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View Full Version : End of an Era: WWE to Stop Releasing Physical Media This Year



Kemo
12-06-2023, 09:08 PM
WWE will stop producing physical media within the coming months, bringing an end to the promotion's decades of releasing physical content.

Earlier today, WWE Home Video UK announced that they will no longer be producing physical media content beyond this year. The final WWE event released for UK fans will be Crown Jewel 2023, while the final event for U.S. fans will be WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2023.

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This decision comes at an interesting time in the debate of physical content vs. streaming/digital purchases. Filmmakers including Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, The Prestige) and Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) have spoken passionately about the importance of physical media as of late.

Physical releases have also gained more traction as of late in the face of some streaming services deleting content from their platforms.

WWE began distributing content in partnership with Coliseum Video, which was owned by Evart Enterprises. Coliseum Video began releasing WWE content in 1985 and would release a variety of different productions on VHS and Betamax. These would range from pay-per-views to best-of volumes to wrestler profiles complete with matches, some of which had never been released before.

In April 1997, the WWF launched its own division focused on releasing physical content, dubbed 'WWF Home Video.' This name was changed following the move from WWF to WWE in May 2002.

In 2008, WWE welcomed the release of BluRay and WrestleMania 24 would be the first WWE event released on the format. Interestingly, WrestleMania 24 would also be the only WWE pay-per-view released on UMD.