How big is wrestling in the US?

[Aussie Skier]

Hey all

Just curious, obviously I live in Australia...I was just curious, how big is wrestling in America.

For example, would alot of people know who Triple H is (ppl who don't watch wrestling?)
e.g. i can imagine alot of ppl who don't watch baseball would still recognise Mark MacGuire (or whatever his name is)

When wrestlers are on talk shows, are they always well known?

Are there some who are really well known, ie, The rock, mick foley, Steve Austin etc...

just curious...

[Nervous Ferret]

For someone who doesn't watch wrestling, they could probably name Austin, The Rock, and thats it. :/ It's not that big really

[Nervous Ferret]

And Kurt Angle, most could probably name Angle too.

[Kane Knight]

Triple H does the Talk Show rounds from time to time. Ummm...I'm trying to think of who else. The problem is, we've been in a slump for hot wrestling, so there's been a lack of hot stars. The only people I can name how are easily recognised are people like Foley, Hogan, Austin, Taker, etc.

OH! Brock's got some mainstream recognition.

[vampiro03]

you are forgetting the godfather of wrestling: Hulk Hogan. HHH isn't a household name in homes who don't watch wrestling. Hassan got a lot of publicity, but that killed his career.

[Kane Knight]

And Kurt Angle, most could probably name Angle too.

I don't know many people who know who Kurt is. Despite him doing some other minor stuff...Like...

WINNING AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL FOR THE USA.

[Kane Knight]

Prolly should put a spoiler warning up.

[vampiro03]

with a BROKEN FREAKIN NECK

[Kane Knight]

you are forgetting the godfather of wrestling: Hulk Hogan. HHH isn't a household name in homes who don't watch wrestling. Hassan got a lot of publicity, but that killed his career.

Ummm...Were you addressing me?

Since Triple H gets mainstream exposure, I'd say he's got a better chance than most.

However, I definitely didn't forget Hogan. Hence me wondering if you addressed me, since you referenced HHH (Which was in my post).

[vampiro03]

I wasn't addressing you, your Hogan post wasn't there when I was writing mine.

[PureHatred]

Thusly and thereby I proclaim that yon Chris Jericho also appears regularly on all of VH1's crappy "I Love the " and "Best Week Ever" type shows ...and Cena is hither and thither on many mainstream programs of late. Also Randy Savage, but mainly for his fantastic work with Slim Jims.

[PureHatred]

Oh..and most people know who Goldberg is.

[PureHatred]

And Randy Orton is over like Cher in the gay community.

[Kane Knight]

And Randy Orton is over like Cher in the gay community.

NOBODY is over like Cher in the gay community. She beats Judy Garland and Diana Ross combined.

[Kane Knight]

Though Randy Orton is a Cher fan, if you catch my drift.

[loopydate]

No.

...are you saying that he believes in life after love?

Or are you calling him a Half-Breed?

[Kane Knight]

Shhh...Nobody's supposed to know!@ ;)

[Skippord]

And Randy Orton is Cher in the Drag Queen community.

[Zen v.W.o.]

Everyone up here knows the Hart family. As they fucking should.

[Fox]

Wrestling ranks right there just above UFC championship fighting and just below The Surreal Life. Take that for what it's worth.

[PullMyFinger]

Wrestling can be really hot or really shitty with the mainstream public.

It all depends in the time period...

[El Santo]

For mainstream US recognition, I'd say Rock, Hogan, Austin ... maybe Foley. And thanks to the Surreal Life, quite possibly Chyna. Those are the only names I can think of that I can bring up in polite conversation without people giving me a stunned, psychotic look.

[Kane Knight]

Wrestling can be really hot or really shitty with the mainstream public.

It all depends in the time period...

But if we're talking currently...

I mean, Cena and Jericho are on mainstream shows, they put out records, etc. Most of the other current wrestlers don't get that kind of star appeal.

And let's face it. About the only people who are gonna recognise Jericho are cheesey hair metal fans watching "I love the 80s."

Suddely, Apshyxy comes to mind.

[Chavo Classic]

The bigger question is - how big is wrestling in Australia?

[Aussie Skier]

The bigger question is - how big is wrestling in Australia?


wrestling is very small in Australia.

Altho, its kinda funny, sometimes I go into uni and see people on wwe.com and that, so it must b bigger than i give it credit for.

I actually heard that Raw is the most popular show on Australian cable television. however, I'd think that only 20% of Australian households would actually have cable television.


A the wrestling shows (when WWE comes here), its big tho. like, I was gonna go 2 a show in melbourne and it was sold out by the time the tickets went on sale (how the hell that could happen I'll never know. However, i stil went and they did sell a few more tickets.

They had a 60 minutes thing on Nathan Jones here about 3 years ago, which sparked abit of interest (it actually helped get me back into wrestling).

In terms of our Australian wrestling, its very small. i've never been 2 a show, and the only Australian wrestling I've ever seen was a thing on the Australian fed, and how there was a rivalry between 3 guys for the belt. In the end, a guy named the ox won it...he actually beat a guy who had trained with the harts in calgary.

But, yeah, its pretty small here. Only ever seen 3 ppl wearing wrestling shirts out in public

[Savio]

HHH is pretty main stream and alot of people probably know who the bigshow is.

[Kane Knight]

HHH is pretty main stream and alot of people probably know who the bigshow is.

HHH is the main reason a lot of my former wrestling fan friends aren't current wrestling fans.

I'd say he's known pretty well. :D

[Chavo Classic]

In terms of our Australian wrestling, its very small. i've never been 2 a show, and the only Australian wrestling I've ever seen was a thing on the Australian fed, and how there was a rivalry between 3 guys for the belt. In the end, a guy named the ox won it...he actually beat a guy who had trained with the harts in calgary.

Lol. Whats the name of the fed? I hope its not something dumb like Oz Wrestling. We've got our own FWA (Frontier Wrestling Alliance) over here and it blows the biggest cock. I have no idea how they convince stars like Steve Corino to come over and wrestle.

Wrestling in the UK is fairly constant. It goes through the same cyclical stages that it does in America. I still see the odd shirt (and even an ECW shirt the previous week) Pretty much everyone is aware of whom the Rock is, either because they are/were fans or because he's over here plenty promoting his movies.

Austin is still fairly recognisable as is Hulk Hogan, the British Bulldog and the Ultimate Warrior. The WWE shows that come over here mostly always sell out... mostly. And the WWE knows that the market for wrestling over here is reliable so they're staging more of their calender on our shores.

[The Fugitive]

I actually recall that documentary. "Big Men, Bigger Dreams", with The Ox, Mr. Damage and Bully The Brawler. I'm not 100% sure where what the promotion was called that they wrestled in, but I know they were in the Melbourne area. Judging by that, I'll take a stab in the dark and say they were wrestling at Pro Wrestling Alliance.

Regarding Aussie_Skier's post, I would have to disagree with the size of professional wrestling in Australia. I haven't been outside of New South Wales, but it's fairly strong here. I would say, out of a group of 50 people, half would be casual fans of wrestling, watching RAW on cable, and attending their shows if they appear here. That's the majority. We have a minority of 'smarks' here, and by smark, I mean people who go to the independant shows here, go to websites like this, and basically follow the industry. I can see why Aussie would say Australia has a small fanbase though, sometimes you really have to look hard to find a wrestling fan. I get the feeling from some people they're ashamed to admit that they enjoy it.

What else can I say about wrestling here? I don't really know. If you've got any queries, I'll be happy to answer them.

[Aussie Skier]

I actually recall that documentary. "Big Men, Bigger Dreams", with The Ox, Mr. Damage and Bully The Brawler. I'm not 100% sure where what the promotion was called that they wrestled in, but I know they were in the Melbourne area. Judging by that, I'll take a stab in the dark and say they were wrestling at Pro Wrestling Alliance.

Regarding Aussie_Skier's post, I would have to disagree with the size of professional wrestling in Australia. I haven't been outside of New South Wales, but it's fairly strong here. I would say, out of a group of 50 people, half would be casual fans of wrestling, watching RAW on cable, and attending their shows if they appear here. That's the majority. We have a minority of 'smarks' here, and by smark, I mean people who go to the independant shows here, go to websites like this, and basically follow the industry. I can see why Aussie would say Australia has a small fanbase though, sometimes you really have to look hard to find a wrestling fan. I get the feeling from some people they're ashamed to admit that they enjoy it.

What else can I say about wrestling here? I don't really know. If you've got any queries, I'll be happy to answer them.

that was the show! Haha, it was so pathetic it was funny! The Ox, the guy who won the championship, was just an average guy who worked on the docks (in real life), and was also a wrestler. He sent in pics to the WWE and they were just disgraceful...LOL, makes me laugh thinking about it now.


In regards to your thoughts on the popularity on wrestling, i'm under the impression that we are from different age groups...my guess is your younger than me (me being 22). Of ppl I know, I know of about 5 wrestling fans...thats about it

[The Fugitive]

I'm a fortnight shy of turning 21, actually, so I don't think age has much to do with it.

Perharps it's a different social circle, I don't know.

[Pepsi Man]

Meh, people know some of the bigger names, but are very stupid about wrestling, with some even calling the major wrestling company either the "WWF" or "WCW".

Triple H is probably more well-known than some give him credit for in this thread, Rocky's obviously known, Stone Cold's gotten enough exposure so that people know who he is, and of course Hulk Hogan. You've also got a shot with like Ric Flair, Randy Savage, and Andre the Giant.

[Chavo Classic]

People over here still call it the WWF too. I prepare myself to correct them and explain why its WWE now then I realise that its probably better for my man-points that I don't.