CHINA: WRESTLING - World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) stars smite each other in staged fights to a new audience in China

Record ID: 852702

  • Title: CHINA: WRESTLING - World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) stars smite each other in staged fights to a new audience in China
  • Date: 13th August 2012
  • Summary: AUDIENCE CHEERING WRESTLER RUNNING AND GIVING AUDIENCE MEMBERS HIGH FIVES
  • Embargoed: 28th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAAUB8BOE5RQ73018J6TO4T8UK2
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: The Shanghai crowd screamed in approval on Saturday (August 11) evening as the half-naked giants in glittering spandex strutted into the ring and began slamming each other into the floor.
    From all over China the fans had come to watch their heroes fight at the first commercial American-style professional wrestling event in China.
    World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been in the wresting entertainment business in one form or another since 1952, but it did not hold an event in China until 2010, when it offered a free "smackdown" show during the Shanghai Expo.
    Saturday's Smackdown tickets cost at least 300 yuan ($47.17). The sold-out ringside seats were priced at 1,500 yuan ($235.83).
    WWE wrestling "matches" are no conventional wrestling -- the outcome of every WWE match is written in advance. They are, in essence, choreographed routines of violence performed by hulks in tights.
    Irish WWE wrestler Sheamus said he came to give Chinese fans a taste of their world-wide matches.

    "The fact is that WWE to me is the best entertainment company in the world. We are here today to show Chinese fans exactly what we do all over the world, that's entertain people. We bring them a great show with great characters, big and small, athletic, brawlers, giants and you know it always puts smiles on people's face that's what we're gonna do here today," Sheamus said.
    The Connecticut-based WWE starting building its Chinese business in 2007, signing distribution agreements with 10 provincial television stations and with online video sites Tudou and Youku, the Youtube-equivalents of China.
    Ed Wells, managing director and senior vice president for international operations, said WWE's growth in China has consistently been in "double digits."
    Wells, who said the 10 channels brought WWE to more than 130 million Chinese households, said the company aimed for the long-haul.

    "The China market is not a market that we want to just come in for a quick win and leave. We are looking to develop this market as a long-term business for us. So I think we'll be looking to continue to develop the content distribution, delivering more content across more platforms to the market place," Wells said.
    After the match, fans scrambled to check out WWE merchandise featuring its international roster of star fighters.
    But an outstanding question for the WWE is whether it needs to put a Chinese star in the ring to succeed - does pro-wrestling need a spandex-clad version of basketball hero Yao Ming? One fan said she was happy enough to witness international WWE super stars in the ring on Saturday night.

    "This match is the first WWE ticketed performance in China. I think it's great. It's much more exciting to be here than just watching it on TV. Many WWE super stars came this time. It's a great opportunity for us fans. It's a great privilege," said 30-year-old fan Wang Yunyun.
    One Chinese microblog dedicated to WWE has over 30,000 followers, and a search for WWE on Tudou returns over 50,000 clips, some of which have been viewed over a million times.
    Unfortunately for WWE and its online partners, pirated downloads are also popular due to regulator restrictions on violence.
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