Wrestlemania 31 Conference, That Logo And The WWE Network

This is just one of the Wrestlemania 31 videos that WWE have put up on their Youtube page. The content itself isn't the reason for this post, it's a "highlight" roll of the usual "we love our jobs & we're here to entertain" fluff that we're used to WWEs talking heads spewing at these things and it isn't very interesting.

However, there is something very interesting, to me at least, that appears in every one of these videos and that's the new Wrestlemania logo.

As you're probably aware WWE change up the logo every year. Sometimes they include Roman numerals, sometimes plain old numbers and sometimes no indication of the event number at all. Sometimes the logo is flat, sometimes it fades into the distance and so on and so on. The actual Wrestlemania wording remains in pretty much the same style every year. Sometimes stretched or arced but always very identifiable with what came before.

And that's the same this year.

So whats so damned interesting about the logo then? I hear you cry. Well, pull out a magnifying glass and take a look at the TWO interesting inclusions on this years logo.

Similar but different - The Wrestlemania 31 Logo.

#1: THE PLAY BUTTON
In the bottom center of the logo, where we've become accustomed to seeing the event number we now have a very simple, very identifiable "play" button.

For those of you that have been paying attention to the rumour mill, it seems like February 24th 2014 is the launch date for the much spoken about WWE Network. According to the most recent reports the WWE network is no longer set to be an actual network carried by cable companies but, instead, a Netflix type affair where you can go online, presumably from whatever device you have, and stream both past events and live ppvs. The word is that every Raw, Smackdown and PPV that WWE have previously filmed will be available from the launch date with other archives being rolled out as and when WWE see fit to keep a healthy user base.

Frankly I'm excited to see exactly what the WWE Network will be, how much it will cost and where it will be available and that news is set to be announced during CES week this coming January. But then I'm a wrestling geek and you're now wondering where all this ties into that new logo - It's simple. That style of play button is synonymous with online video -to me it's a strong indication that Wrestlemania WILL be on the WWE Network as has been speculated about and that theory grabs even more credence with -

#2: The WWE Network Logo
The WWE Network logo that we've been seeing bandied across the internet for what seems like an age now is  right there, top, front and center of the new Wrestlemania logo. This could well be the promotions new logo across every part of their product and, if it is, it's a nice modern update to the "scratch" logo which feels like it's been around since Hogan slammed Andre at this point (I know it hasn't!).

The fact that it's on the logo of Wrestlemania, WWE's most prominent show, suggests to me that, by the time Wrestlemania 31 roles around, the network will be fully up and running and that it will be at the forefront of everything they are doing.

All of that said, this is the Wrestlemania 31 graphic we're talking about, we've still got the small matter of Wrestlemania XXX to take care of. That is the Wrestlemania taking place immediately after the speculated launch date of the network and of course that graphic carry's neither a play button nor the new Network logo. But then it was created over a year ago at this point.

The graphic for 30 - "scratch logo" intact.

It all makes for interesting speculation, no?