One of the best reasons to pay for the WWE Network is that is one of the biggest wrestling libraries in the world. The WWE tape library contains not only the content from WWF/WWE, but also many others like WCW, ECW, AWA, Jim Crockett Promotions, etc.
Over the past year, the Hidden Gems section would feature dark matches from WWF and WWE TV tapings, full specials from Jim Crockett Promotions, the AWA, the WWF and other content from across the spectrum of the tape libraries that WWE owns. The content would be released every Thursday, something WWE Network has not done in recent weeks.
This was a feature that kept people subscribed to WWE Network, seeing what classic content they could either rediscover or see for the very first time. I personally never would have watched some of the older content shared in this way, as it brings it to spotlight and isn’t just lost in the sea of content available on the Network.
The Possible Reason
There are a few possible reason I can think of why they would stop uploading this content weekly. The first one is the production issues, they need to go in and edit out things like unlicensed music. That can be time consuming, and they might feel that effort is better placed elsewhere.
Another possibility is that the old tapes could be getting fragile and hard to work with. I’m sure digitalizing the old content in their library is an important task for WWE, but tape isn’t made to last forever, and the process could potentially ruin the original copies.
The third, and most terrifying possibility falls in line with WWE surveys. They have been wanting to know if subscribers would pay extra for extra content, stuff like shows from affiliate brands like Evolve, Insane Championship Wrestling, and Progress. A tiered pricing system isn’t uncommon for streaming services, and something like Hidden Gems or Collections could be foolishly locked behind a higher tier.
WWE Networks Worth
The WWE Network has a huge library of old content, and a constant stream of new content. Getting the PPV events monthly for 10$ makes it worth it alone to some, but as they remove features subscribers came to enjoy, and continue to lose good will with fans with shoddy performance, it seems more and more people are starting to ignore the application and instead go elsewhere for their wrestling fix.
It should be noted that WWE stopping updates of their Hidden Gems section is an easily reversed decision, and it doesn’t mean the content posted will be removed or that older content won’t be used in different ways going forward.
