WOW’s Expansion Strategy: Leveraging Traditional Licensing to Scale the Superheroes Brand

While much of the wrestling world is racing toward a blockchain-driven future, WOW - Women Of Wrestling has carved out a distinct and successful path by focusing on traditional licensing and high-accessibility media. Rather than paywalling exclusive content behind digital keys, the company is focusing on physical engagement and broad accessibility.

This strategy, supported by WOW Co-Owner and Co-Founder Jeanie Buss, treats female athletes not only as wrestlers, but as real-life action Superheroes. Without the technical barriers of the virtual world, WOW's product is available to every fan, from families with young children to old school fans.

A cornerstone of this strategy is the entry into the tabletop gaming market. WOW partnered with Cation Arts to launch WOW - Women Of Wrestling Card Game, a physical collectible experience- an obvious contrast to digital trading cards.

Featuring 180 unique cards, the game allows fans to pick from a roster of WOW Superheroes, such as Gloria Glitter, Penelope Pink, Tormenta, and Kandi Krush. The game focuses on fast, strategic play -designed to be learned in five minutes- bringing the excitement of the purple ring into the living room. By going the physical card game route, the tangible thrill of collecting and the social connection of in-person play are prioritized.

Beyond the tabletop, WOW's media strategy emphasizes availability through its partnership with Paramount Global Content Distribution. This has resulted in WOW airing in national broadcast television syndication, attracting a viewership of over 300,000.

While WOW's core distribution is television syndication, streaming platforms are also a key part of its strategy for reaching a wider audience. Tubi is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and several Latin American countries (Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama), and Wrestling Central is available in North America. These free, ad-supported services ensure that the current era matches and a deep library of classic WOW episodes are available to anyone with an internet connection, without the need for a crypto-wallet or subscription. This free-to-all model has allowed WOW to expand its footprint into 160 US markets and also reach a massive international audience, solidifying its place as a leader in televised female sports entertainment.

WOW's residency at the iconic Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas further illustrates this commitment to physical presence. "Fights At Fremont Street Experience" are live events that bring the WOW ring to the heart of the city, offering high-energy spectacles to thousands of tourists and locals alike.

By leveraging these significant public takeovers alongside traditional television syndication, WOW's wide-scale reach and Superheroes-for-all style opens a way to potentially transition to the world of the blockchain-based digital world in the future without alienating their current fanbase and destabilizing their brand identity, via the Phygital (Physical + Data) route, which would involve using digital tools to enhance WOW's physical game rather than replacing it with digital-only system.

For example, instead of abandoning physical cards, WOW could embed QR codes or NFC chips in the physical cards. Scanning the card could unlock a digital version for free, rewarding fans while moving the brand toward the cutting edge of technology.