WWE Strategy To Bring In More ‘Casual Fans’ Revealed

WWE

The strategy that WWE hopes to use to bring in more ‘casual fans’ has been revealed by TKO President Mark Shapiro.

With Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming movie, The Smashing Machine, winning a prestigious award, Shapiro has revealed to Variety that the biopic is a part of a strategy for WWE.

The movie charts the life of MMA fighter Mark Kerr, who was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as portrayed by the star known to WWE fans as The Rock.

With both UFC and WWE under the ownership of TKO, the company’s president, Mark Shapiro, anticipates the biopic will help bring in a new demographic of fans to WWE, with the executive stating:

“For years, we’ve looked at it as scripted drama. It’s fun, it’s family and it’s made-up characters. But the truth is, these are real big time athletes who suffer alone right from the same struggles and physical challenges as everyday athletes, and at the same time prevail and conquer and win as often as everyday athletes.

“Our goal isn’t just to serve sports audiences. It’s to broaden our audiences into casual fans and into viewers who have an interest in emotional, moving, humanistic stories.

“So you’re getting someone who walks away from that film (The Smashing Machine) emotionally moved, who then maybe pauses and says, ‘I want to go to a WWE event,’ or ‘I want to watch a WWE event.’ Without that film, they may never have been triggered to do that.”

Shapiro has also recently discussed the future of WWE Wrestlepalooza, believing it will become a mainstay of the Premium Live Event calendar.

Wrestlepalooza takes place on September 20 and is the first PLE to air under the new ESPN deal.

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• The Rock
• Mark Shapiro
• The Smashing Machine
• TKO Group Holdings
• casual fans
• wwe

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