WWE And Playboy: A Perfect Match…Again?

With Playboy announcing a shift into the world of PG13, could a partnership with the WWE be in their future? 411Mania’s Greg DeMarco thinks it’s the perfect match.

The modern day WWE is a publicly traded company, headed by a family that includes a woman who has made multiple runs for public office. They are involved in partnerships with NBC Universal, started Connor’s Cure to fight pediatric cancer and over the past few years have become one of the biggest partners for the Susan G. Komen For The Cure (former known as the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation) in their fight to save lives and end breast cancer.

(And no, I don’t care about your stance on the latter’s efforts or policies—this isn’t about that.)

The company is also a huge part of Make-A-Wish, with front-man John Cena granting over 400 wishes, more than any other athlete or celebrity that’s part of the program.

The WWE wasn’t always like that. From the mid-80s and beyond the company was a viewed as a giant circus. Once the Rock-N-Wrestling Era ran its course the promotion struggled to find an identity until finally entering leaving the New Generation Era and going into the Attitude Era. Once the WWE beat out WCW and ECW, the Attitude Era came to a close and gave way to the Ruthless Aggression Era, transitioning into what we commonly refer to as the PG13 Era of today—although some would argue that we’ve since hit the Reality Era.

The Attitude Era, considered to be the most profitable for the company and wrestling’s most recent “boom” period, is usually referred to as the time from December 1997 to May 2002. This is, of course, also the time they used the “Attitude” version of the scratch logo.

At this time the company featured many characters that provided a certain shock value. Be it sexually suggestive, violent or politically incorrect, these were characters that grew up with the company. The fans were no longer kids, and the product had to change to keep them from going to ECW or WCW.

The Attitude Era also sparked a decade-long partner for the company: Playboy.

Playboy, dubbed “Entertainment for Men,” kicked off their WWE (then WWF) relationship in 1999 when Sable appeared on the cover. She was followed by Chyna (2000), Torrie Wilson (2003), Wilson and Sable (2004), Christy Hemme (2005), Candice Michelle (2006), Ashley Massaro (2007) and finally Maria Kanellis (2008). Once the WWE officially went to a PG model for their programming, the relationship with Playboy came to an end.

Now, as most of you know, things are changing for Playboy. Starting with the March 2016 issue, the publication will no longer feature nude women. The knee-jerk reaction is to ask “Why?” when that model worked for so long.

But as Playboy CEO Scott Flanders pointed out, the answer is obvious: the Internet.

“You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable.”

Playboy isn’t going into this move blind, either. They already made the switch online, and it rendered surprising results. Since removing from nudity from Playboy.com in 2014, their monthly users jumped from 4-million per month to 16-million.

If you’re not a “numbers guy” (or girl) like myself, that’s a 400% increase created by eliminating nudity.

Playboy played a huge role in the way society looks at and treats sex and sexuality today. Add in the use of social media—especially Instagram—and society continues to evolve. Playboy is simply ignoring the age-old mistake of “that’s the way it’s always been” and taking a risk.

Well Playboy was founded on a risk, and that worked out well for Hugh Hefner. Now they are entering a new genre, one already flooded with the likes of Maxim and FHM.

What Does This Have To Do With WWE?

Playboy is now much more in line with the product currently being offered by the WWE. And flipping the switch in March 2016 offers the perfect opportunity for both to partner again.

That’s right, WrestleMania.

You know I love me some bold predictions, and I am going to go ahead and throw one out there now: at least one WWE Diva will grace the cover of (the all new) Playboy before Dallas’ WrestleMania 32.

Maybe it’s everyone’s favorite female role model, Nikki Bella. Perhaps one of the “Divas Revolution” forerunners in Charlotte. Or even the “Anti-Diva” herself, Paige.

Personally, I’d love to see it be Sasha Banks, the woman I believe truly carry a revamped division. Regardless of the choice, the partnership seems too obvious not happen.

Err—happen…again.

There is one big change this time around. During the Attitude Era, the WWE needed media staples like Playboy to gain street credit. Today they’re at the mountain top of street credit, with a recently-introduced weekly segment on ESPN’s SportsCenter. While mutually beneficial, a 2016 partnership between Playboy and the WWE might actually provide a greater benefit to Playboy than it does “the ‘E.”

Time will tell if the WWE chooses to go back down the Playboy road. But Playboy made its name on delivering on the existing fantasy any mystery. Thanks to the internet, mystery is gone and it’s actually provocative-yet-clothed pictures of women that creates fantasy.

Playboy will once again be at the forefront of fantasy. And if both parties are smart enough, the WWE will be right there with them.

Could one of them grace the cover of Playboy next spring?

Greg DeMarco is a wrestling fan of over 30 years and has worked on the independent circuit as a promoter, announcer, character and booker. As a featured contributor at 411Mania.com, Greg has been applying his opinionated style to the world of pro wrestling for 411Mania since October 2010… and has been pissing readers off ever since!

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And as always…