What happened with the wrestling crowd?
- Thread starter GameOver
- Start date
This form of entertainment seems heavily tied to toxic masculinity and society at large in the first world has moved away from that energy
Smartphones and the Internet.They were more alive back in the the late 90s/early 2000s.
WCW went bankrupt
WWE stopped having serious competition
Vince McMahon became the character he played on tv (or worse than, even)
Personally nothing beats nwo era wcw. I have been watching it on peacock from their formation and about a year in so far
WWE stopped having serious competition
Vince McMahon became the character he played on tv (or worse than, even)
Personally nothing beats nwo era wcw. I have been watching it on peacock from their formation and about a year in so far
The business changed, and so did people, so did American culture. That kind of wrestling boom might not happen again in our lifetimes.
A lot of people grew out of it and it didn't take with as many younger people that would need to replace them. It's entire aesthetic and vibe is heavily rooted in the 90s and early 2000s, I feel. But it's not like it's dead or anything. It's just not a massive phenomenon. A lot of places in America have local wrestling scenes, from what I understand.
Wrestling was about 10x bigger during the attitude era.
But every now and then, the modern audience goes ape shit for a special moment:
View: https://youtu.be/ByAXCjqBzLg
View: https://youtu.be/dRVSKXlrTRk&t=2m53s
But every now and then, the modern audience goes ape shit for a special moment:
View: https://youtu.be/ByAXCjqBzLg
View: https://youtu.be/dRVSKXlrTRk&t=2m53s
Crowds tend to be louder on more special appearances, occasions or for hometown favorites. Fewer and further between, but it's not hard to find a modern example of a loud crowd.
The Attitude era couldn't be topped
i don't think concert going has decreased over time
yeah it has a lot. whatever was on the wwe network before is mostly on there i guess
its far from complete -- WCW Saturday Night, for example only has like 1994 and before.
I think they mean how engaged people are, which is a complaint many artists have. Everyone trying to get their phones out to record.
It doesn't have to be tied to that, but, you know, Vince McMahon.
When WCW went out if business, around 3 million people stopped watching. No joke. There is historical proof and lots of data.
And with WWE as the only mainstream US player in the game, their quality went down, their biggest stars left, and people stopped watching. Now its getting on average 2 million per week instead of the 6+ it was getting previously.
And with WWE as the only mainstream US player in the game, their quality went down, their biggest stars left, and people stopped watching. Now its getting on average 2 million per week instead of the 6+ it was getting previously.
plenty of lively crowds in mma and boxing. from what i've listened to people in the audience for wrestling these days pretty much get bored since there is very little wrestling and a whole bunch of down time. since wwe is pretty much only catering shows for tv they don't really care about the audience attending as much as they did in the past.
The WWE product has just been absolute garbage for the past decade or so, at least.
Just the same matches between the same people ad nauseum without ever giving anybody a reason to care. In cases where the audience did latch onto someone who was actually charismatic or put in the effort to stand out, their toxic management either fucked them over because they weren't something "they created", or took a more hands-on approach with them and killed the potentially-golden goose.
They've driven out anybody who wanted to see something good and now it's mostly people going out of a sense of nostalgia or obligation. Everybody knows you're not actually going to see anything noteworthy when you go to a show, because they've abandoned any kind of actual storytelling.
Just the same matches between the same people ad nauseum without ever giving anybody a reason to care. In cases where the audience did latch onto someone who was actually charismatic or put in the effort to stand out, their toxic management either fucked them over because they weren't something "they created", or took a more hands-on approach with them and killed the potentially-golden goose.
They've driven out anybody who wanted to see something good and now it's mostly people going out of a sense of nostalgia or obligation. Everybody knows you're not actually going to see anything noteworthy when you go to a show, because they've abandoned any kind of actual storytelling.
it's crazy to think that for a while there 10 million people were simultaneously watching wrestling on Monday nights
I think the atmosphere was destroyed by a couple things.
People understand how the camera works, so most people only make signs if they'll be seen so wide shots look dead. Also for better or for worse, signs get confiscated if its not something they want shown.
No more flash photography really killed big moments because you used to be able to physically tell when people thought something cool was happening.
The camera work and presentation is much different. Wwe's camera work is Taken 3 levels of hectic and the environment is as sterile as a surgeons table. So it comes across less than before.
The shows are also just longer with less wrestling. And most of the time there's a pre show. So 10:30 RAW might already be 3.5 hours deep into sitting. It's hard to maintain hype the way they book their shows.
People understand how the camera works, so most people only make signs if they'll be seen so wide shots look dead. Also for better or for worse, signs get confiscated if its not something they want shown.
No more flash photography really killed big moments because you used to be able to physically tell when people thought something cool was happening.
The camera work and presentation is much different. Wwe's camera work is Taken 3 levels of hectic and the environment is as sterile as a surgeons table. So it comes across less than before.
The shows are also just longer with less wrestling. And most of the time there's a pre show. So 10:30 RAW might already be 3.5 hours deep into sitting. It's hard to maintain hype the way they book their shows.
The wrestlers of today aren't as popular as the ones in the 1990s
Storylines were more intense and entertaining - characters were bigger than life types like undertaker, stone cold, the rock, hulk hogan, sting, Goldberg, etc
You don't have anyone remotely comparable now a days
It's kinda like video games are now - the current wrestlers are the result of being fans growing up watching the legends of the 1990s and before.
They replicate past successes like how bullet club is like a spiritual successor to nwo but are not as peak popular as it was.
Competition was fierce between wwf and wcw but now wwe is in a league of its own with all the sponsorships, etc and aew is nowhere close to it in comparison.
It's just a different era now
Storylines were more intense and entertaining - characters were bigger than life types like undertaker, stone cold, the rock, hulk hogan, sting, Goldberg, etc
You don't have anyone remotely comparable now a days
It's kinda like video games are now - the current wrestlers are the result of being fans growing up watching the legends of the 1990s and before.
They replicate past successes like how bullet club is like a spiritual successor to nwo but are not as peak popular as it was.
Competition was fierce between wwf and wcw but now wwe is in a league of its own with all the sponsorships, etc and aew is nowhere close to it in comparison.
It's just a different era now
So many former WCW fans became MMA fans when the UFC started catching on with The Ultimate Fighter. I would listen to Sherdog Radio and every once in a while the host would drop a wrestling reference. When he did that it was guaranteed the callers for the rest of the episode would get nostalgic and bring up that they used to watch Nitro but stopped entirely when WCW died. Happened every time he did it.
Yeah. I saw a show last weekend where the singer literally had to bring it up 4 fucking times that they wanted people to stop filming and put their phones away.
I think the rise of MMA took at least some of wrestling's numbers. It's not the same thing but there is somewhat of an overlap of seeing athletic people hurt themselves for your entertainment.
Also a large segment of the populace still didn't know it's was choreography - kayfabe was still there.
With that gone, the remaining crowd is one that appreciates the technical artistry behind the illusion which is by nature smaller.
Also a large segment of the populace still didn't know it's was choreography - kayfabe was still there.
With that gone, the remaining crowd is one that appreciates the technical artistry behind the illusion which is by nature smaller.
was going to say, how did anyone in those crowds actually watch the wrestling.
and yeah not to sound like a boomer but it's definitely phones. this is what sports crowds look like now:
Yep. I was one of them. I ate and fucking slept wrestling back then. WCW died and that part of me went with it because WWE just seemed like they were trying to be edgy for the sake of being edgy back then for me.
For me it's just that no one is cool or believable enough to make me want to chant or go crazy. Even live. (Kayfabe not existing anymore is probably the main reason for me)
Like who can elicit this now ?
View: https://youtu.be/iz7HojjsmQA
Like who can elicit this now ?
View: https://youtu.be/iz7HojjsmQA