The current storyline on WWE’s Monday Night Raw deftly demonstrates the promotional prowess and marketing magic that have made the show a cable power player, and has shown how the WWE manages to stay on top even in tough economic times. Three weeks ago, in a brilliant attempt to compete with a media -frenzied John and Kate Plus Eight scandal, WWE President & CEO Vince McMahon “sold” the program (due to these harsh economic times) to Donald Trump, but then immediately regretted his decision, repurchasing the brand for double the cost the following week.
Nearly seven million viewers tuned in to see what Donald Trump would do with a bucket of pyro and a roster of wrestlers. It wasn’t long after these record results were yielded that McMahon announced that instead of one general manager overseeing Raw, each week would bring a new face to create matches, alliances, villains and champions. This has created an ever-evolving character or guest host providing limitless opportunities to jolt the show with more life, more air, and most importantly more viewers.
Testing the waters the first week with some caution, the WWE named Dave “The Animal” Batista as the guest host; a name that excited WWE enthusiasts, as he is currently on leave suffering from a torn bicep. Batista (as he goes by) has a real beef with current Champion Randy Orton and put him through the ringer scheduling him for fight after fight throughout the night.
At the end of the show, they announced that Ted Dibiase (AKA Million Dollar Man), would guest host the following week hopefully as a draw to bring back old school fans. Dibiase is famous among wrestling fans for his “heal” or bad guy persona he made famous in the 80’s and 90’s with WWE. The throwback could be an attempt for the WWE to cater to past fans at a time when there is Monday Night Football or the NBA to compete with.
Then in an attempt to shake things up the next guest host was announced to be Seth Green. Seth Green? Yes, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Austin Powers, 5’4,” potentially 140 pound star, stood face to face with such big guys as John Cena, Triple H, and Chris Jericho. He even put himself smack in the middle of a 6 Man Tag Team match. Green wasn’t only there for fun, he promoted his newest project Cartoon Network’s hit Adult Swim series “Robot Chicken” through a series of clever dialogue and vignettes alongside the wrestlers.
The role of guest host works not just to add novelty and viewers to the program, it also creates a platform of promotion for the host, which certainly is a revenue generator for WWE. WWE has put a new exciting face on a format that has been a proven success for Saturday Night Live and numerous talk shows.
How has this guest host idea worked out for the show’s ratings? The WWE is on the eve of announcing their 2nd quarter earnings and though they haven’t seen the kind of numbers that Trump’s appearance brought in, the angle keeps a degree of mainstream appeal and relevance for the company, while allowing key storylines to gain momentum and keep viewers entertained.
So who will be the next guest star in the squared circle? It was speculated that the honor would be bestowed upon “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, another throwback wrestler. However, speculation couldn’t have been more off the mark, it was announced that the host would actually be Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. A brilliant move for both parties, as the band is looking to garner publicity for their current tour, and the WWE Universe is dying to see an answer to the age old question: what would ZZ Top do with a steel chair, a sledge hammer, thumbtacks, and a locker-room filled with talent?
Yes, by consistently reinventing itself, by thinking out of the box, by partnering and cross marketing with both the familiar and the new, and by not being afraid to take a chance, the WWE is a marketing model which many businesses should be thinking about to get back on their feet again.
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