10 Ways Wrestling Was Just BETTER In The '90s

7. Spoiler Free

Sting Halloween Havoc
WWE.com

While WWE ushered in live weekly programming with the launch of Monday Night Raw back in 1993, the early '90s was a time when so much wrestling output was pre-taped ahead of time.

Nowadays, pre-taped shows means spoilers are everywhere. Back in the '90s, though, that decade was so often spoiler-free. If somebody had attended a TV taping, they might have chance to let their pals know what was about to go down, but that was about it.

Nowadays, people are forever wanting to know what's about to happen, what's up next, who's going to win, who's going to lose, who may win a title. While that same appetite may have been there somewhat in the '90s, there simply wasn't the means, for the most part, to have those spoilers available to you.

Yes, outlets like PW Torch and the Wrestling Observer were a thing, but they were print publications that only the true 'smart' fans were aware of. Instead, the vast majority of fans only knew what was happening in wrestling by, y'know, tuning in to watch wrestling.

Even towards the end of the decade, with the internet starting to become more prevalent, hard spoilers still weren't really a thing. Sure, there may be the odd whispers or slices of speculation, but cold, factual spoilers weren't available to the masses - making it all the more brilliant when you'd get caught off-guard by something shocking happening on your screen.

Did we know that the Ultimate Warrior was returning at the close of WrestleMania VIII? Did we know that Lex Luger would shock the world by appearing on the first ever WCW Nitro? Did we know that Hulk Hogan would be the third man and kickstart the nWo? No, we didn't, and that was part of what made those moments so special at the time.

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Senior Writer
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.