Why I cancelled my Network subscription

Because I can, is the most simple answer. WWE has lowered the bar to signing up to their Network by making the commitment low, but that means I'm also only a couple of clicks away from cancelling. And so I did.

What surprises me most is that just a few weeks ago I was quite into the product. WrestleMania was stronger than I'd expected and I was looking forward to what directions WWE could take their product in to SummerSlam. Less than 1 month it took for all that expectation to completely dissipate away.

And WWE really missed a trick here. If they'd sent me a mail the days after WM, and said "sign here and you will get 6 months for the price of 5", you know I might have signed up and taken myself through to SummerSlam. Afterall, if WWE is happy to give away a free month to new subscribers, why not throw a bone to the people you already have and keep them?

It's not that I think the product is excruciatingly bad. It's not. It's no better IMO than it was in October or February, but its also not discernibly worse. But it is boring and unimaginative. And for a wrestling show, I think that is the death knell.

There doesn't feel like anything new in Extreme Rules. The same feuds that I feel I've seen before with some gimmick matches. I'll still get Extreme Rules, my subscription doesn't lapse until after it. But where is the direction? Where is the big story that I want to, or need to follow? I don't think these exist. Surely, it can't be a Kane turn. Does WWE really think I'm going to pay to see that? I expect in a couple of months Lesnar will come back out and I'll log back in to the Network. But until then, unless WWE is going to give me something new and exciting and a must see product, I may as well keep my 9.99 in my pocket.

NXT is pretty much the reason I subscribe nowadays.

Why not just "legally" get Hulu then it's £5.30ish and shows Nxt

Its a catch 22 for me. On one hand I get NXT and a huge back catalogue where me and my friends can have nights in drinking, eating pizza and watching old Royal Rumbles. But at the same time, I know cancelling my subscription is the only way WWE will notice anything.

I think it's crazy how WWE just don't ever try and capture the Wrestlemania audience. If they were smart, the month after Wrestlemania would be huge because that's how you hook long-term fans, they come for Wrestlemania they stay for the rest. But every year they have Wrestlemania and then just stop caring until Summerslam. It's insulting.

I hate it when companies offer good deals for new customers but the existing ones get shat on. Nearly every company does it.

Crimey wrote:I think it's crazy how WWE just don't ever try and capture the Wrestlemania audience. If they were smart, the month after Wrestlemania would be huge because that's how you hook long-term fans, they come for Wrestlemania they stay for the rest. But every year they have Wrestlemania and then just stop caring until Summerslam. It's insulting.

At the very least it feels as if WWE has to spend so much of their creative juices putting together Mania that they are completely spent after that, and I totally agree it is over to cruise control for several months.

All we've had to break the norm is the appearance of Neville, and Cena defending the US title regularly. Otherwise I feel that I could randomly pick a Raw from the last two years, stick it on on a Monday and not know it wasn't this week's show.

I'd have loved it if Cena had kept the open challenge going into Extreme Rules. Have the internet and even the announcers speculate about who will answer the call. Have a few names like Itami, Rusev and Neville put in the mix. And then have Samoa Joe come out. Give us something new, something different, something that I don't want to miss for my 9.99.

Up and down that card, I don't think I really care who wins. And there are some real oddities. Cesaro and Kidd vs. The New Day. Okay, its pre-show cos its a tag-team title fight. But isn't this from the fans' perspective heel vs heel? So, this will turn Cesaro and Kidd face, which is a nonsense if they then work with the Luchas.

I cancelled because the WWE are producing Poopie and their priorities to the talent they push and hold back vary significantly from what I want to see, its their toy and they can do what they like with it but until they start producing wrestlers, characters and storylines that I find entertaining I wont be buying into their product

So, it's gone. And it is almost like WWE want me to cancel this.

Payback is in less than 1 week's time and we have two matches on the card. I think that is just beyond poor. I can't get hyped about something that isn't being sold to me.

I mean, I guess that the rest of the card will come together at Raw tonight, and it might even end up being the best card of the year. But 1 week's notice indicates to me that WWE are going to book two matches on the card and just hope the rest kind of works out somehow. Which feels really, really lazy to me.

I've kept mine going, more for NXT and the back catalogue (just this morning I was watching some ECW from 1996) but I've no doubt that once that well runs dry I'll cancel if all I'll have left is NXT, which lets face it I can catch anywhere online really.

If they put episodes of Raw and Smackdown on there the same week rather than having this 4 week delay it would be better, but even then those shows are average at best right now (save for last week's Raw which was very good).

If I didn't have 2 kids I would've cancelled this a while ago. And that's even before the fact they are constantly giving free months away to new subscribers and nothing to loyal customers.

I think it is a free February, a free April and a free May, so far this year. And when WWE put it like that, it really does feel like they are rubbing current subscriber's noses in it.

I suppose their problem is that they feel they can't say first 30 days are free for new subscribers because they want to switch this off for Mania, Summerslam, etc.

In fairness, the Elimination chamber has me thinking, because if I renew again on May 17 then for my 1 month 9.99 fee I get:
- Payback
- NXT PPV
- Elimination Chamber
- MitB

I can then unsubscribe and pick it up again in August for Summerslam

Interesting that the Elimination Chamber 'ppv' is Network exclusive. I was sure they would replace Battleground with it. That being said, its the perfect way to get people to subscribe - especially if they're not held back by any 3rd party Network restrictions.

Marky wrote:
If they put episodes of Raw and Smackdown on there the same week rather than having this 4 week delay it would be better, but even then those shows are average at best right now (save for last week's Raw which was very good).

I don't really understand why they don't do that because I understand it is available on Hulu, so unless Hulu is related to the TV station that Raw is running on it seems really odd that WWE would give this to what I'd consider a competitor to their own OTC service.

So, Elimination Chamber had me back in.

But, I replaced the card I used to pay for with a new one. And as I was going back to watch EC again, I couldn't get in. Not that the reason was particularly clear, or immediately signing up was just a click away.

So, as I now know from history, never say never about me subscribing. But, unless I hear about something that is absolute must see, I think I can take a summer break now.

I was considering leaving after MITB (i enjoy a good ladder match) Even if Roman is inevitably going to win - Not sure it entirely suits him really unless going to cash in on Ambrose and go heel?

I will see what happens with Brock supposedly returning very soon then decide tbh.

Yeah, if it hadn't just timed out, I'd have probably stuck around for MitB.

I'm not that excited by the wrestlers announced for it tbh, but I just find it hard to get excited by what is effectively the same line up for the IC ladder match at Mania, the KotR tournament, the IC match in Elimination Chamber, etc.