90 Million Americans Call Themselves “WWE Fans”
WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment, is a decades-old brand whose origin story dates back to 1953. My experience with WWE dates back to 2002, when my superfan boyfriend took me to a Raw live event. And I had fun! Fast forward to 2024, when my now-husband and I took our three children to their first WWE live event, a taping for SmackDown. Over the years, I’ve watched the brand expand its appeal with new audiences. These customer segmentation examples show how WWE carefully cultivates characters to give every fan someone to root for.
WWE Superstar Customer Segmentation Examples:
Roman Reigns
We’ll start with the superstar brand meant for the core youth fan: boys aged seven and up. Roman Reigns is a modern-day Hulk Hogan, with the impressive Superman Punch finishing move. In the storyline, he’s “The Head of the Table” and “Tribal Chief” who rules a powerful faction of muscular superstars (In WWE parlance, wrestlers are called superstars). For one of my 11-year-old sons, Roman Reigns represents everything wrestling should be.
WWE Superstar Customer Segmentation Examples:
Gunther
My more counter-cultural 11-year-old son prefers “heel” Gunther. Here’s a quick WWE vocabulary lesson. Baby-faces are the heroes, and heels are the villains. And you need both to make the story work. Most fans know you’re supposed to hate the heels, and they have a lot of fun doing it. In our customer segmentation examples, Gunther is the only heel to make an appearance, but many superstars go through both baby-face and heel phases during their careers.
WWE Superstar Customer Segmentation Examples:
Cody Rhodes
The long-time adult male fan is drawn to Cody Rhodes, who is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. He styles himself as “The American Nightmare,” in homage to his father’s character “The American Dream.” Along with his nostalgic appeal, Cody Rhodes has an exciting and athletic wrestling style.
Cody Rhodes’ merchandising shows how profitable it is for WWE to maintain fans through their peak earning years. Here are the top three items promoted in the shop right now, including a $300 replica jacket.

WWE Superstar Customer Segmentation Examples:
Jey Uso
With his YEET! catch phrase, Jey Uso is a superstar for male, Gen Z fans. In the storyline, he’s often at the center of family feuds. Despite his rebellious, irreverent persona, he’s also a highly-skilled wrestler who can do more than just talk tough (although, he does a lot of that, as well). Compared with Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso’s merchandising also reflects his younger appeal, with top items currently featuring youth and adult-size YEET t-shirts, ranging in price from $39.99 to $44.99 (fans can also pick up a $14.99 foam hand).

WWE Superstar Customer Segmentation Examples:
Nia Jax
In recent years, WWE has focused on developing its women’s division. Notably, the company is moving away from past stereotypes of women wrestlers (let’s say, as… eye candy). Instead, it wants to attract actual female fans with athletic, interesting matches and storylines. Nia Jax appeals to serious wrestling fans, male and female alike. She’s six feet tall, powerful—and The Rock’s cousin.
WWE Superstar Customer Segmentation Examples:
Bianca Belair
Girls seven and up can’t get enough of Bianca Belair (my seven-year-old daughter has her action figure). She comes from a track-and-field background and features an ankle-length braid that she whips around the ring. Don’t ask how her hair would be a liability in a fight. This is wrestling entertainment, after all. But you can ask how she describes herself:
“Bianca Belair is such a superlative competitor that she considers herself The EST of WWE. Proclaiming to be the strongest, fastest, toughest and all-around best Superstar going, Belair has been an exceptional athlete her entire life.”
This straightforward positioning shows why this customer segmentation example appeals to younger fans.
WWE Superstar Customer Segmentation Examples:
Charlotte Flair
For WWE fans, Charlotte Flair is the whole package. As a customer segmentation example, she has universal appeal. Serious fans appreciate her athleticism and superior wrestling ability. Nostalgic fans love that her father is wrestling legend Ric Flair. Children are drawn in by her over-the-top costumes and big personality. And mothers like me appreciate her as a strong role model who asserts herself as “The Queen.”
Interestingly, I found a t-shirt for sale featuring Charlotte Flair and other women superstars that WWE released for Mother’s Day. It’s a clever mash-up of superstar nicknames, which shows the brand is directly trying to appeal to moms.

Customer Segmentation Examples Beyond Pro Wrestling
Even with 90 million American fans (and significant efforts to grow worldwide), WWE is still aiming higher. In 2023, WWE and UFC merged to form a new, publicly-traded company, TKO Group Holdings, Inc. From the press release:
“Together, UFC and WWE will have global reach, impressive scale and omnichannel distribution. On a combined 2022 fiscal year-end basis, UFC and WWE achieved revenue of $2.4 billion and a 10% annual revenue growth rate since 2019.”
Combining the WWE and UFC brands provides further customer segmentation examples. Historically, UFC fans might consider WWE and its fans as unserious. Conversely, WWE fans may consider UFC to be not family-friendly. Now, there’s an opportunity to grow more fan affinity between the two brands and create a “fan pipeline” between them. There have already been some cross-overs between WWE Superstars and UFC fighters.
In TKO’s first annual report, the company showed $1.7B in revenue, of which WWE contributed $382M in the three months post-merger. In quarterly reports since, WWE represents over half of the company’s revenue.

WWE is a business. And these customer segmentation examples show just how mindful the brand is to grow its appeal through character development. All brands can be inspired to turn their products into superstars by asking, “What do our customers want? And how do we deliver it?”
Insight to Action covers customer segmentation from many brands and industries, from cookbooks to wedding vendors to hospitality and back-to-school. Check out our Customer Segmentation Resources for more examples. Get to know our experts at one of our Office Hours events. We’re L.A.’s premier market research and business growth consulting firm, and we look forward to meeting you.