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Wrestling has been a mainstay in popular culture for centuries at this point. No matter where we are in history, the appeal of seeing combat, whether real or staged, has never been lost on us. And as human society and technology have evolved, so has the wrestling industry.
These days, wrestling is fully embracing the internet age, and one of the ways it can further do this is through Web3. Widely considered the next stage in the internet’s evolution, Web3 and its associated technologies have a lot to offer the world of wrestling, some of which are as follows:
Web3 businesses are some of the most forward-thinking and aggressive in the modern age, and many opt to sponsor various sporting events. Should wrestling federations accept such endorsements, they can tap into the growing market of web3 consumers. Take the crypto space, for example. More people are using these digital assets than ever before, and the demand for these assets is only going. More and more, people are looking to buy Bitcoin without KYC to protect their transactions and ensure anonymity. This way, they are free to contribute to wrestling corporations and bodies without unwanted attention.
Should crypto-related companies sponsor wrestling tournaments, those interested in crypto will pay more attention to these tournaments and in turn, existing tournament watchers will pay more attention to cryptocurrency. We’ve already seen these in the crypto endorsement of sports like football and UFC, and soon, wrestling might be the next in line to receive the same treatment.
Wrestling fans are often quite passionate about their favorite leagues, players, and so on. This lends itself well to creating organized fan bases and also creates an avenue for web3 integration. In the past, we've seen Web3 being used to tokenize experiences and offer perks to fans. This could be NFTs granting access to exclusive events, such as Coachella, fan tokens being used to unlock rewards, and so on. Wrestling bodies wishing to connect more with their funds and promote certain experiences can do so through various digital assets. For example, experiences could be traded or transferred to fans using these assets, as this creates more ease. It is also worth considering things like NBA Top Shot, which tokenized specific moments within basketball games and makes them accessible to fans. Given that Wrestling is all about the spectacle in many cases, such assets can easily find a home here.
Another victory of Web3 is creating greater accessibility in terms of ownership. A person looking to buy a stake in a wrestling establishment or team would have to spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars. But if ownership in a team is tokenized and sold, fans can invest for much less. This means smaller leagues and teams can raise the funds they need by connecting with fans, and the fans, in turn, can create a source of passive income. Tokenized ownership has been used for things like real estate and art, but eventually, it could apply to sports teams as well, including the world of wrestling.
Any physical activity that garners a passionate fan base will find an opportunity for income generation via selling merchandise. The trouble with merchandise is that it has long been targeted by counterfeiters, which robs fans of the chance to enjoy legitimate products and teams of the revenue they would have received. Luckily, the scourge of counterfeit merchandise is being countered by Web3. The teams like the Sacramento Kings have previously leveraged blockchain technology to track the origins of various pieces of fan merchandise. By doing this, wrestling teams can ensure that only legitimate products are bought by fans, and the origins can be tracked at any given time.
Because it is such a fan-focused affair, the world of wrestling is always looking for new ways to connect with viewers, both to maximize income and create legitimate connections. As we've noticed in this article, Web3 products like blockchain and cryptocurrency could be the solution to this issue. They allow for transparency with things like merchandise and experiences, but also offer potential for endorsements and even creating ownership access for fans. If applied well, wrestling could be one of the notable applications of Web3 moving forward.
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