Before WrestleMania this past April, WWE somewhat quietly rolled out a pretty big initiative. Or maybe it just seemed like WWE thought it was a big deal because the company made John Cena the spokesperson for it… but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
We jokingly called Club WWE a “Patreon tier” of the WWE Universe, and… honestly, it’s still a decent way to describe it. Membership costs $99 a year, and for that fans were promised exclusive content, rewards points and perks, and early access to and special
discounts on event tickets.
There do indeed seem to be legitimate ticket discounts, but whether those are enough to justify the Club’s entry fee probably depends on how much WWE comes to your area or how much you travel to see WWE shows. Early online perks have been underwhelming, like getting to choose “help” choose a cover star for one version of the WWE 2K27 cover.
Now reports are coming in on the “Founding Member Kit” that was sent to early sign-ups, and they aren’t changing the perception WWE didn’t have much planned for the Club beyond collecting fans’ money at the door.
This week’s WrestleVotes Radio covered reactions to the kit, which was sold as “a package of unique and exclusive items made just for founding members”:
“We are told WWE has received a number of complaints from fans who subscribe to Club WWE after the initial founder’s package arrived to members last week. According to a source, WWE has heard a multitude of complaints and frustrations both internally and online regarding the rollout and the perks and benefits associated with joining the exclusive club.”
Concerns within the company aren’t limited to the founder’s kit, either. Votes continued:
“Additionally, we are told there is internal frustration surrounding the rollout and overall usage of the club, with the source describing the process as disorganised and by-and-large uneventful.”
Whether that internal frustration is born out of the belief you shouldn’t take advantage of your customers, or just that you shouldn’t take advantage of them this blatantly? We can’t say.
But it is worth wondering if overpromising and underdelivering like this will ultimately impact WWE or TKO’s bottom line. Daniel Bryan Danielson was right when he called pro wrestling fans “fickle”, but that’s on a wrestler by wrestler or story by story basis. Overall, we’re historically very loyal. And as long as we remain generally interested in the WWE roster and what we’re doing, even short-term money grabs probably won’t drive enough of us away to teach WWE and TKO any lessons.
That’s just my take, though. In the comments below, give us your take on Club WWE and the early response to it.
