Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch_h
It's a variable that doesn't really mean shit. I'm not trying to argue that small, work rate guys are huge draws or anything like that.
The 80s boom was about the dismantling of the territories, and the rise of cable television and PPV. The attitude era's popularity was founded on a complete pivot away from what wrestling was at the time. It was Sable's tits, crotch chops, and a cool, beer drinking, redneck beating up his boss. It had nothing to do with big, roided up guys.
Personally I don't think this level of popularity is ever coming back. But I do think WWE can find a way to tell cool, exciting stories again, and they don't need massive guys to do so.
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The thing that a lot of people gloss over is that even though ratings are way down from its peak, it's still an episodic program that has been consistently one of the most watched things on cable every single week. No other shows can lay the same claim and produce the amount of product WWE does.
I look at something like TWD, which has amazing ratings, but have been in steady decline for some time now. Eventually the show will pewter out and disappear. Meanehile, I could easily see 20 years from now WWE still having programming in the top 10 in cable every week.
I think it's very possible to see ratings come back, it just takes the right personalities at the right time. There was a time when people said game shows were dead. Then things like Millionaire came around and suddenly they were all the rage. Now they're dead again. It's the nature of people who follow fads.
The cool thing about being a sports entertainment fan in the modern era is for only $10 a month, you get access to so much great programming, and I really believe there's something for everyone. The NXT stuff appeals to the hardcore wrestling fan, 205 will appeal to fans of smaller guys, the future women's show will appeal to another subset. On top of that you can watch any era from the past at your leisure. Plus get all the new content and the original programming they have spearheaded.
So I think you're left with a scenario where perhaps fewer people are watching on traditionsl platforms, but you're growing the base of fans that provide revenue to the company by providing them more and more bang for their buck. As a fan of the product that's a good thing. If I was the type of person that needs to have 7 million people watching what I'm watching because I need that validation from others, then I likely will be disappointed.