Wrestling is going through something unique these days. Do you feel it?
It’s like a rumble that follows the sound of thunder and the beating of millions, maybe billions of hearts. But is it as rapturous and inescapable as what came before?
I’ll cut to the chase. The “boom period”. It’s happened before, and it’s viable that it’ll happen again – but are we living in one right now? Specific discussions on the internet would leave you to believe so. I honestly feel like there’s a case for a “boom period” happening right now or very soon, because pro wrestling as a whole feels red hot right now. Crowds are screaming, merchandise and ratings are up, and companies are buying into the mania.
Yeah, to put it in simple terms, I’m leaning that way, that this is a new era. But even if you’re not swayed, indulge me in this hypothetical world where a new boom period is possible.
It’s hard to say, and we need more time, but I haven’t seen the industry break out this much in a while. The industry feels incredibly hot, without heavily involving too much celebrity, and when they are utilized, they are spent in a way that doesn’t detract from the actual talent, often enhancing them in the process in lieu of being treated as a joke.
I know it’s just my experiences I’m talking about here, so I can’t speak for everyone, but even people I know who don’t watch wrestling have asked me about articles, posts, and clips on social media talking about the current happenings in wrestling. Sometimes it’s a party outside of wrestling that takes part of this kayfabe world, other times it’s a wrestler they grew up with performing elsewhere (had a former coworker ask why Rob Van Dam was wrestling for a Japanese promotion named NOAH). Regardless, people are taking notice again beyond the mainstream podcast or talk show appearance.
What’s at the heart of this, you may ask? The stories and the talents that execute them. Fans now have these alternatives that are pushing and pushing to ensure the best product comes out. There’s teamwork and there’s competition – all of this, everywhere, pumping engines of a machine born for war.
Take WWE, for instance. The product for a while aims to redeem WWE’s name in the eyes of consumers. Of course, it still has its flaws. I mean, look who came back to the company this year despite “retiring” a year ago to the day this article is being published. So the WWE drum keeps beating on. It’s a company that seeks to make “moments”. It’s only now that there are people who care about the franchise that make sure the points that lead to these moments are impactful and filled with meaning. Certainly, they won’t bat a thousand, but what promotion will?
After so long of turning off fans, the company is embracing making fans happy by booking less deflating finishes and improving story quality. Fans are rewarded for paying attention and investing in past and present storylines- even outside the company. What was once a rarity is now a commonality when the product references past stories in the company and those of other promotions like PWG, AJPW/NOAH, and NJPW. Truly a monumental effort (take this very seriously). In its wake, the wrestlers signed became bigger stars by being themselves.
Alpha Academy gets to showcase how great Chad Gable and Otis are as they train Maxxine Dupri, while The Judgement Day is a fun faction of heathens being chaotic rather than spooky. Imperium sees Gunther dominate the Intercontinental Championship scene, as Seth Rollins holds the World Heavyweight Championship.
The aforementioned Gunther and Seth Rollins are massively over with the fans, too. Not only them but Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, and even LA Knight as of recently. Crowds are molten hot, frothing in joy for the talents oft clamored for, brimming with an energy that solidifies who connects. It’s a beautiful thing.
Factor in the highly popular Bloodline story, and you have something that is gripping in the world of modern wrestling. The Usos are one of the best tag teams in the current day, Solo Sikoa is an unstoppable beast, and Paul Heyman is remarkably legendary as ever in his mic skills. Roman Reigns, however, is the center that makes the whole project work. While not the best wrestler ever, he displays a vicious, dominating, godlike, fascist aura that makes it hard to ignore. The story of his abusive narcissism has compelled audiences for over three years now as he’s held the gold for about as long.
For those who get tired of the way WWE operates, never fear – there are alternatives in place. If you don’t want to watch extended promo segments, and if WWE’s wrestling material doesn’t satisfy, then perhaps Impact, NJPW, or the indies would work. Or, if you want the American big crowd feel of WWE but with more in-ring action, then AEW is your best bet.
Wrestling out the wahoo here. Sure, some err on the sports entertainment side, with their fun promos and segments, but some wrestlers can tell beautiful stories through their matches, like Bryan Danielson, MJF, FTR, Jay White, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, and oh good lord I’ll be here forever. You’ll end up exiting this wonderful article I’ve curated for you and I’ll be all the more sad for it if I kept going. You get my picture.
Anyways, AEW is the place where stories are told either in weeks or years, usually with a payoff, and it is also the place where random people can be thrown together, occasionally including dream matches. It’s a formula that’s suited them well, as wrestlers are allowed to be themselves and sell their characters simply by being themselves. That’s practically the premise of their annual Forbidden Door events with New Japan Pro Wrestling, for Pete’s sake. I don’t know who Pete is, or what his sakes have to do with it, but whatever, shut up about it.
AEW has a way to go viral while also catering to what wrestling should be to others and is what others remember it being, as it learns from what came before and what is while also adhering to what it needs to be in its form. That’s what makes the product so fun to watch. It’s whatever it needs to be.
Erstwhile, NJPW itself is returning to wrestling prominence once more. They’re pushing the youth of the future, be it the Reiwa Three Musketeers or Bullet Club’s War Dogs, as Kazuchika Okada is more of an ass-kicker and Sanada flashes handsomely as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. Not only that, but the company created by Antonio Inoki in the 1970s has only recently made history for itself by allowing women to be featured on the card. With help from World Wonder Ring Stardom, the independent scene, AEW, and newly acquired roster member, Mercedes Moné (formerly Sasha Banks of WWE and member of Snoop Dogg’s family). As Japanese crowds return to vocal capacity, NJPW becomes stronger, knowing who and what to be.
Each company has been willing to work with each other in some capacities, some very minimal and some broader, they show a willingness to work together to provide a fun time to fans everywhere. Everyone is working to create memories that will leave fans remembering moments weekly and monthly like they did in the late 90s and early 2000s or the 1980s. There’s a synergy that makes pro wrestling as an entity feel broader. When you think about it, the fictional world of pro wrestling is like Eichiro Oda’s One Piece, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth series, or Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea franchise that makes the history of the medium feel like a setting brimming with rich and in-depth world-building. Personally, this has kept me invested and I already liked wrestling for what it is.
Sure, not everybody is going to be a team player. Someone has to be the Tonya Harding to somebody’s Nancy Kerrigan. It could be warring promotions, or it could be the talents themselves. If you thought Tony Schiavone spoiling the main events of pre-taped Monday Night Raw during WCW Monday Nitro was dirty, I expect it to get just as nasty, if not nastier. Not to mention that talents will have bargaining chips once their contracts run out and egos will assuredly clash. Wrestlers who have performed their ass off will expect recompense for their hard work, and if that doesn’t come, if that goes to someone else, well the politics and egos are not going to coexist with that.
It’s going to be ugly.
Back on a positive note, however, celebrities are getting involved too, such as Logan Paul, Bad Bunny, Johnny Knoxville, and the egg from Netflix’s Red Notice, who all appeared on WWE, whereas Rick Ross, Action Bronson, Paul Walter Hauser, and the Impractical Jokers appearing on AEW. Wrestling is feeling like a star attraction again.
At the time of writing this, wrestling is starting to see the fruitful benefits of the ongoing strikes with writers and actors of film and television, wrestling relies on the strength of the performers. Someone is bound to be bored of the lack of content (or good content), and find professional wrestling, either reigniting their interest in it or starting the flame to begin with.
Naturally, this boom period isn’t guaranteed. Maybe we’re living in it, or maybe not. Maybe it’s Maybelline. And if not, it doesn’t have to be a negative thing, as a friend in wrestling media recently told me – which immediately brought to mind the current state of wrestling tribalism that is likely to grow. Who knows how long it will last? People often move on to the next big thing when the current big thing starts to feel smaller.
Even if a consumer is devoid of new content, they’re not bound to have their attention held by wrestling. It’s not for everyone, and there’s still various forms of entertainment, new and old. Should wrestling break into the greater mainstream again, it might not last long. It’s such a hard thing to measure and sustain.
Despite this, I’m an optimist, so I can see a boom happening, regardless of wrestling still having its stigma. It may still be the butt of jokes even if it did break through – jokes of white trash, of illegitimate entertainment, and of goofy sports. These jabs are bound to continue.
But at its core, wrestling’s possible boom period would come purely at those in the heart of the storm that produces such thunder. Yeah, you could chalk up the hype of fans being enamored by the state of the business in the past few years, but this truly feels special.
This comes from that which is the essence and core of wrestling, the wrestlers themselves. The ones who bruise, scrape, bleed, and sweat for this art form. There’s no one person that does it – sure, CM Punk, Kenny Omega, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns may be at the forefront, but it’s not the main character syndrome of HulkaMania and the Cena Era WWE. It’s everyone fighting for a spot and fighting for everyone to succeed. Characters that feel alive, like flesh and pain and heartbreak that speak to us beyond the barricade or screen. Every ounce they pour into their matches, promos, and character determines the very thing that elicits the very sound needed.
The crowds. We’re going to determine what’s good or not. We’re going to dictate with our views and money which show is a must-watch as everyone scrambles to outdo each other or plant their feet firmly and remain unabashedly themselves. In the end, we are the ones that must be fed, and our compensation drives this as the popularity swells like a crescendo in a symphony of pure delight.
It’s growing louder. The cheers, the boos, the chants. Louder and louder, cacophonous in an echoing chamber of emotion and power, like lightning coursing through a dark cloudy sky, the thunder rumbling through the landscape as it makes its sound.
The boom. Can you hear it?
