Friday, March 29, 2024
EditorialThe Rise and Fall of WWE Magazine

The Rise and Fall of WWE Magazine

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The final issue of WWE Magazine hit newsstands today. John Corrigan has an article at AL.com looking back at the magazine. The article noted magazine sales fell from 6.4 million net units to 1.8 million net units over the past decade.

The very first issue of WWE Magazine (then known as Victory Magazine) was launched in the summer of 1983 with Jimmy Snuka on the cover. Since then, it has thrived in its various incarnations as WWF Magazine, RAW Magazine, SmackDown Magazine, and finally WWE Magazine as well as its sister publications WWE Kids Magazine and WWE Magazine Special Edition have made a place for themselves in the supermarket such as Albertsons or Kroger or bookstore like Barnes and Noble.

In its peak years, readers could find out about their favorite WWE Superstars such as Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Rowdy Piper, The Ultimate Warrior, Andre The Giant, Honky Tonk Man, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and The Rock.

But the days of print magazine be very well be extinct like dinosaurs. Sales for even well-established magazines such as TV Guide, People, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Sports Illustrated have declined during the past decade. 

In recent years, WWE Magazine was in many ways, a carbon copy of Maxim, a very similar magazine which catered to the 18-35 year-old male. WWE Kids Magazine mainly features activities and quizzes. One quiz in particular featured nine photos. Each photo featured a closeup of a WWE Superstar’s (mainly mid-carders such as The Miz, Cody Rhodes, and Cesaro) eye and you have to guess who it is. It basically looked like an ad for contact lenses with male eyes substituting for female eyes.

With the recent demise of WOW Magazine, Inside Wrestling/The Wrestling, Wrestling Superstars, WCW Magazine, PowerSlam, and now, WWE Magazine, it won’t be much longer when Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Fighting Spirit join the others in the magazine graveyard.

In other words, the pro wrestling magazine is so yesterday thanks to the internet.