Earlier today, WWE Home Video UK announced that it will no longer release shows on DVD, VHS tape, or Blu-ray starting at the end of 2024. Their statement noted that WWE has decided to withdraw from the Home Video category, and questions quickly circulated about whether this meant there would be no more WWE releases just in the UK or in general.
Wrestling DVD Network reported that WWE Home Video was also set to shutter at the end of the year, painting a picture that, unless a change in direction was decided, the final WWE DVD release ever in the United States could be Survivor Series 2023 on December 26.
A higher-up WWE source issued the following statement to Haus of Wrestling regarding the future of the company’s home video business.
“The home video business has long been in decline, and it will no longer be a place where the company dedicates time and resources.”
With that, it seems official that the days of video store walls filled with WWE DVDs, VHS tapes, and Blu-rays have officially come to a close. As someone who was personally brought into the world of pro wrestling by a VHS copy of SummerSlam 1991 at Take One Video, this feels like the end of an era. As noted in the WWE Home Video UK statement, the final UK release will be a two-disc Crown Jewel DVD on December 18 in the UK and December 22 in Germany.
The end of WWE’s home video market was discussed on today’s episode of Rumor & Innuendo.
Rumor & Innuendo, hosted by myself and Karpeles, is now available on the Haus of Wrestling, Ad Free Shows, and Rumor & Innuendo YouTube channels, as well as the Rumor & Innuendo podcast feed.
New Rumor & Innuendo episodes stream live Monday through Friday at Noon EST on the above YouTube channels and the following X accounts: @WWECreative_ish, @WrestlingHaus, @Nick_Hausman, @adfreeshows, and @rumorinpod.