WWE is finally starting to make inroads into one of the largest untapped market they have for their product, India. Known for being the second most populous country in the world with 1.4 Billion people, India has long been one of the markets many companies have tried to enter. Given the large population, capturing even a tiny percentage of the market enables the company to reach another level.
With the WWE Superstar Spectacle, WWE hosted one of their first televised events directed completely towards their Indian audience.
What WWE knows, and what not too many viewers know, is that WWE already has a large ready-made market in India. When it comes to viewership, WWE is second only to cricket, a sport that has been compared to a religion for many Indians. The large portion of the WWE audience in India is young and it’s a burgeoning audience. However, the biggest challenge that WWE will face in the country is breaking down societal and cultural barriers.
WWE is not widely accepted in Indian culture because the violence in the genre lends it a taboo quality that’s difficult to overcome. Thus, while large portions of the Indian audience are watching WWE, the same audience are not discussing it openly among themselves as the do cricket in fear of being judged. Getting acceptance among Indian audience will be the first and biggest step for the company.
The Indian WWE fanbase, however, can be divided into two broad categories – casual fans and smart fans.
WWE’s Indian Fanbase
Much like the rest of the world, India has a diehard smart fanbase for WWE, who not only follow RAW and SmackDown, but NXT as well, while also seeing the documentaries released by the company on their network.
With a massive broadcast partner in the form of Sony Sports Network, WWE is broadcast live, as well as repeated throughout the day at prime times, given the interest the product has garnered.
The second more casual fan may not regularly watch the shows religiously, but they tune in t times and add to the viewership tremendously, simply because of how many of them there are.
For example, according to reports by Economic Times, WrestleMania 33 had a massive reach across all their channels with repeats included of 67.3 million viewers. When it comes to consumption of WWE on YouTube, India ranks first as well. According to another report from The Bridge last year, WWE weekly shows attract a total of 335 million unique viewers over a whole week.
In 2018, WWE made the brave and controversial decision of deciding to push Jinder Mahal, someone who had only been treated as a jobber before. The move was an obvious one to pander to Indian fans, but it was not as successful as WWE hoped. While Mahal did appeal to the fans, the fact that he was a heel, that he had a stereotypical Indian gimmick, and that he was made Champion out of nowhere and with no apparent build all worked against him.
What WWE had failed to note, is that back in the day, they had already cracked the Indian equation with a giant. Mahal found success and pushed the WWE market in India more, but he himself did not find the same popularity that his predecessor had.
The Role of Indian Pro Wrestlers
When The Great Khali first came to WWE, he was fierce and known for his huge height. The fact that he used those attributes to run over his opponents, including the likes of Batista, The Undertaker, and Triple H, made him a convincing character. He was someone the fans could understand and get behind and they did in force. His popularity sky rocketed until he was a household name and every Indian knew of him, in the same manner they know of The Rock, John Cena, or Hulk Hogan.
Even more interestingly, when his weaknesses and slowness became more apparent and his push disappeared, his popularity in the Indian market didn’t. He is still famous and an extremely beloved figure among Indian fans. As a result, the natural push he got could be a lesson to WWE, as it was clear that much like the rest of the world, Indians like representation on the biggest stage, but only when it’s not forced.
That’s exactly the chance WWE has with their newest crop of stars at the WWE Superstar Spectacle.
WWE Superstar Spectacle
The recent Superstar Spectacle was huge for India and quite a lot of people tuned in, as it was the first time that WWE was shown taking active and real interest in the Indian wrestling scene. There was a lot of support there, but at the same time, people were worried the Idian show might be nothing more than another Saudi Arabia, where WWE panders to the fans and leaves and the Indian stars find no standing outside India.
However, those following the product know this is not the whole case as WWE is actively trying to make India their base of operations in Asia and that’s something that is appreciated. Superstar Spectacle allowed a lot of young stars to shine through, with Guru Raaj, Jeet Rama, Sareena Sandhu, Indus Sher, Dilsher Shanky, and Giant Zanjeer, all being appreciated by the fans for their performances. If WWE can continue to book them so strongly, and find others like them, then they might have found a huge launchpad for their product in India.
At this time, they have everything in their control, and it depends on how they plan to develop. Given the proper push, they could find themselves sitting with a massive market share in the country.
