10 Ways Wrestling Was Just BETTER In The '90s

9. No Crazy Online Fandom

Yes, the internet is clearly a fantastic tool in a wide variety of ways. For wrestling fans, we now have the ability to watch essentially any promotion of note from the comfort of our own homes, there's digital newsletters and magazines at our fingertips, and the entire history of the entire wrestling industry can be dipped into at a moment's notice.

While all of those are huge positives, we of course nowadays also have the ever-fun world of online fandom.

That's not to say all online fandom is a cesspool, but so much of it obviously is. Have something nice to say about a wrestler? Be prepared to have a whole bunch of people wish heinous, horrible things on you. Have something nice to say about a wrestling promotion? Be prepared to have a whole bunch of people wish heinous, horrible things on your family.

It's a strange old world we live in here in 2023; a world where a certain corner of wrestling fandom revels in being awful without any real accountability.

Back in the '90s, though? In the pre-internet and early online days, you and your buddies could shoot the breeze about wrestling without having a bunch of strangers screaming obscenities at you in the background. There'd be nobody wishing death on you simply because you got a kick out of Tatanka vs. Damien DeMento on a September '93 edition of WWF Superstars.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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