Yesterday at CES the WWE brought out their big guns to announce that the WWE Network would officially launch on Monday, February 24th. Vince McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, HHH, John Cena and more were on hand to celebrate the moment that the WWE has promised since 2011.
The WWE Network will be a 24/7 streaming service that costs $9.99 a month and can be watched on PC’s, laptops, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Apple and Android phones and tablets as well as Roku streaming devices. Smart TV and Xbox One support will be available this summer. You must give a six month commitment to the WWE Network right off the bat but the $60 investment is more than worth it.
What will you get for your 10 bucks a month? Quite simply, all of the wrestling content you could possibly dream of. I almost said “break it down” but resisted. Let’s get the rundown:
-All 12 monthly PPV’s beginning with WrestleMania 30 (which itself is $75)
-Every past WWE PPV
-Every past WCW PPV (DDP vs. Macho Man!)
-Every past ECW PPV (RVD vs. Jerry Lynn!)
-Previous episodes of RAW and Smackdown
-Weekly episodes of NXT
-Pre- and Post- shows for RAW and Smackdown
-Original programming including Legends House (like Big Brother with Roddy Piper, how is that not fun?), WrestleMania Rewind (looks back at WM matches with interviews from the wrestlers), The Monday Night War (regular series focusing on the battle between WWE and WCW) and WWE Countdown (interactive series where fans vote on a variety of “best of” categories).
Legends House also has me intrigued in a “boy this is going to be one, big, racist trainwreck” sort of way. I can say that WrestleMania Rewind and The Monday Night War will already be regular viewing for me as well. WWE has also promised that more original content is on the way in the future. There is no word if new episodes of RAW and Smackdown will be available but I would assume not with the WWE about to sign their new TV deals soon.
Let’s face it, that is a stupid amount of content for only $9.99. Even a cynical fan like me that has lost a lot of interest in wrestling over the past few years can’t help but get excited about this. The fact that I can cull through all of the old WCW and ECW PPV’s as I wish is worth the price alone. Add in the fact that you get all 12 PPV’s WWE produces, which is almost $700 a year, and there is no way any wrestling fan, no matter how disenchanted, can pass this up.
All content will not be altered for today’s PG-era either. All of the programming that is rated TV-14 or TV-MA will carry a warning before viewing. Does this mean I can hear Joel Gertner in his filthy glory? I sure hope so.
I have been a wrestling fan my entire life, and even if you (like me) are not pleased with the current product, the WWE Network will be a good way to go back and see why we fell in love with it to begin with.
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