• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 17, 2005

A heavy-pounding body slam is needed to examine TV wrestling.

World Wrestling Entertainment isn't throwing its weight around like it used to. The Motley Fool wonders: "When did watching pretend fights between overgrown men in bathing suits stop being cool?"

WWE's North American revenues reached a high point in 2001 - and have steadily slipped since then. Now it has a second chance; it's back on the big cable channel, USA Network. Helping to possibly fuel a renewal, Viacom's Spike will carry Total Nonstop Action's (TNA) one-hour wrestling program in the fall. Spike had WWE's programming for a few years before giving it up to USA. UPN is also on the move - shifting its longtime WWE's "Smackdown!" to Friday from Thursday in an attempt to bring back young male viewers.

North American revenue slipped to $279 million in 2005 from $371 million in 2002. The revenue decline stems mainly from its weakening live event area. Lower attendance is also accompanied by slumping WWE merchandise sales and mediocre pay-per-view buys.

But it's not over yet. While WWE's "Raw" cable show has seen ratings slip somewhat, it's still in the top ten of cable's top-rated shows. Here's another promising uptick: International revenue climbed to $88 million in 2005 versus $39 million in 2002. Attendance at live international events are almost double that of North American events.

WWE's weakness is in its core young men 12 to 24 and 12 to 34 demographics. The problem is demographics are consistently shifting younger and to a narrower pool of viewers.

To retain some of the action - and older customers of its past -- WWE announced "WWE Legends." The show, which will bring back names like Rowdy Roddy Piper, is a total marketing push that includes subscription video on demand, action figures, video games, DVD releases, and book publications.

Nostalgia? With wrestling? Is Bruno Sammartino still available?

No matter. We all need wrestling around to keep us humble. All types of TV programs really don't die, they just retreat into their corner looking to fight another day.