WWE’s Legends Strategy Unlocks Net-New Revenue Opportunities

WWE’s Legends Strategy Unlocks Net-New Revenue Opportunities

Saturday Night’s Main Event returns to primetime television on Saturday Night (Dec. 14). The WWE series was a staple of late-night NBC programming throughout the mid-to-late 1980s and into the early ‘90s.

Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura will be on the call, once again. The legendary heel color commentator will be joined on the broadcast by a host of other WWE Legends. 

But this Saturday night’s event isn’t meant to be a talent reunion. WWE has made a concerted effort over the last ~two years to develop stronger relationships with its former stars–and to integrate them deeper and more broadly across the growing enterprise. Saturday Night’s Main Event simply provides an opportunity to plug some of them in as the show will lean heavily into viewer nostalgia.

The company sees an opportunity to use these legends as a means to bridge its multi-generational audience and unlock meaningful business opportunities. The hope/expectation is that the strategy helps to drive double-digit net-new revenue growth in relatively short-order.

Saturday Night’s Main Event originally ran between 1985 and 1992. The show is credited with helping to establish, or at least amplify, the second ‘golden age’ of professional wrestling in the U.S. 

The property was briefly revived in 2006 only to be discontinued after five episodes in ‘08. 

But it was given life again when WWE cut a broadcast deal to move SmackDown to USA Network in 2023. The company negotiated for the tie-up to include four annual primetime specials that would air on NBC. It chose to reuse widely recognized (at least by fans of a certain age), if dormant, IP rather than trying to create awareness around an entirely new entity. 

Ventura, who is beloved for his part in the original series, will return to live WWE television for the first time in more than 15 years on Saturday night. He won’t be alone, though. Roughly a half dozen superstars from the ‘80s and ‘90s, including Jimmy Hart, Koko B. Ware, and Tito Santana will be on hand.

Each of those legends has signed a ‘nostalgia deal’ with the company within the last few years.

The current WWE leadership team has made it a point to welcome talent that helped build the brand back into the fold. But Nick Khan (president, WWE) and Paul Levesque (chief content officer, WWE) aren’t doing it to simply garner goodwill, or because it’s the ‘right thing’ to do. 

The tie-ups also allow the company to work with these individuals again on a commercial basis.

That typically doesn’t mean in the ring. And nostalgia deals aren’t specifically tied to television appearances. 

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t value to both sides. WWE understands there is an opportunity for its legends to ‘top off’ many of the business categories it has established or plans to expand into.

Retro merchandise is atop that list. For a long time, WWE’s in-arena sales business was simple and t-shirt heavy. That changed when Khan & Co. signed a pact with Fanatics in 2022. 

The Fanatics partnership has helped enabled the promotion to dramatically expand its licensed merchandise offerings (which now include some higher-end products), and by making legend talent a part of that deal, the company has been able to add even more skus and drive fan per-caps north.

For context, WWE’s localized ‘Austin 3:16’ t-shirt (a product associated with ‘90s star Stone Cold Steve Austin) has been a top-seller two years running.

The nostalgia deals have also aided the company in better monetizing key milestones and moments (think: the 40^th anniversary of ‘Hulkamania’). 

The hope is that they help to draw some expired fans back into the fold too. 60% of attendees at WWE events are bringing a child along with them.

From a former WWE star perspective, there is seemingly little downside to signing a legends deal. They get to passively collect royalties on their name, image, and likeness while in retirement.

But WWE’s nostalgia pacts are more holistic in nature than a simple t-shirt sales endeavor. They cover premium hospitality and experiences, paid autograph signings, collectibles, video games, and a host of ancillary media content. 

The company is wisely using premium add-ons to ‘plus up’ its tentpole live event experience. Oftentimes, that means a meet-and-greet with talent. 

WWE’s legends strategy provides it with flexibility in terms of who can be included in hospitality packages. One must assume the wider the array of talent available, the more people the offerings will appeal to.

There is no doubt that children often drive purchasing decisions (see: toy business). But it is their parents who hold the purse strings and many kids who came of age in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s have reached the point in their careers where they now have the discretionary income to spend on more expensive products and experiences. It’s only logical that WWE would want to have a strategy in place to serve that demo’s wants and desires.

It should be pointed out that ‘kiddults’ are a fast-growing market segment with tremendous spending power (see: growth in trading cards, sneakers, action figure categories).

Having an expansive legends roster also provides WWE with some flexibility around when these premium experiences can be delivered (think: active stars have obligations around live events), which enables it to create smaller and more intimate offerings–and often sell them at higher price points. 

A high-end hospitality package at WrestleMania will run in the mid-five figures. Low-end packages at lesser premium live events could be had for less than $1,000. Access, talent, inclusions, and inventory all factors into OLE pricing.

While WWE’s experiential hospitality offerings are relatively new, leadership expects the business line will grow faster than the overall company over time. The model looks to be scalable, and the company has built a ton of star power over the last half century that it can tap into.

Legend talent is increasingly responsible for a growing percentage of WWE’s paid signing business too (think: one-to-one or one-to-few opportunities). Retired stars are now bringing in upwards of half of category related income.

WWE’s group licensing arm is also actively working to leverage these legends’ NIL and grow the top line. Look for Saturday Night’s Main Event arena and a litany of retired stars as playable characters in its next 2K video game release.

You can expect to increasingly see legends participating in newly created company IP too. That may be in the form of live events (see: the Undertakers’ 1 deadMAN SHOW) or a linear television show (see: WWELFG on A&E).

Or in some form of new media. There are seemingly endless opportunities for legends to recall stories from the past in podcast and digital video formats. The company can effectively monetize that programming with its robust YouTube following (and on other platforms).

Brands partners are often interested in nostalgia talent too. So, WWE’s deep roster should aid sponsorship sales efforts down the line. 

And awareness of these legends abroad is often greater than of active talent. So, one can imagine them helping to grow the brand and the profiles of newer stars internationally. 

While it’s fair to suggest that WWE’s scripted nature makes it different than traditional sport, much of what the company is doing with its legend talent is replicable across the big four leagues and major college sports; and of course, its sister company, the UFC.

Those paying attention will benefit.