Last Y/A question: Why are there now so many wrestling fans that are WWE loyal and won't vary in the wrestling they watch?

Question

Haven't been on here in a while and with Answers closing figured I'd ask one more for old times sake. I don't even know if anyone who used to regularly come on here almost 10-15 years ago does so anymore. But here goes, like the old days:

Pro wrestling used to have a huge variety of wrestling, with that included many wrestling companies that were extremely popular and drawing more overall than companies are now (mostly tv, Mania stadium shows yearly is always a huge draw).

Fans had their favorite companies, favorite wrestlers, but watched a wider variety of wrestling companies. For example, I did start with the WWF, not long after I found the NWA/WCW, this was in the 1980s (I'm old). As I kept looking I found the AWA, USWA, GWF, WCCW, a bunch of local Independents..later ECW (I'm sure I missed some). I would watch ALL of it, even though my favorite was NWA/WCW.

Granted, WWE has in my opinion over saturated their TV with the amount of hours of programming that exists now, back then tv shows would be 1 hour regularly, and the Saturday evening NWA/WCW slot was 2, this is the show I always looked forward to and existed before RAW.

But why can't, or won't, people vary what they watch today? Is it the amount of hours and shows the tv shows are now? Is it the lack of variety the past 20 years or so making it look like Vince tried to monopolize wrestling? What is it? People don't just watch Game of Thrones and that's it, no other shows...

Please go into detail if you need to..

Adam · Accepted Answer

Good question. I think it's a combination of factors now. The simple answer is for the casual fan, there's nothing there to really attract them. Lets go into why

I think the product on offer is a major part of it. WWE and AEW have failed to create that true mainstream star that is needed in wrestling. I know Austin and Hogan were once in a generation star but no one has come close to having that sort of mainstream appeal, not even Cena. The product is also not interesting. When was the last time you honestly had a PPV Coming up where you had to watch it. Or you were watching an episode of Raw and you wanted to chat to someone about it after. The last storyline that had me really really gripped was the Cena Punk MITB feud.
AEW has started well but again, there is no real long term story that grips you. The booking most of the time feels like filler.

I also think WWE is trying to cater to everyone and only capturing a quarter of the audience they could get in each demographic. If they want the 18-30+ demographic then change the show to appeal and get the full audience. For that they need to make it more adult orientated. If they want the kid market, commit to it and kill the 3 hour Raw because that's too long to keep a kid watching.

WWE has got complacent as they had the whole audience and they stupidly believe the business is cyclical. It's a self inflicted down turn.

However the way tv is consumed has changed and now people have more choice than ever before. Any wrestling promotion will use this a reason, i say its an excuse. They need to adapt with the times and make shows binge worthy. For me, the first way is to reduce the show lengths or at least make each hour different enough that it feels like you are watching 3 different shows. The tried and tested formula is failing now.

Dave Hytmen · Answer

They just aren't worth watching.  AEW is TNA with wCw budget, TNA doesn't exist and NJPW is like watching people from the 50s figure out the 90s happened.

Spyro · Answer

I think the reason is there are a ton of tv shows to watch. WWE takes a big part of people's time. I think it's more of people not having the time to watch all their favorite shows and all of pro wrestling, more so than them been against other promotions. I think they would enjoy other companies if they took the time. Back then they weren't all these cool tv shows to watch(Especially when there was no internet of wifi), where people can binge watch a bunch of stuff on different networks. It could also be they are conditioned to think WWE is the best, and if they don't enjoy WWE, they think they won't enjoy the others either.

Anonymous · Answer

It is sad.

Candle · Answer

Hey man! Long time no see!

I think a big reason for it is because of familiarity.  As of now, there aren't many English speaking promotions that have been as visible as WWE over the past 20 years.  It's like going to a restaurant chain that only sells Pepsi.  If you like the restaurant, you'll go back and most likely drink a Pepsi product even if you liked other sodas.  Inevitably you grow a taste for it and decide it's better than Coke, despite not having a Coke in 20 years or branching out to try independently owned sodas like IBC or RC.  Tribalism just works that way sometimes, to the point that you can't argue or have a constructive conversation with someone despite their complaints about the product they champion so vehemently.

CJ · Answer

Because the wrestling industry is dead in general. WWE is the only relevant company, and that's being kind because WWE is not relevant at all. They are only relevant in mainstream media when someone dies. No one knows what AEW or ROH or NJPW is except for the small fraction of """hardcore""" fans aka basement dwellers.

Last Y/A question: Why are there now so many wrestling fans that are WWE loyal and won't vary in the wrestling they watch?

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