WWE TV Revenue Concerns Coming, What Sting Wants As Legacy

With the global pandemic helping WWE viewership to crater, there are WWE TV revenue concerns coming. Also, what does WWE Hall of Famer Sting want as his legacy?

WWE TV Revenue Concerns Coming

In light of the global pandemic, WWE TV revenue concerns are coming.

That could end up being a very big deal. WWE has had some really strong television contracts recently, with the move to FOX being a big part of that.

It’s safe to say at this point that, while FOX may be happy that SmackDown is still airing, it is not thrilled that each week WWE seems to reach new ratings lows.

So, when the next set of contracts come up for negotiation, it’s a fair bet that no network involved will be ponying up anything close to what was paid this last time around.

NBCUniversal and FOX each paid significant money to keep RAW and land SmackDown, respectively.

It wasn’t even that long ago that we were chasing reports that ESPN and WWE were in talks that could have seen some WWE PPVs air on the ESPN+ service, though those talks apparently fizzled.

Now, according to an industry journal, WWE is likely looking at shrinking contracts next time around. Networks pay in part based on expected ad revenues.

When WWE is hot, ratings are strong and ad revenue is good. When ratings are tanking (which they are), advertisers don’t want to pay as much, because their ads aren’t reaching the same audience.

With presumably less money coming in from network contracts and ad revenue, we may see WWE tighten belts more.

It’s also possible Vince McMahon could double down with the controversial Saudi Arabia deal as a way to help the cash flow.

What Sting Wants As Legacy

Every person has some sort of an idea of how they want to be remembered. It’s no different for WWE Hall of Famers, so what does Sting want as a legacy?

Well, Sting recently sat down for an episode of the Talking Tough podcast to catch up, and he provided some interesting perspectives.

Sting was on to primarily discuss the recent #BeGood initiative. Given his background, having him take part in something like that makes a lot of sense.

While talking on the podcast, he wound up on the topic of legacy. He was asked what he hoped fans would remember him for.

Man, I hope people remember things like my work ethic, being dependable, I didn’t pull no shows, I didn’t milk injuries, I had longevity,” Sting said. “When I was in the ring I tried to bring in every night. I tried to be as entertaining as I could, keep the crowd involved in the match

When I think back on Sting’s career, I would have to agree. He was a workhorse in WCW and it seemed as though he was never not there.

It’s a shame that WWE fans really didn’t get to see him in a WWE ring much at all. He took his time deciding to come back, and his return was cut short due to a neck injury.

I think this one fan on Twitter summed it up nicely:

In 98 Sting got me into pro wrestling. Around 03 I kinda fell out and got more into music. Whatculture/Cultaholic/WrestleTalk rekindled some interest in wrestling, but hearing Jon Moxley on Jericho’s podcast and his passion reinvigorated by leaving WWE and joining AEW helped…

— KrifterC (@CKrifter) July 29, 2020