No holds barred

Fans of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) will be in for a treat on Sept 7 when some of the Superstars will be in Japan for an epic Summer Slam pay-per-view party. Over the past few years, WWE has gained a huge following in Japan, and while the uninitiated tend to think of WWE as a sport, “we call ourselves multimedia sports entertainment,” says Ed Wells, vice president and general manager of WWE Japan.

WWE has three brands – “Raw,” “Smackdown” and “ECW” (Extreme Championship Wrestling), each with their own characters such as divas Maria and Victoria, John Cena, Dave Batista, Triple H and many more. In Japan, the three brands are shown on J Sports ESPN, 1, 2 and Plus every day. Each year, WWE holds four major events in the U.S. -- Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summer Slam and Survivor.

WWE has become so popular in Japan that an office was established last January to grow and manage the business directly. That’s when Wells came on board. Born in Detroit, he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies and Japanese. He added a Master of Arts in International Affairs at American University (1996-1997), followed by a Master of Arts in International Relations at Kyoto’s Ritsumeikan University from 1997-98.

Wells joined the international program sales department of MTV Networks International in New York in 1999. He spent two years in Singapore and had a stint as vice president and general manager for the Nickelodeon division of Viacom International Japan before joining WWE.

Japan Today editor Chris Betros visits Wells at the WWE office in Shibuya to hear more.

Were you a fan of WWE before you joined the company?

Yes, I’ve been a fan since I was very young. Growing up in Detroit, I went to see pro wrestling (it was WWF at that time) quite often.

What was your mission?

To start building and managing the business directly. WWE Japan is a new company. Before, everything was outsourced to partners. Fortunately, in Japan, we already have a long history and a lot of core fans. As you may know, WWE is a publicly traded company on the NYSE, with a market cap of well over $1 billion. However, WWE has been owned and operated by owned by the McMahon Family for three generations, with the chairman, Vince McMahon, currently running the business. The McMahons have promoted wrestling matches and fights in Japan for years, including the Ali-Inoki fight back in the 1970s.

One of the major strategic initiatives for WWE as a whole is to build the international business. We solidified the UK/EMEA office, then added a Canada and Latin America office and an Asia-Pacific office in Sydney. Japan needed to be its own entity because it is a major growth opportunity for us.

How are you going to grow the business here?

We have two things we need to do. The first is to continue to satisfy our core fans, make sure they are happy and provide them with the quality content they expect, plus a whole lot more. The second is to attract new fans by moving more into the entertainment world. WWE is not just TV shows. We have websites, mobile sites and a movie division in the U.S. called WWE Studios.

Some people probably think of WWE as a sports brand, right?

We are positioned in both the sports and entertainment realms. Our fans don’t consider us sports. They know we are entertainment and tune in to see a drama. All of our programming is storyline based with wrestling at the heart of it. I would say our competition around the world is not other pro wrestling leagues. Rather it is Hollywood dramas such “24,” “Lost” and “Heroes.”

I think we have a very solid foundation. We need to start to attract new fans and give people a reason to try us out. I have no doubt that if they watch our content, they are going to get hooked. It is fun to watch. You can start anytime. It’s not like a lot of TV dramas where if you just tune in mid-season, it’s very hard to catch up. WWE’s basic concept is good vs evil and it’s quite easy to understand.

Where can we see WWE?

Right now, all of our programming is available on cable and satellite on J Sports ESPN, 1, 2 and Plus every day. We have three four shows airing – “Raw,” “ECW” (Extreme Championship Wrestling), “Smackdown and Vintage Collection.” We never have an off season -- we deliver new programming on 365 days a year. There is a bit of a delay from the U.S. because of subtitling issues and we are working on minimizing that.

“Raw” is the premier brand right now. “Smackdown” and “ECW” each have very popular stars and there is a draft once a year which moves some of our biggest stars. Every four or five weeks, we have a special pay-per-view event. So fans watch our programming regularly, following the story and then the story climaxes at a pay-per-view event. And at those events, you’ll see all the stars coming together from the three brands.

What sort of events do you stage in Japan?

When WWE holds four major events in the U.S. -- Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summer Slam and Survivor -– we do something special for our fans in Japan. In February, we had Royal Rumble Japan Tour at Budokan and Ariake Coliseum. In May, diva Torrie Wilson came for Wrestlemania. We did a viewing party with a giant screen and sold tickets for fans to watch it. Torrie has quite a big following. The event sold out immediately. One of the most important things in marketing a brand is creating a connection between that brand and viewers. We make these events interactive; it’s not just sitting back and watching a show. The stars love Japan. The biggest challenge is their schedules. They are so in demand and we have a global operation.

What’s next?

The Summer Slam Tokyo viewing party for 500 fans is on Sept 7 from 2-6 p.m. at Stellar Ball (inside Shinagawa Prince Hotel). Guest stars will be Diva Victoria and Diva Maria. Prize giveaways include WWE official merchandise and not-for-sale items (such as chairs). One person will win a trip to Wrestlemania 25 in Houston on April 5, 2009. In future, I would like to do events around the country, like a road show because not all of our fans can come to Tokyo.

Who are your core fans?

Men aged 20-40 are currently our core demographic in Japan, although we have a lot of children and female fans. The divas are charismatic, glamorous and powerful ladies who appeal to young women around the world, including Japan.

How do you market WWE to your fans?

Our web and mobile sites are very important for us to interact with fans. They are very vocal and know exactly what they want. Through J Sports, we may do campaigns on air to offer tickets to events. Our TV shows lead people to pay-per-views and products. We do some advertising and work with Weekly Pro Wrestling. Torrie did a lot of interviews with various media and general entertainment magazines when she was here in May.

How are the other aspects of the business doing?

Merchandise is an important and growing part of our business. We are looking to build the consumer products business. It’s huge in the U.S. but still relatively small here. In February, we launched an online and mobile shop. Each year, we release about 20 DVDs. Our video game business is also successful. Then there are T-shirts, masks and games.

While there is no doubt that we need to deliver double-digit growth each year by exploiting our content across multiple lines of business, I think it is equally important to emphasize that WWE is the type of organization that is very concerned with creating a connection with fans and attracting more. Japanese fans are really hungry for information once they become interested in the characters, so if we can provide fans with what they want and make the information more accessible, I am confident the business will grow.

Do you find all this very different from when you were working at Nickelodeon?

It’s not that different, really. At Nickelodeon, I was responsible for brands like SpongeBob and Rugrats. At WWE, I’m responsible for the overall brand but within that, we have different programming and characters. My experience at Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central has proven very useful at WWE. I was able to hit the ground running.

What is a typical day for you?

I show up around 9 and catch up on correspondence from the U.S. and Europe. I try to spend a lot of time with our local partners to make sure they are getting the service they need. I usually leave by 8, but then I may be on the phone to the U.S. from 11 p.m.

For more information on World Wrestling Entertainment, visit wwwe.co.jp or http://m.wwe.co.jp (mobile).

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