Slamboree 2000 and The Nature Boy interfering in his son's match with Dean Malenko.
If you were unfamiliar with the Hall of Famer's career and these were the first items you saw, you can't be blamed for wondering what is so great about this Flair guy.
Those items are not at all representative of Flair's career.
In addition to the search engine, there should be profile pages for some of wrestling's biggest names. Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund and Bret Hart should definitely be among those included.
On Flair's page, for example, the curious fan will see a list of every special he is featured in.
Place the WWE Rivalries piece on his feud with Dusty Rhodes, the documentary on his career that is already on the network and theWrestleMania Rewind specials the company will likely do about him all in the same place.
Also include a section filled with his greatest matches. Here's a place to pop in a Terry Funk or Sting vs. Flair playlist as well.
Flair-obsessed fans have hours of material laid out in front of them. Those less knowledgeable about his legendary career have a far better entry point to discovering his work.
Other Content
The more exclusive content WWE can offer, the more desirable the WWE Network becomes.
The on-demand archive is immense. While adding more material from the video libraries (e.g., stuff from Memphis Wrestling) would be welcome, there are a number of small items WWE can easily add to the streaming service.
The JBL Show is consistently one of the most entertaining and surprising shows WWE produces. It's random, fun and unexpected. Why not move that from its current home on YouTube to the WWE Network?
There are enough old episodes to get fans intrigued. Putting future editions of the show on the network is a no-brainer.
Give Zack Ryder a show while you're at it. The little-used and currently injured Superstar was at his most entertaining when he showed an unfiltered side of himself on his YouTube shows.
He first brought us Z! True Long Island Story a few years ago, a short glimpse into his life and showcase of his sense of humor. It often garnered over 300,000 views.
More recently, he created Zack Ryder's Last ReZort, which acted as a place for him to vent. It featured elements of him we never saw on TV.
WWE might as well make the most of Ryder's spot on the roster. Letting him do a show of his own (with minimal micromanaging from the company) would lead to a fun addition to the network.
It's smart to also borrow items that currently broadcast on YouTube, including press conferences before big events like WrestleMania and SummerSlam, as well as Superstar appearances at Comic-Con shows.
Sting's surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this year should have aired on the WWE Network after much teasing of something big happening.
Lastly, a more costly option is to film one house show a week and air it on the network. It doesn't have to have the same production value as the weekly programming. It would actually give the show a special feel if the film quality were a bit rougher.
Fun moments occur on these shows, and being able to access them on the WWE Network ups the service's value. Imagine seeing Cody Rhodes hit a moonsault off the top of the cage or German goalkeeper Tim Wiese stare down Goldust and Stardust.
Additional Depth, Early Looks at Today's Stars
The WWE Network, as expansive as it is, doesn't have everything in the company's collection.
There are no editions of Raw from 2000, 2003, 2004 or 2007-2009. SmackDown's archive is missing everything from 2008-2011. Eventually, WWE has to fill in those gaps.
What if a fan wants to see CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy's animosity boil over on SmackDown in 2009? What if he wants to see The Radicalz tear it up in 2000?
Beyond that, it's odd that WWE doesn't also throw in shows like Heavyweight Wrestling, Tuesday Night Titans or Shotgun Saturday Night. There are numerous underappreciated and little-known gems to be discovered on those programs.
If the WWE Network is supposed to be designed for the insatiable WWE fan, it's best to fill it with all the odds and ends available. Why not give fans options on top of options?
Material from those defunct shows is also a way to look back at how today's biggest names got their start. Each week, WWE could roll out a new batch of matches featuring the early days of current stars.
Feature Brock Lesnar's matches from Ohio Valley Wrestling. Give fans a look at Triple H's WCW career. Offer Daniel Bryan fanatics more of his in-ring wizardry to enjoy.
Bryan's first forays into WWE were often in dark matches and shows many of today's fans haven't seen (e.g., WWF Jakked). Introduce these matches during "Daniel Bryan" week:
- American Dragon vs. Spanky: Jakked—Dec. 11, 2000
- Bryan Danielson vs. Jamie Noble: Velocity—Jan. 12, 2003
- American Dragon vs. Rico: Sunday Night Heat—Feb. 3, 2003
- American Dragon vs. John Cena: Velocity—Feb. 4, 2003
- American Dragon and John Walters vs. Paul London and Spanky: Velocity—Nov. 11, 2003
That method balances nostalgia with enjoyment of the current product. It gives fans one more reason to carve out time to soak all this sports entertainment up.
A big part of getting subscribers to sign on and stick around is to have them psyched about future binge-watching sessions they are going to have. With a Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart playlist loaded up, an Undertaker profile page to explore and Cena's days in WWE developmental to discover, a fan is set for a WWE-induced coma.
That's the direction the WWE needs to go, taking viewers down the long road that is pro wrestling's timeline.
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