As I’m sitting down to write this, I’ve had access to the newly-launched WWE Network for a little over 24 hours. While the launch was met with its fair share of admittedly understandable problems, the service has improved after those initial hiccups. When it is running smoothly, the Network validates that the WWE’s claims were not in hyperbole: the $10/month, “over-the-top” service is revolutionary in every sense of the word.
The WWE Network: It’s What the World (Should Be) Watching
The Content
Honestly, I was already sold on the Network with the announcement of two things: free pay-per-views (PPVs) and NXT. While I’m not one to purchase every PPV, there is no doubt I would watch them all if they were cheaply available. I also used to pay $8.99 for Hulu Plus for the sole purpose of streaming NXT and it was worth every penny. Asking for an extra dollar per month for live PPVs? Done-and-done. Any further content is just an added bonus as far as I’m concerned.
In the days of yesteryear (or, you know, last week), any wrestling fan who wanted to see an old clip had to either own it, if the match had even been released, or spend a good chunk of time scouring sites like YouTube or Dailymotion for a clip of the action that had yet to be taken down. Now, every PPV in the history of the WWE, WCW, and ECW, as well as a wealth of additional original and archival content, is only a few clicks away.
Signing Up and Streaming
These are arguably the most important parts of the service. It doesn’t really matter what’s on the Network if you can’t even sign up for it, or the content won’t stream once you do. As I mentioned above, there was a lot of trouble signing up for the service when it first went live early Monday morning. However, almost everyone I’ve talked to was able to sign up by the time Raw went on the air. The streaming was fine initially, but now there have been problems both getting content to load as well as navigating through it. The WWE has acknowledged that they are currently working on these issues.
As with the launch of any internet-based service, certain issues are to be expected. While they are certainly understandable at this juncture, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be addressed immediately. The first real big test comes with this Thursday’s NXT Arrival, the first live show on the site, and after that we will have to judge accordingly.
Still, there are also some improvements I’d like to see be made with regards to the actual function of the site once these initial issues are addressed.
Improvements
With so much content available, being able to navigate through it all and find exactly what you’re looking for is of the utmost importance. Right now the search function for programs is as easy to use as one could hope. For example, to search for specific PPVs, you simply click the tab for shows and then pay-per-views, and then use an easy menu to toggle between different promotions, years, and show titles. It’s unfortunate this same simplicity couldn’t be applied to searching for certain wrestlers or matches.
To search for a certain wrestler or match, you have to use a text based search option. Not only is this clumsy to use, but most of the options that come up have the result of the match in the title. I understand most of these matches are several years, if not decades old, but that doesn’t mean I should have to have them spoiled before I even get to watch them.
I’d also like to be able to search for specific wrestlers as easily as I can the events they were a part of. While I don’t need a special menu dedicated to the greatest matches of Mantaur, there’s no reason the Macho Man’s and John Cena’s of the world, or even special match types like Hell in a Cell, can’t have their own sections.
I would also like to see a chapters-like feature while watching events that allows you to see where certain matches start. This would make watching PPVs, especially longer ones like Wresltemania, a much more enjoyable task.
Judgment Day
Despite some initial issues with the service, I’m still keeping faith in the Network and definitely plan on keeping my subscription; even if these issues persist past the free trial week. The last thing I would want to do is discourage the WWE by dropping the Network when it has so much promise. If that means I have to struggle a little bit to watch Wrestlemania 5 on a Tuesday night? So be it.
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