10 Reasons Wrestling Will Never Ever Top The 90s

7. There Was Little Enough For It To Resonate

Steve Austin Vince McMahon Raw 1997
WWE.com

Wrestling used to be appointment television. American viewers gathered around the TV on Monday nights. Their British counterparts had to wait until Friday to catch both RAW and Nitro - oddly, the ratings war began anew across the pond days later - but it didn't matter. The internet hadn't yet dominated the landscape.

Ironically, on that wrestling landscape, dominated by mummies masquerading at yetis, less was more. The aching six day gap allowed fans to approach the next shows with intrigue, rather than fatigue. Now, in 2017, WWE presents five hours of television and ceaseless original content. It's not as if WWE programming is too complex or convoluted to keep up with, but the model practically guarantees that it cannot be as exciting or unique as it was when output was more streamlined.

There's only a finite number of combinations of wrestlers to run through. Rematches are inevitable. The schedule has bloated in parallel with the dimming of star power, which doesn't help. WWE has to pit name guys against each other to compensate for the lack of genuine, established headliners.

It's a paradox from which there is no escape, and the circle spins with such speed that recycling is a natural consequence.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!