The lauch of WWE Radio

If you can't beat them, join them.

It applies across the board in any business, brands look to secure as much of the market share as possible. One of the many reasons that the WWE is the undisputed king of sports entertainment is, while the pyro and ballyhoo might stray away from the purist building blocks of the foundation of the sport, the product is tailored for the widest demographic possible. Sure, the most knowledgeable and dedicated fan base might scoff at how often TKO pedals the lowest common denominator, sometimes to the point of insulting the viewers' intelligence, but that strategy is what allows the most dim-witted hillbilly wearing a red hat to understand the product.

In many ways, WWE is the Walmart of pro wrestling since its easily accessible and relatively affordable, despite some of the price shifts within the past two years under the direction of TKO. Just like the retail chain, not all of the WWE customers are the brightest bulbs. Still, revenue is revenue, and the ability to monetize more or less every revenue stream possible is one of the numerous reasons that the brand is so strong.

That's why the announcement of the launch of WWE Radio, a 24/7 audio channel on SirusXM channel 156, this week wasn't too surprising.

Again, the reason that WWE is a billion dollar corporation that is publicly traded on the stock market is that the company often maximizes its opportunities to make the make cash possible for each scenario. Along with that comes not leaving potential money on the table either. Make no mistake about it, when WWE brass sees a concept that makes a significant profit, both with the proof of concept and potential longevity that justifies an investment, they will look for a way to get at least a portion of that market to make money from it.

They was a time when pro wrestling podcasts were purely audio, but through the advancement of technology, specifically with streaming platforms becoming more commonplace in more recent years, the concept evolved into video form, transitioning into more of a traditional television presentation, albeit with a different format on a different platform. The pro wrestling podcasts from the Colt Cabana days were on-the-go listening through an iPod either at the gym or in the car. Hence why those episodes were generally about an hour as they were designed for commutes. Within the past decade, the paradigm shifted to the point that podcasts can hover around 90 minutes or up to two hours, with viewers able to watch a full productions with sets, video clips, and even commercials on their couch through numerous streaming options. Sure, viewers have the choice for an audio version for a drive, but there's a full visual presentation that makes podcasts now comparable to watching any other type of television show.

Through the advancements of technology, specifically the ability of podcasts to be produced and streamed live on platforms like Youtube, even with participants in different places, there are several pro wrestling figures that have found an audience to make a decent amount of cash through their podcast ventures. Of course, there's Youtube revenue based on the ads that run on the videos, but the shows themselves often have sponsors to generate money for the project.

Obviously, the WWE wasn't going to let those outside the scope of the company have that entire market share, as well as the cash that goes with it. Jim Cornette, Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, and others proved that there was money to be made from the pro wrestling podcasts on a continuous basis so with prove of concept already verified, it became a matter of the WWE putting their official brand into the podcast industry. When The Undertaker's podcast got a lot of attention, mostly because of how guarded he was an an on-screen character for a few decades, it didn't take long for the office to notice. About a year or so into its initial run, the WWE took over The Six Feet Under podcast, moving it to an official WWE Youtube channel. Co-host, Matt Lyda was abruptly replaced with The Undertaker's wife, Michelle McCool. It's no coincidence that Cody Rhodes and Stephanie McMahon also launched podcasts relatively recently.

Again, why leave money on the table if there's a proven market for it?

Similar to how the WWE was able to use its association with The Undertaker to take over the distribution of his podcast, it wasn't surprising that Busted Open Radio, one of the few independent programs that covered the entire industry through a relatively objective view point, will now be under the WWE umbrella through WWE Radio. The host, Dave LaGreca built something outside of the mainstream realm of the WWE that had enough cache over the years to become a source for fans to get feedback or news on the business. However, the entire point of any business venture is to make a profit, and you can bet that LaGreca is going to make the most money of his podcasting career as a paid shill for the WWE. That's not a knock, either. If he can make that cash then he should take it, that's capitalism. LaGreca wasn't going to be able to be opposition for the WWE, their brand awareness is far too big so it only makes sense to join the team and get paid in the process.

That being said, I'm not sure the 24/7 radio channel means all that much in the grand scheme of things as far as promotion of the product. It's possible that those shows will spill over onto the WWE Youtube channel, but let's be honest, with the plethora of content that the company has on that platform, the radio segments could easily get lost in the shuffle. However, and this might be the bigger point of this entire venture, it freezes out narratives of any other pro wrestling company, including All Elite Wrestling. Thunder Rosa, who was a contributor to Busted Open Radio, is said to be gone from the show, and the expectation is that AEW won't be covered going forward. While Busted Open will retain most of its audience, I find it very hard to believe that with so many options for viewing in the modern era that fans will opt to listen to an audio version of any of the pay-per-views.

The original version of WWF radio that lasted less than a year in 1994 might've had a chance to get fans to listen to an audio format of shows because PPV had exponential less distribution than it does now, but the launch of a concept in 2026 is basically WWE buying PR for the TKO corporation. These efforts to increase their own narratives on another platform indirectly take any of the headlines away from All Elite after a signature event.

This isn't anything new for the WWE, even within recent years. Matt Cardona's Major Wrestling Figure podcast, a venture that he started before his WWE release in 2020 and continued after his return at the start of this year, released an action figure line of Big Rubber Guys, a throwback to the LJNs of the 80s. Cardona and his co-host, Brian Myers took the risk to find out if there would be a market for the scale of figures at a $50 price point through an independent release. After Cardona and Myers proved that there was money to be made with the concept, Mattel released WWE LJN style figures with mainstream distribution at Target. Since it was mass retail, Mattel was able to price the figures at $24.99, which is one of the advantages that the corporation has over independent distributors. Make no mistake about it, if there's money to be made with retro figures, WWE is going to make sure that it gets a piece of the pie.

Ultimately, regardless of if there's money to be made with WWE Radio, or if it's simply the intrinsic value of taking a portion of the pro wrestling discussion away from the AEW product, it's another way for TKO to try to secure more of the market share of sports entertainment.