The WWE Network Is Good But Not Great……Yet

So I must admit, I was as giddy as a kid in a candy store (not me) or a fat kid who’s been given Carvel’s ice cream cake (oh definitely me) when I initially heard the announcement in late 2013 from Vincent McMahon that the WWE had full blown plans to platform it’s own network in 2014.

I mean think about it. If you’re a sports nut like myself you probably order the NFL Ticket/Redzone religiously every fall, NBA League Pass in October for all your basketball action and hell, even the MLB stuff takes precedence for you if you’re a diehard of America’s past time.

Here’s why the WWE Network is so intriguing though. It’s not reliant on cable providers for subscribers as it is strictly an broadband experience. You can view it on any mobile device, or most major consoles that allow you to download the app. And most of all it’s extremely affordable. To some, too good to be true. $9.99 a month (with a 6 month commitment.

Now the good about the WWE Network. For me personally I don’t watch present day wrestling, although I have many times left a crack in the door for the opportunity to return to watching it. Truth be told present day storylines are stale and/or recycled. But it will allow the opportunity for me to “get caught up” in the event I make my return.

What I’m most interested in is the vault. Most people that know me personally are fully aware of my affinity for the Hulkamania era and even the Attitude era of the late 90’s. But there was a time in the mid 90’s where I actually stopped caring for wrestling. Although I did keep an watchful eye on the product and main storylines, truth was I grew up a bit. I got heavily into real sports. That said wrestling still had and has a special place in my heart. WWE Network now provides that opportunity for me to appreciate the “Next Generation” that I once didn’t pay enough attention too.

Enter the late 90’s with the Monday Night Wars, the birth of the NWO, and of course the ever popular Attitude era. I was immediately drawn back.

The navigation of the WWE Network is extremely simple. Maybe too simple. But it is very user friendly and the glitches the early subscribers like myself struggled with in the first week of release have all but faded away. They have all the major PPV’s from the trifecta of WWE, WCW and ECW. Their vault is a work in progress and in recent weeks they’ve added more old school house shows which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

​If there is a negative it’s the major lack of old shows like Saturday Night’s Main Event, or Superstars of Wresting, and Primetime Wrestling to name a few. We’ve heard rumors that McMahon and co. are in the process of adding those old show to the Network which will only add much more value to the product. Ultimately I believe the library itself is going to sell this for the long term.