NEWS > BUSINESS > WWE LOOKING TO HARNESS SCIENCE TO CREATE ULTIMATE WARRIOR

WWE LOOKING TO HARNESS SCIENCE TO CREATE ULTIMATE WARRIOR

May 23 2009

Stamford, CT – World Wrestling Entertainment is without a doubt one of the most successful media properties ever created. With almost sixty years in operation, millions of dollars in yearly revenue, and virtual control over the industry the WWE is a powerhouse. Like all companies the WWE is grappling with the global recession and
looking to find new ways to draw audiences and advertising revenue. Now the company is looking to its past to help resurrect its present and bring dollars back into the squared circle.

Though the company was around for many years beforehand, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the WWE really hit its stride. Names such as Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and George ‘The Animal’ Steele brought success and popularity to the league and the sport of wrestling that it had never before enjoyed. That success continued through the 90’s but in recent years has tapered off as audience tastes have evolved. Though most of those great wrestlers have since retired or passed on, the WWE, evoking the fighting spirit they were built on, are planning on bringing them back and hope science will help them recreate their greatest success.

“We are always watching developments in science and technology closely. Really it’s an essential thing for us to do. Better technology makes our craft better, makes our performance better, and makes things more exciting for our audiences. Technology is as important as charisma in the wrestling game,” said Chairman Vince McMahon. “In following developments we began to see the possibilities presented by developments such as cloning and genetic engineering. We feel that these technologies present us with the greatest opportunity in the history of the company and the industry and will bring a whole new legion of fans back to the squared circle.”

The company hasn’t detailed what wrestler’s they are planning to resurrect, nor how they plan to get around the technical difficulties related to contract issues and the actual process of cloning.

“A handful of the wrestlers have stuck around despite their age but it isn’t quite the same thing. Hulk Hogan can still make it around the ring but he doesn’t have quite the same energy he did twenty years ago. If they are able to successfully able to body slam the technical issues they are posed with, we could see a massive resurrection of the company,” said Scrape TV Technology analyst Ken Kevins. “The advantages of having that excitement back in the ring are enormous. You’ll bring back the fans that grew up with these wrestlers and bring in a whole new legion of fans who undoubtedly will be just as excited as their parents were when the originals were around.”

Other difficulties facing the company is tracking down samples of DNA from deceased wrestlers and contractual issues with those who left under less than ideal circumstances. Those issues circle around some of the biggest names from the 80’s including Andre the Giant, The Junkyard Dog, and The Ultimate Warrior.

“It would be relatively easy to exhume the bodies of the deceased or even pull DNA strands from living relatives, but contract issues might be a game killer. In the case of The Ultimate Warrior he legally changed his name to Warrior in order to retain trademark rights over the character. That would lead to some costly negations which the WWE is not going to like,” continued Kevins. “They would be able to grab DNA from living wrestlers with relative ease and low cost, but contracts and trademark issues are a totally different thing and this may not be the kind of situation where they can just bully their way into what they want.”

It’s not immediately clear what kind of interference steroids will have on the cloning process.

William Ashford, Business Correspondent

NEWS > BUSINESS > WWE LOOKING TO HARNESS SCIENCE TO CREATE ULTIMATE WARRIOR