WWE Shutting Down Home Video Division in North America

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com/wwe-dvds-cancelled-in-united-states-beginning-2022/200766/?fbclid=IwAR3xxcgGuY3FRKcDEX_s0v4E-xeRgUhn5b9poFfLO2IdRMirC5Qhf4MfGgo

It’s with a very heavy heart we must pass on the news to our readers that WWE DVDs and Blu-rays will no longer be offered in the United States beginning 2022.

WWE Home Video has had a physical media presence with DVDs since 1999, dating back further with VHS since 1985 (taking into account Coliseum Video). Over the years WWF/E would release their content on physical media via several formats; VHS, Betamax, Laserdisc, DVD, Blu-ray and even UMD.

The update sadly means 2021 will have been the last year for WWE Home Video in the home market, which includes Canada too since those releases were closely aligned with the US.

As for reasoning behind the move, while specifics haven’t been stated to us, the why is probably the obvious and in the end will boil down to revenue, coupled with the company putting less emphasis on DVD and Blu-ray in recent years and more of a focus on new content for the WWE Network and Peacock, whereby WWE content is streamed online.

Not surprising, but still sad.

[ToyfareMark]

I see a pretty big backlash (no pun intended) from this. I mean lots of people still like to get Wrestlemania physically every year.

[dbrussel]

Yeah. Sad but this is one of those things you can see coming.

Can't fight the tech progress

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Not surprising, but I think people are going to regret the trade of physical media for convenience when stuff starts getting randomly edited or disappearing.

[Deleted]

Dec 3, 2021 16:43:16 GMT -5 Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story said:

Not surprising, but I think people are going to regret the trade of physical media for convenience when stuff starts getting randomly edited or disappearing.

Yeah, I completely understand still wanting to own physical copies of things.

[Chiral]

I know this has probably been a long time coming with streaming but f*** this news hits like a gut punch.

So many good memories of getting WWE DVDs over the years.

[rnrk supports BLM]

I was introduced to pro wrestling via the old WWF Coliseum Video VHS tapes. It was inevitable, but it still feels like the end of an era.

[Limity (BLM)]

Dec 3, 2021 17:15:17 GMT -5 Chiral said:

I know this has probably been a long time coming with streaming but f*** this news hits like a gut punch.

So many good memories of getting WWE DVDs over the years.

My initial exposure to wrestling was pretty much WWF Superstars Saturday morning, and so renting tapes was my only other way to do it. I always remember when I'd go to a new rental store and find all new WWF tapes I had never seen before. I even bought some of my favorites and have them sitting on top of my DVD shelf.

It's crazy to think that the department has been around in some form since 1985. It will be missed.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

So this is why Impact released that Slammiversary VHS.

[mattyy]

I don't get why they don't just limit pressings and make them available on demand. There are still plenty of places in North America with little to modern internet access.

[doinkmark]

Dec 3, 2021 16:43:16 GMT -5 Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story said:

Not surprising, but I think people are going to regret the trade of physical media for convenience when stuff starts getting randomly edited or disappearing.

Not to mention as streaming service prices continue increasing and the streaming wars eventually weed out the less-successful.

[mo]

Not surprised, they’ve cut down big on them the past few years and the ones they do release are pretty lazy. I figured it was only a matter of time.

[David-Arquette was in WCW 2000]

This was inevitable, but still a shame. Lots of memories of buying videos and DVDs, starting back in 1999. Honestly, I've not bought a new WWE release since around 2016, for a number of reasons, but for the people that still collect, it's a shame.

Streaming is very convenient, but it's also getting pricey, and shows/movies can be removed from these services in a second. Or as mentioned, content edited out.

I still have a large collection of DVDs. Some are niche favourites that I just don't want to let go of for these reasons.

[bob]

and with that I will no longer have a physical copy of every Wrestlemania going forward

[the2ndevil]

[GuyOfOwnage]

My small town didn't have PPV access in my early years as a fan, so Coliseum Video was how I got to see all those shows. So many great memories renting those old tapes and seeing shows and matches I'd never have seen otherwise. And with the advent of DVD, I started collecting left and right, because with no Network back then, that's how you got high-quality copies of the old stuff. I mean, I get it, with technological progress and everything, but it still blows. Plus, as others have mentioned, digital gives content owners too much opportunity to edit things as they see fit on the fly, with the original never seeing the light of day again. Don't be surprised if this causes a bit of a spike in piracy of the live broadcasts.

[Limity (BLM)]

Dec 3, 2021 18:50:16 GMT -5 mattyy said:

I don't get why they don't just limit pressings and make them available on demand. There are still plenty of places in North America with little to modern internet access.

It might just be that the sales aren't there to support the continued existence of the division.

I would love to see them create limited collector's editions of certain popular events or documentaries. Like a boxset for Wrestlemania III or what have you. Move the physical media more into the memorabilia or collector market. But that's just me, I'm an absolute sucker for those things.

[I'm A Pop Sensation]

It's the end of an era

[Lizuka #BLM]

I feel like WWE would benefit extremely from some kind of catalogue system where you just lay out what you want them to press on a disc for you from their backlogs and they do it. There would 100% be a market for that, maybe could cost more to get collections of individual matches than whole shows or something.

[MiLB Fan]

When I first got into wrestling in 1992, I didn’t know when shows aired on TV. So I learned about my new interest by renting WWE and WCW tapes at Blockbuster Video; my dad copied them onto blank tapes for me.

When WWE started doing compilation DVDs, word would usually leak out about sets they were planning for the new year. It seemed like a Ted DiBiase collection was always on the docket, but obviously never came to be. It was fun speculating about what matches or segments might be included on a particular set.

At least we’ll always have the memories.

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