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Do you believe wrestling industry would be better off if WWE folded?

In your opinion, do you believe wrestling industry would be better off if WWE folded?

7K views 79 replies 57 participants last post by  TyAbbotSucks 
#1 ·
Or is WWE absolutely needed?
 
#2 ·
There is not another major wrestling promotion out there. You may have had a case if WCW was around and was popular or if TNA gained mainstream recognition. Right now WWE is the only viable professional wrestling option that caters to all types of audiences. No NJPW is not and will never be as big as the WWE same goes for TNA, GFW and ROH.
 
#71 ·
There is not another major wrestling promotion out there. You may have had a case if WCW was around and was popular or if TNA gained mainstream recognition. Right now WWE is the only viable professional wrestling option that caters to all types of audiences. No NJPW is not and will never be as big as the WWE same goes for TNA, GFW and ROH.
Say what, WWE's a wrestling promotion?
 
#4 ·
Cons

- Wrestlers will make less money
- They'll have less visibility world-wide
- Hardcore fans will have nothing "new" to watch from one promotion and may turn to another (may is the key word here)

There are no pros to the industry leading company folding even if it is a monopoly so I wouldn't go there at all. To wish death on a promotion and think that it would be better for the industry as a whole just because that promotion puts out shitty storylines is irrational.

Is the WWE market really that big to impact popular culture though? I don't think so anymore. They were till about 2002 but since then American Wrestling has essentially become a joke and at arguably its lowest point ever so imo it won't be missed dramatically. Millions and millions of people have turned away and never looked back and that's all you need to know about how much people actually miss wrestling ... The ones that left don't. The ones that stay are enough to sustain the business but not grow it.

Bottom line is the world wouldn't be better off without it, but if it were to fold it wouldn't be sorely missed by more than a few million. Either that few million will turn to something else that still exists, or keep watching archives.
 
#35 ·
I don't think you understand economics.

If the WWE folds wrestlers won't make less money. In fact Del Rio has stated he's making more money now than he did his last 2 years with the WWE.

There would be an influx of "recognizable talent" and people who were former WWE fans who want to watch wrestling would pay to see those guys assuming they're actual fans.

More companies would be willing to spend more money if they got a better return in the beginning. They will undoubtedly make new fans and make a "better" product with larger net to catch their bad events (monetarily bad).

That doesn't mean any company would turn into the next WWE, but what it could do is spark another boom but in a different way. The independents are great right now and more exposure to them would only help the industry as a whole.

People don't even think about boxing.... Regionally the top guys make 50k to show. You could easily spend less than that on pro wrestling talent for an event and still come out pretty far ahead.
 
#7 ·
I'd love to see WWE tank completely. Nature abhors a vacuum and someone else would take their place. Given how FUCKING AWFUL the company and its product is right now, I'd LOVE to see that.

And Frankly, Lucha Underground and New Japan are pretty much outdoing WWE at EVERYTHING. So I wouldn't miss WWE at all.

Lucha is "Sports Entertainment" done right. And New Japan, is a master course in how to present pro wrestling as a legit sport (like UFC). There's nothing WWE is doing that they aren't doing better. And now New Japan has even thrown its hat into the streaming market with their own version of WWE's network.
 
#8 ·
at this point, yes it would be...

we would have NJPW coming over (north American market) to be the "new wwe", ROH and TNA would both grow as some would refuse to watch NJPW's format...

this is where wwe being gone would help, as ROH and TNA would put on some of the best shows ever to get the #2 spot... I guess a lot of it would depend who wound up with the bryans and zigglers, and which one would get the cenas and big shows... on top of who went to NJPW to solidify its status as current #1

say ROH won "the #2 wars", then we would have ROH vs NJPW, actual competiton again, hopefully this would go on for as long as possible as weve seen the fuckery in having all the companies combined into one...
 
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#16 ·
Lucha would get either the number 2 spot or take WWE's spot. Their formula is much more familiar to the average American fan than what New Japan does and Ring of Honor's visual presentation is too small time to reach a wide audience. TNA is widely viewed as a joke. Their name alone holds them back. Lucha has some significant names backing it and puts on a very polished looking and well booked product. It would either be them in the number 1 spot or maybe New Japan if its more sport like approach caught on with people who never took wrestling seriously. So Lucha would take the number 2 spot
 
#9 ·
Yes.

WWE stifles pro wrestling creatively and financially and holds the entire industry back. Someone would come to replace them. WWE in its current incarnation are sexist, racist, and are very much the only game in town. By being the only game in town, this leaves its talent forced to fight for scraps without full representation or pushes. WWE has done far too much harm to pro wrestling, without their influence, it has potential to boom again.
 
#11 ·
Hard to say. On one hand, wrestling on national TV would become a harder sell again, but the Internet presence of ROH, NJPW, and others would be more emphasized and we'd see a New Indy scene boom.

We'd probably, ironically, go back to the old territorial days in some ways, which could be a good thing. Wrestling could become more "cool" and "underground."
 
#12 ·
Wouldn't that mean WCW would have won. The Rock would have been gone by then but Austin would have been jobbing to NWO and Goldberg week after week. Yeah the good talent would have been buried just like the WWE did with the good WCW talent. Only HHH would have survived. Damn that guy is like a cockroach.
 
#18 ·
No. The wrestling industry would be better, however, if WWE had legit competition that could compete with WWE on at least a national level, if not an international level. Talent needs exposure and a very clear, very viable second or 1B company would be a boon. I'm not even going to discuss TNA being that company because they squandered all their potential long ago.
 
#19 ·
New Japan is probably the only company with enough resources to compete with WWE, but only if they expand their market and really catch on internationally. It would take a few years of that before they could take on WWE. They would also have to address the language barrier.

What they did with Wrestle Kingdom 8 was a good first step.

If their network really could take off the way WWE wants their own network to take off, that would be significant too.
 
#20 ·
No it would be horrific.

A mass exodus of top talent would do the whole industry the world of good though. If the likes of Cena, Bryan, Ambrose etc left for smaller companies and took some of their popularity and 'brand' with them it would be a major push for the smaller companies and would also force WWE to pull their finger out.

It'll never happen but for me it'd be the best way to get the industry going again.
 
#21 ·
It would be the death of mainstream wrestling. You can't replace brand name.

I'm sure TNA or Global would still exist but more fans will just stop watching them follow them along. The industry has evolved past territories with national television so you may enjoy the product more but good luck talking about with a friend. Fewer and farther between.
 
#22 ·
By better, do you mean basically dead? We'd be stuck with a bunch of lower budget promotions w/ lower production values. ratings would be low, and mainstream wrestling would be dead with 5 years.

Wouldn't happen anyway, WWE would (and most likely will at some point) sell to some giant conglomerate before they folded.
 
#23 ·
No not really.

However if it did fold something else would take it's place. Either Vince or Triple H will make another, new promotion following WWE's footsteps. Vince even stated once that if WWE folded during the Monday Night Wars he'd still be promoting even if it was on an indie level.
 
#27 ·
For the industry as a whole? No.

Without the big one, there's less for new wrestlers to aspire to and less talent means less money to be made in the industry (through shows and merch sales and buyrates etc.) If WWE folded, wrestling as a whole would become a niche market. There'll still be ROH, NJPW and others but they will never become the mainstream for one reason or another.

Wrestling being a niche wouldn't be such a bad thing for viewers - they can still watch their favourite promotions, buy merch and support the wrestlers, but it won't evolve past the level of exposure those territories have.
 
#28 ·
I'm split on these one, for one WWE is destroying everything good about American Pro wrestling but than again. Without there brand and there recognition I doubt anybody would even care about wrestling.
 
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