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WWE Hall of Famer Kane thought Vince McMahon was crazy when he launched the WWE Network in 2014.
Kane was the latest guest on the Doug Collins Podcast to discuss a wide variety of subjects. During discussions about his time in WWE, Kane told a story about when Vince McMahon launched the WWE Network.
"I think Vince’s real genius, [but] when he launched the WWE Network, we all thought he was crazy. You have a subscription-based network, wonderful," Kane said. “But he moved all of the PPVs over to the Network and we were getting $50 a pop or whatever it was for PPVs. When you go into subscription base, and you get all the PPVs $9.99 a month, so you get them for free, or not for free, but you know, that includes the PPVs. So, the PPVs at the time, were about 50% of the company’s revenue was coming off of the PPV. So you eliminate that whole revenue stream and move it to a different platform. Who in their right mind would do that?"
Vince McMahon proved Kane wrong about the WWE Network
While Kane thought it would be better to keep the four major pay-per-views off the WWE Network, Vince McMahon saw things differently, and looking back on it now, Kane can admit that he was wrong.
"That is exactly what he did, I thought he was crazy," Kane admitted. "What I thought he should do is, you keep the major PPVs like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. You keep those on your PPV platforms and you move everything else. Because those were the big revenue generators anyway. But that’s not how he saw it, and I was wrong. Now you look at the Network and the revenue is bigger than it ever has been. They’ve now exceeded on the Network the revenue that’s coming off the PPV. He’s not afraid to take risks."
What were your thoughts when Vince McMahon initially introduced the WWE Network? Did you think it was a good or bad idea? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
Thanks to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription of this podcast.
