Vince McMahon is firing the only bullet WWE hasn't used to get you to subscribe to their streaming service. He's giving away WrestleMania.
Okay, not exactly - and not to fans who've already signed up and aren't desperate enough to try and save 10 bucks by cancelling and re-registering with a new email address and credit card. But for the first time, April 3's Showcase of the Immortals will be included in WWE's first-month-free promotion for the Network.
The new subscriber promotion started off in 2014 as only being offered in months without a major pay-per-view (PPV) like Mania, SummerSlam or Royal Rumble, but has gradually been expanded since. With many new markets now in play, a shrinking PPV revenue stream and it having been a while since they could trumpet a substantial bump in total number of subscribers, WWE is going all out in declaring that folks who subscribe in March will get the big event from AT&T Stadium as part of their gratis introduction to the service.
Also interesting is the use of Dean Ambrose to pitch the news, which is probably a good sign for his future potential as a face of the company guy... and an acknowledgement that so-called 'smart' fans more likely to cheer him than, say, Roman Reigns, might be the ones on the fence about commiting to paying every month for sports entertainment.
Good news, or at least good business strategy, Cagesiders?
UPDATE: Unsurprisingly, WWE is giving this the full court press, with additional videos from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Get ready @WWE Universe for some electrifying 'heart stoppin' elbow droppin' news for #WrestleMania32... pic.twitter.com/NmFLrvAfTT
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) March 4, 2016
and tag team champs The New Day: