Are we about to enter a boom period? - Triple H: "We are setting records all over. It's a Special Time."

[BuckFilly]

go get some p*ssy nikka

 

[Finn Baller]

They also needlessly turned Austin heel in 2001 and some people tuned out after that

 

[Larry]

I think we’re already booming. Wrestling is popular as shyt in mainstream America no matter how much people love to downplay it. It’s still one of the most consistently watched things on tv every week, and engagement across social media is always high. There’s never not a night wrestling isn’t trending whenever it’s on (WWE/AEW)


comparing its numbers to those from the late 90’s or even the mid 2010’s is a bad way to gauge. The way people consume has changed so much, we’ll never see numbers like that again the same way the NBA will never see MJ finals ratings again. No matter how popular pro wrestling gets, it’s never gonna do Monday Night Football type of numbers. Y’all gotta let that go.


Pretending Wrestling is some dying pop culturally irrelevant shyt is crazy tho. We got NFL players doing wrestling taunts as celebrations, popular rappers referencing wrestling shyt in their raps, etc.


Stop selling this shyt short. It’s still popping heavily

 

[krackdagawd]

I hope all wrasslin does well

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

As a fan i hate this question mainly because I don't care if it ever goes "mainstream" ever again. TBH mainstream ruins anything it touches over time as casuals b*stardize the essence of what made something great. Currently i'm seeing it with UFC and Johnny Venum hanging out with a bunch of drunk douchebags who found a 20lb weight a few times and brings their flags to the events to boo any fight that doesn't look like it belongs in the kumite.

To answer the question, no I don't see a "boom" period on the scale of the attitude era happening now or ever again in our lifetime but wrestling is more popular than it has been recently but that's more due to the ease of streaming and clips on the internet than any one angle. Either way, i'm just gonna enjoy what I enjoy and keep it pushin.

 

[boriquaking]

Absolutely not.

 

[Tryna Makit]

go get some p*ssy nikka

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

Don’t no one give a shyt about aew. Roman reigns is in a boom so wwe gets paid. That’s really it. Casuals are fukking with Roman hard, y’all don’t even know. Absolutely no one gives a shyt about aew, they don’t even do 4k ticket sales per show lol.

A secondary promotion selling 15000-20000 seats at Arthur Ashe every year or at the United Center or the Forum or D.C. ... there haven't been many instances in history where a 2nd promotion could do that.

TNA's highest attendance was about 6000

 

[True Blue Moon]

This post is a good point of context

A lot of that 90s shyt is constantly and consistently referenced because so many paradigms were shifted during that time

The Attitude Era popped not only because it was edgy by wrestling's standards, it was edgy by society's standards. The novelty of "they're showing this on TV???" was so strong. The product was riveting because of the stories yea but there was an extra layer of intrigue because of the spectacle being witnessed.

Mentioning AI is a good parallel because he was a spectacle in his own right. His style of play and his appearance ran counter to status quo at the time

I don't see anyway for wrestling to regain that level of spectacle when it has social media fukkery to compete with

It's not going to be shock that does it this time, it's going to be compelling storytelling. Game of Thrones references are just standard human vernacular now, and people go out of their way to watch shows on little niche networks now if the writing and acting are next level.

Once irrelevant filler movie networks like Starz and AMC are holding down powerhouse franchises and building universes.

And instead of just dirtsheet guys consistently covering the wrestling like the 90s, we have legitimate journalists with Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS, etc. documenting things and breaking news. No one wants to be left out of the hottest stories that are changing TV, so going that route would have way more of an impact than just trying to ramp up the titties and blood.

90s was the Cops, OJ, Jerry Springer era, but now people want to see characters going for a ride with huge payoffs

 

[O.Red]

It's not going to be shock that does it this time, it's going to be compelling storytelling. Game of Thrones references are just standard human vernacular now, and people go out of their way to watch shows on little niche networks now if the writing and acting are next level.

Once irrelevant filler movie networks like Starz and AMC are holding down powerhouse franchises and building universes.

And instead of just dirtsheet guys consistently covering the wrestling like the 90s, we have legitimate journalists with Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS, etc. documenting things and breaking news. No one wants to be left out of the hottest stories that are changing TV, so going that route would have way more of an impact than just trying to ramp up the titties and blood.

90s was the Cops, OJ, Jerry Springer era, but now people want to see characters going for a ride with huge payoffs

To be clear when I talk about spectacle it ain't just relegated to sex and edginess. Storytelling can provide spectacle but it's an uphill battle in wrestling because of certain inherent connotations

But it is interesting that you mentioned Game Of Thrones because it emphasizes my previous post. Game Of Thrones was excellent storytelling, but part of that storytelling was FUKKERYLannister fukkery brought ratings before the dragons did. The fukkery was what DREW people to GOT, the story was what kept them

So to further clarify, no I don't think just taking the current WWE and slapping attitude Era shyt on top is a binary solution, because like I mentioned, the Attitude Era was a pioneer in shifting cultural norms in the 90s. For current WWE to get that heat back, they would have to lead or be a major participant in a counter culture movement relevant to this time. Sex and fukkery is everywhere these days so what could it be? Who knows?

 

[O.Red]

Also I consider myself an educated casual that's halfway considering getting back into wrestling because I did enjoy the Rumble last night but I gotta ask exactly what y'all mean by mainstream? Or a boom?

The WWE YouTube got 93 million subscribers Who else is even approaching that? That's a nation worth of subscribers I think wrestling ain't as niche as some of y'all think it is

But even if you still consider wrestling niche using the term as a pejorative is outdated thinking in my opinion. "Niche" is winning these days. Social media has made enjoying your niche possible in ways that didn't exist previously

I think WWE is in a unique mainstream/niche position that I ain't sure can even be replicated. I think that's a part of where the underdog language wrestling fans use comes from. Wrestling feels niche to some of you, but it also happens to be the biggest niche in the fukkin world

 

[True Blue Moon]

To be clear when I talk about spectacle it ain't just relegated to sex and edginess. Storytelling can provide spectacle but it's an uphill battle in wrestling because of certain inherent connotations

But it is interesting that you mentioned Game Of Thrones because it emphasizes my previous post. Game Of Thrones was excellent storytelling, but part of that storytelling was FUKKERYLannister fukkery brought ratings before the dragons did. The fukkery was what DREW people to GOT, the story was what kept them

So to further clarify, no I don't think just taking the current WWE and slapping attitude Era shyt on top is a binary solution, because like I mentioned, the Attitude Era was a pioneer in shifting cultural norms in the 90s. For current WWE to get that heat back, they would have to lead or be a major participant in a counter culture movement relevant to this time. Sex and fukkery is everywhere these days so what could it be? Who knows?

Yeah, we're on the same page. And wrestling has enough inherent fukkery in the product that we'll never have to worry about that ever not being a focus

I'm just excited that long-term storytelling is being prioritized because it's always been the thing that makes it good. 5-Star matches are great but story will always be king. We're the nerd generation that loves Comiccon and superhero movies that take on darker or more adult tones. DC and Marvel can't get away with just rolling out a BS movie to sell merchandise like they used to be able to.

I've always said that for years, even when WWE is bad, their greatest strength has been those little 2-minute vignettes that catch us up on the story right before a PPV match. They've taken lukewarm storylines that I didn't care about, but then when I see how they add the narration, music, and video, I'm like damn, all that happened

The world and the way we consume media is too segmented today to compare any kind of successful creative and popularity strides to the Attitude Era, but I can definitely see them hitting another gear and changing the game in a different way.

I can see them putting more effort into having those little easter eggs and possible breadcrumbs that get the internet talking during their builds and angles. Hopefully the success of the Bloodline storyline is going to inspire other wrestlers to take pride in their feuds in this way, and that with Vince gone from creative, people get the breathing room to do their thing

 

[LastManStanding]

mannn.... as much as we all love watching the shyt .... it ain't in no boom period and likely NEVER will be ever again.

you could line up 100 random people in any city in America and ask them about professional wrestling in 2023 and many of them would know of Stone Cold, The Rock, and Hogan ... but maybe 1 or 2 of them would even know what AEW is or who the hell Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss is lol....

the only hope of another "boom period" is if Vince takes WWE back private again and starts airing fukkery like they did in the late 90's .... other than that ... it's just gonna be the same 3-4 million people in the entire world population of billions who watches wrestling.

 

[ALonelyDad]

People are enjoying it and talking about it more but in my experience it is more from people who quit watching and coming back to new fans tuning in. We still have to see how it goes after the bloodline storyline, those guys are all legit stars right now and must see tv. I cant think of anyone else that comes close.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]