I must be seeing things… is that an official WWE YouTube page, and one that already has last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw online? This is so unlike WWE, embracing technology. They must have hired someone new in recent weeks, someone who told them that, you know, the Internet isn’t merely for “geeks” anymore.
So the YouTube page is up and running, and there are, in fact, past episodes of shows like Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown. Commercial-free, too.
This is a big deal, not necessarily because WWE is now offering shows online, but because WWE is offering shows online. This could be the most technology-averse entertainment company out there. They make the record labels look like 13-year-old Internet whiz kids. Case in point: the company only just recently launched an iPhone App, several years after the App Store’s début. (Accent over the e to show my fanciness.)
Another piece of evidence: play-by-play announcer Michael Cole, during the first few weeks of NXT, teasing people who use the Internet, specifically Twitter. Good one, WWE: you’re so desperate to be considered mainstream entertainment and yet you bash a tool that so many celebrities use to great effect. (You’ll note that WWE Superstars now tweet with reckless abandon.)
Now, I could use this moment to praise last night’s angle, embedded here, but I get the feeling that, oh, maybe 2 percent of you will have any idea what I’m talking about; I’ve already used up enough of your time.
If there’s one truism in pro-wrestling it’s this: everybody loves a good invasion angle.
via WrestlingObserver.com (obviously)