I don’t think it is likely ever going to be as hot as it was in the Monday Night wars era and shortly there after. These days there is just too much competition for the same viewers time.
MMA was barely a thing back then
Video games are a much bigger industry
A huge rise in superhero programming
DVR/on demand viewing culture changing how people watch TV.
Throw that in with years of so-so WWE programing which has struggled to create new stars. Leads to people falling off of the wrestling band wagon.
I was speaking more boom period in terms of outside of wrestling’s diehard, niche audience. I would agree that indies are much better off than they were 5-10 years ago, but in terms of popularity with the general public and casual fans wrestling is way down compared to what it was during its boom periods. I don’t ever see wrestling connecting again with mainstream society the same way it did in the late '90s.
I think that the industry is hot for diehard fans, but if you asked a regular non-IWC person on the street if wrestling was a booming industry, they would likely say no way. New fans aren’t being created, and a lot of the current fanbase (indies included) seems to be people who have been watching wrestling for a while.
People confusing neckbeards who live with their parents having the income to travel to a wrestling show, to outsiders going out of their way to watch some local indie show.
Is wrestling 80’s or 90’s hot? No…And it never will be (unless the current administration plunges us into a dystopian Hunger Games future where the champions of each district are WWE wrasslers…“The House Of Orton brings you tribute, oh great leader!” ). Modern media is too fractured & customizable for any one TV program to be as dominant as Raw & Nitro were back in the day.
BUT the sport is in a better place now than it was in the doldrums of the mid-00’s. The combination of more programs and more avenues for fans to watch is a big deal. You also have more women & people of color and more professionals vocally expressing their fandom and connecting with others via social media & podcasts. I don’t know how to quantify those #s, but the vibe around the product certainly feels more energized.
So while it may not be “hot”, it’s not as cold as it has been in years past.
