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The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

The biggest wrestling organization in the United States is WWE, no doubt about that. The

company attracts millions of subscribers on social media and especially YouTube where it has

over 1 million subscribers. All this success is as a result of Vince McMahon’s dedication

combined with entrepreneurial prowess. This success did not come on a silver platter. In the

1990s, the company started on a positive note but hit a snag during the beginning of the 21st

century. From 2001 to 2005, the company experienced multiple losses but the business skills of

Mr. McMahon succeeded in turning the tide around. Since then, the company has navigated on a

positive note, signing deals after deals with TV giants. The turn of events shows that the

company has internal and external environmental issues that need to be sorted out.

WWE internal environment includes their strengths and weaknesses. Its external environment

includes opportunities and threats. The strengths of the company include technology, brand

integration, loyal fanbase, excellent storylines, and different types of contests. Its weakness is

singular leadership, dependence on superstars, imitation, and dangerous moves. Opportunities

that the company is presented with are international growth, increased revenue, and women. The

company is under threats from competition, injuries and retirements, finances and stocks, and

legal issues.
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WWE is one of the companies that enjoy the fruits of technology. A good example of

technology used by WWE is pay-per-view. The company can now receive money directly from

viewers after breaking free from broadcast television. The company has effectively integrated

different brands into one, for example, WrestleMania and Raw. This has increased the revenues

of the company. WWE has a loyal fanbase brought about mostly by the multiple superstars

taking part in matches. Most people usually get glued to their TVs during showtime to watch

their favorite superstars. The directors of WWE always come up with excellent storylines. Some

of us grew up knowing that Cane was Undertaker’s brother and that Undertaker is really an

undertaker. Some of us knew that StoneCold Steve Austin and The Rock were actually sworn

enemies. People follow these stories week by week to know how it will all end. The various

types of contests such as Ladder Match and Hell in a Cell give viewers different tastes of the

entertainment.

The fact that WWE operates under the single leadership of Vince McMahon is a weak point. He

has built the company from scratch and struggled with it for over thirty years. There might be a

leadership void if he decides to step down or retire from active duty. WWE is overly-dependent

on superstars to push the business forward. Superstars like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John

Cena, Dolph Ziggler, and The Bar are just a few of the many superstars that attract millions of

viewers. When these people pull out from wrestling to concentrate on something else like acting,

WWE loses a significant number of viewers. The moves practiced during matches are dangerous

and lethal. That is why before the show starts, in the middle, and at the end, there is always a

warning that says, “DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.” The bad thing is that no one listens to this

warning. This results in multiple cases of children with broken bones after trying to perform

WWE moves at home.

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WWE has the opportunity to expand into the international arena. Instead of bringing in

superstars from other countries into the U.S.; for example, Shinsuke Nakamura and Ariya

Daivari who are Japanese and Iranian respectively, the WWE can start competitions and

championships in other countries to stay ahead of any competitors. The company can make a lot

of money just by allowing their superstars to fight in a different country. The company also has

the chance of increasing revenues through merchandising and live events. Most of the gears

worn by the superstars can generate a lot of income if made available to the public. Throughout

the course of the WWE history, women have been left behind in terms of their own show that

does not involve men. Women wrestling can bring in a lot of profit and fans. This can be

confirmed by the amount of fanbase and income brought by Ronda Rousey and Liv Morgan.

When women are allowed to perform on their own show on a different day of the week, that

show can do wonders to the company.

The rise of Top Non-Stop Action (TNA) threatens the existence of WWE because of the

competition TNA brings. Superstars that feel that they are not interested anymore in the WWE

can move to TNA. Superstars usually move with their fans. It is also difficult to control people

who have attained the superstar status. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is also

taking away some fans from the WWE because of its real nature. Injuries during matches are

usually serious, life-threatening and can also lead to early retirements depriving the show of the

necessary superstars. WWE is performing badly in the stock market. Regarding legal issues,

WWE has been sued numerous times and is not a stranger in the corridors of law. A famous case

was when CM Punk sued the company over their methods.

Other than the internal and external environment, the company should also take into

consideration Porter’s five forces and the PESTEL analysis. The five forces are a competitive
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rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, the threat of substitution, and the threat of new entry.

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors

that impact WWE.

It is critical for WWE to consider the capabilities of its competitors. Its main competitors are

TNA and UFC. The company beats its rivals in terms of quality because it has the best

entertainers in the industry. WWE fans are usually the most loyal customers. There are people

who have been watching the show since it was introduced and are still continuing to watch it.

The company does not have to worry about the supplier power. There is always a constant

supply of talent ready to join WWE and the company hires only the best. When assessing buyer

power, the company studies how easy it is for the customers to bring down prices. The customers

of WWE include the people who buy tickets to watch live events and also the people to buy

subscriptions to watch the show at home. The customers usually have bargaining power if there

are many sellers. In this case, there are few sellers, therefore, they do not have the liberty to bring

prices down.

Regarding the threat of substitution, it is not easy for a customer to switch from WWE to another

show. This is because the fans are usually followers of certain individuals. As long as these

individuals are still with WWE, there is no threat of substitution. The threat of new entrants

determines how easy or hard it is for competitors to join the industry. WWE uses well-

recognized and respected superstars as an entry barrier. Any company willing to penetrate the

market must have the financial muscle to hire superstars. The financial muscle is one thing that

WWE has, and the competitors do not have.

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The political factors that can impact WWE include taxation, mandatory employee benefits, anti-

trust laws, intellectual property laws, trade regulations, pricing regulations, and wage legislation.

The government can decide to increase taxes on the industry. The employees of WWE include

the wrestlers and the people working in the management. The political environment can come up

with mandatory employee benefits that might increase the spending of the company. Anti-trust

laws can be instituted to protect the consumers in case the business owners become greedy. The

various superstars have their own styles that are protected by intellectual property laws. The

government can come up with trade regulations to regulate competition among the various

businesses in the industry. When the government decides to regulate the prices, the company

might suffer losses. The political environment can even come up with wage legislation that

dictates the wages of employees.

The economic factors impacting WWE include government intervention, inflation rates, interest

rates, and infrastructure quality. When the rate of inflation increases, the company will have to

inflate the prices of tickets and subscriptions to maintain profits. Customers might refuse to pay

the inflated prices. The government can intervene in any business if it finds out that government

laws are being violated. Rising interest rates might affect the company in case it decides to take a

loan. The quality and prices of infrastructure used – e.g. ladders and cages – might have an

economic impact on the company because there is usually a lot of destruction during matches.

The social factors include attitude, culture, and leisure interests. When the attitude towards the

show changes, customers might stop attending matches. The organizational culture is important

as well. When some aspects of the culture are changed, the viewers might get disinterested. Most

people watch wrestling during their leisure time. What if they get too busy and do not have

leisure time?
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Technological factors are recent and current technological advancements and technological

impact on the product. Technology increases the efficiency and effectiveness of a company’s

operations. The use of technology can also reduce the number of injuries.

Environmental factors include pollution laws, weather, and recycling. When the company’s

business is polluting the environment, the government might come for them. For example, the

excessive use of fireworks and loud music are pollutants. When there are extreme weather

conditions, customers will stay at home. The company should also ensure that used products are

recycled.

Legal factors include health and safety laws, data protection, copyright laws, employment laws,

and discrimination laws. The company should adhere to health and safety laws. It is responsible

for the health and safety of the participants. The company is also responsible for whatever data

and information it has regarding employees and wrestlers. In a business that involves people

from various races, gender, religion, and culture, discrimination laws should be enforced to

protect minority groups.

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Works Cited

Dess, G D, et al. Strategic Management: Text and Cases. 9th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2018.