Stephanie McMahon Compares WWE to Marvel's MCU
Today was the WWE Investor's Call, and after hearing from President Nick Khan, Chief Brand Officer for WWE Stephanie McMahon caught everyone up on Miz getting eliminated from Dancing With THe Stars, but then she segued into all of the ways Superstars in WWE are their own brands and create their own storylines. She illustrated that by comparing WWE superstars to Marvel superheroes and the growing WWE universe of brands and individual franchises to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and then she ran through a few examples of how WWE superstars are appearing in a variety of areas in the entertainment world.
"In terms of superstars, the best comparison I can think of is Disney's Marvel superheroes. Each superhero is their own individual franchise, and WWE has just begun to unlock some of our incredible IP, which dates back generations. With each superstar being their own brand with their own story," McMahon said.
"Our biography series with A&E is one example. Xavier Woods' UpUpDownDown YouTube Gaming Channel is another. Becky Lynch on the cover of Golden Crisps or the Miz with his own reality...show are just a few examples," McMahon said.
During a recent interview with the Bloomberg Business of Sports Podcast, McMahon was also asked about if there was any sort of succession plan if Vince decides to step down.
"I don't think there will ever be a person-to-person replacement for Vince McMahon. He does too much. The landscape would look different however it shakes out," McMahon said. "I do think a lot of the institutional knowledge is important, particularly with regards toward the core content. But it's also surrounding our business with strong, smart executives. And that's exactly what we have. So I do think it's the marriage of institutional knowledge, the incredible production value, the creation of talent IP and storylines and really strong business executives to help us expand. I think it's a combination of things."
"It's really remarkable when you think about our history and what Vince accomplished. Think about what he's done. He took what was a regional business and had the vision to go around and create one organization, nationally and ultimately globally. My father saw the opportunity for syndication; he saw the opportunity for advertising. Ultimately he saw the opportunity to really create something that had never risen to the level of popularity it had never been."
What do you think of McMahon's Marvel comparison? Let us know in the comments!