So when is the ''upswing'' going to happen?

[kareru]

Or will it even happen at all?

we all know about the upswing and downswing that happens in regards to pro wrestling, and we have been talking about a possible upswing for nearly a decade now.

What do you guys think is the criteria for a wrestling upswing in this era of wrestling?

Personally i don''t think a second wrestling company is required, and there will never be a ratings ''war'' ever again since we have DVR''s and the internet however i believe a second company will emerge by way or popularity and interesting this sport should an upswing ever happen, but is it solely up to the WWE?

interested in your thoughts

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

I think they say there is always an upswing to just set people's minds to the fact that there will be an upswing. Also it leaves them open to the fact that they don't actually have to do any real work to make an upswing happen. Just tell the fans that wrestling popularity comes and goes.

Right now the plan seems to be lying that wrestling is popular again using Jonathan Coachman's position in ESPN.

It happened before so it'll happen again is textbook circular logic and invalid.

[Simple Fan]

I think it starts with WWE being more interactive with other promotions like they are doing with the Cruiserweight Classic. WWE is always going to be #1. I could see eventually some smaller promotions airing on the WWE Network.

[Shisen Kopf]

Now that RYBACK is gone there will never be an upswing. Vince is a dumbass.

[kareru]

I know this is played out idea now, but i do feel strongly that a WCW revival shold be implemented, Shane wanted it back when it was purchased, its a similar idea to the brand split but having ''2 separate companies'' creating a forced rivalry might be good, it may even bring back some fans, its a viable option and a great way to utilise all the talent that the WWE currently has, and NXT can be the sort of ECW company.

[XL]

I never believed in the "cyclical nature" of wrestling. I think there were peaks (Hogan, Austin) that we likely won't see again.

[Lock Jaw]

10-20 years after John Cena retires if they make it that far.

[Gerard]

It's not.

[harmsway]

Wrestling fans won't let it happen

[Maluco]

There is no cycle. The first popular phase was Hulk Hogan, and he brought the rest into the mainstream.

Second "upturn" was pure competition. If WCW hadnt been challenging, the shackles might have never been taken off certain stars.

Noone stands out, everybody wins and loses ad nauseum, and until someone rises above it all, or strong competition comes out of nowhere, the company will rest on its laurels and continue with no stars and matches that mean very little.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Competition is an important factor, because promotions start taking risks. Do you really think Vince would have let The Rock be The Rock if he wasn't worried about getting his ass kicked in the ratings and going out of business? It's still surreal to look back at Stone Cold Steve Austin -- given his size, presentation and style -- and contemplate that he is one of wrestling's biggest ever stars. He was basically Dolph Ziggler in WCW.

The good thing about competition being dead is that there is a bit less sleaziness. Daniel Bryan would have been snatched up by WCW and he'd be killing himself as Bryan Danielson right now. But creatively you'd see more out of guys. Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder and possibly even guys like Cesaro would have jumped ship by now. Or maybe they'd be more happy in the WWE because they'd need to utilize talent better to compete with the awesome wrestling the WCW equivalent would be putting on?

You don't need competition to be innovative. Vince could decide to turn John Cena heel and I guarantee you there would be a massive rating on RAW the following week. People would want to see what this douchebag that has been a goody-goody for twelve years is doing being a complete fuckstain now. You want a guy to lead The Bullet Club? There's your man. Basically you need to make wrestling cool again. People can't be embarrassed to talk about their love for it and need to justify it using some sort of ironic exploration of testosterone-driven trainwreck entertainment. There needs to be some sort of finger on the cultural pulse that makes it cool to be a fan again.

Paul Heyman is really the guy to lead that charge. It's not me being an ECW fan or clamoring for the early SmackDown brand split days either. The guy's passion is staying on the cutting edge and getting people in rooms to share their ideas for innovation. If anyone is going to say "Hey, this is what will get people talking" in the wrestling world, it's Heyman. Honorable mention goes to Kevin Nash. Seriously.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Seriously, a three-man booking team of Heyman, Sullivan and Nash, with Heyman having the final say and Nash and Sullivan basically being guys to contribute and bounce ideas off would be tremendous. Nash is no longer an active participant in the ring or on-air, so his ego would be out of it, and the brilliance could come forth. Sullivan gets the raw bones of what wrestling should be, and usually has a twisted idea about how to take it from A-to-B in ways that people can't really predict, and really don't want to. Some of his ideas sound a bit dated, and if he were left to his own devices he might get carried away and the product might be a bit hokey, but with Nash and Heyman there you'd pick the ideas that really warm the soul.

[Rammsteinmad]

Nash is no longer an active participant in the ring or on-air, so his ego would be out of it

Pretty sure that was supposed to be how Hogan in TNA played out, and look what happened there.

[Jordan]

To the OP...

Who the fuck would know the answer to this?

[Emperor Smeat]

Probably never at least in regards to another Hulkamania or Attitude Era like mainstream boom.

The Cena era is the closest the WWE has to mimicking the Hulkamania era and all that got them was declining ratings and mainstream interest. Cena might be as popular as Hogan was in regards to today's kids but came at a huge cost of almost everyone else being mostly irrelevant in the bigger picture.

Even in regards to the indies, TNA, ROH, and LU all have their own share of problems that's impacting the industry. Probably going to need something huge affecting the whole industry to get another real boom to happen. NXT becoming an indie breeding ground could be the start but it can't just be the WWE who benefits the most in the end.

[Destor]

I think the wrestling works in cycles mentality is a sham. Its only had two upswings into mainstream. Thats not a pattern.

[weather vane]

To the OP...

Who the fuck would know the answer to this?

Ur dum

[The Condor]

It's never happening. The #brand doesn't allow for transcendent pop cultural figures to explode the business. There will be ebbs and flows, though never craters and never Attitude Era levels of success. That's it.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Pretty sure that was supposed to be how Hogan in TNA played out, and look what happened there.

Nash is smarter than Hogan.

[Outsider]

There is no guarantee it will happen, but that isn't to say it can't happen again.

But for it to happen there has to be the element of surprise possible. What made the Monday night wars great was the potential for anything to happen, for any wrestler from any promotion to show up on any given night.

It is the same kind of thing that is happening with NXT now, with the potential for any Indy star to show up at any time. It makes it exciting and gives the fans a high. The only problem is that NXTs debuts will only really appeal to hardcore fans who know who Indy wrestlers are.

Until there is a real mainstream alternative to WWE there can't be this surprise factor again. There needs to be stars built outside of that company who could potentially join the WWE, but equally the potential for any wrestler to leave WWE for another promotion without it just being a recent release turning up in TNA. There needs to be big stars attracted elsewhere instead.

However there is no guarentee the WWE will be the biggest fish in the pond forever. As people have already mentioned, past trends are no guarantee and there are plenty of big companies that have ultimately failed for any variety of reasons. I think one day there will be a viable alternative competition for WWE, but we've gone 15 years now without one and it could easily be another 15 without one.

[DAMN iNATOR]

It's never happening. The #brand doesn't allow for transcendent pop cultural figures to explode the business. There will be ebbs and flows, though never craters and never Attitude Era levels of success. That's it.

True, but if the '80s were the Golden Age and the Monday Night Wars/Attitude Era was the Silver Age, I believe we could eventually see a Bronze Age for WWE which will be somewhat less awesome than the MNW/Attitude Era, just as the MNW/Attitude Era was inferior to the '80s WWF.

[Mr. Nerfect]

They really need to start listening to fans if they want it to happen. People can't be embarrassed about their professional wrestling watching habits. You need to get people to tell other people that wrestling is cool, and the product needs to have some sort of throughline to the current cultural zeitgeist.

I really feel like they are nailing it, somewhat, with Reigns and Styles. There's something about those two men killing each other that is just "cool." I'm not in a rush to see this program end. If they manage to get Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins involved, it might become something awesome, but then you've got quite a few moving parts for a WWE Title program.

[Evil Vito]

What made the Monday night wars great was the potential for anything to happen, for any wrestler from any promotion to show up on any given night.

Hell I loved that Monday in 2010 when WWE brought back Bret up against TNA doing a live Impact. Of course Impact wound up being total ass but just the idea of having something else wrestling-rlated to turn to when Raw was boring me brought back great memories.

[Arrogance]

I think it will happen soon. Guys we thought were amazing like Barrett, Del Rio, Ziggler, Swagger, Cesaro and a few others, are already less exciting than most of the young guys, and NXT is loaded with potential.

[Rollermacka]

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Where's the Boom?

[drave]

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