I took a friend of mine to WWE Live in Louisville Saturday night. My friend is disabled and gets around in a wheelchair. He’s a huge wrestling fan, and whenever the WWE comes to town, he has to go, and he has to get a new John Cena shirt.
Saturday afternoon, I received an email about WWE Shop Express. This is a new service the WWE offers at live events that allows you to order merchandise on your phone and pick it up at a separate table. I considered using the service right then, but as I couldn’t decide on a shirt for myself, I decided to take my chances on the regular merch table.
When we got to the arena, the T-shirt table was jammed. There was no way I could maneuver him in safely in his chair and get him and myself shirts. I spotted the Shop Express table nearby, a short distance from the crowd, and I decided to give it a try. The website promised a simple, three step process. Pick your merchandise; pay online; wait for the email to tell you your order is ready. I’m happy to say it really was that simple.
The order process, including setting up an account (because your wwe.com account won’t work on this site) took barely five minutes. I hit the pay button and instantly received an email confirming my order. I looked over at the Express table and saw our shirts being pulled at that very moment. Less than two minutes after completing our order, we had our shirts and were on our way to our seats.
WWE Shop Express does not offer all the same shirts available at the venue, which isn’t entirely bad news. There were several shirts on the regular merch table that were not available through Shop Express, but Shop Express had several shirts not offered on the merch table. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were not in Louisville, but their shirts could be had through Shop Express. Shop Express also offered T-shirts for NXT stars Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, and after an afternoon of deliberation, I finally went with Owens.
WWE has always been very good about being accessible to folks with disabilities. I remember being very impressed with the extra care they took at Wrestlemania Axxess in 2011 to accommodate those with special needs. I don’t know assisting the disabled was part of the idea behind Shop Express, but it was a huge plus for us. I can’t recommend WWE Shop Express enough for that reason alone.
As a final thought, I want to say THANK YOU to all the WWE fans who were so kind and considerate with a fellow fan who needed a little extra help. WWE events always have a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, and Saturday was no different. To everyone who held doors, cleared the way, and offered a hand – thank you.