One takeaway from this great weekend… The live experience for wrestling is second to none. How great would it have been to be there for Raw last Monday? Or to have been in the crowd to see Richards vs Elgin live? Even if you aren’t a wrestling fan, you would have enjoyed both events and likely to want to see it again.
When pro wrestling is done right, it’s as good as any other form of entertainment.
What’s old is new again. The hottest concert ticket for this summer in the US will be Kiss and Motley Crue. They’re not kids but you know they’ll rock because they still can play. No nostalgia acts here… It’s the core bands and it should be fun. So what if the WWE has some part-timers on the roster? If you get to see any of them live, it helps create an atmosphere, an excitement that energizes the entire event.
The young guys and girls on the WWE roster will all make more money if more folks are attending the live events and PPV’s. Now, if the part-timers don’t draw, then decisions will have to be made and probably some of the young talent will be shown the door, which is a shame. The correct matchups have to be booked and properly promoted for any promotion to draw. If they decide to hotshot the part-timers, it will kill any long-term benefit they could have.
Is MMA still peaking or has it peaked? Does the UFC have the ability to continue create marketable stars for casual fans to get into here in the US? I’ll leave that to the experts (and fans) to decide.
A more confident economy in the US will give fans here more disposable income but I think the next 12 months will be good for the WWE, TNA and ROH. Of course, the long-term success of any promotion or team is a system to recruit and develop new stars year after year after year. Youth may not win today but give them time and they can win. It takes leadership and trust.
But for now, it’s good to be a wrestling fan. And an announcer…
Thoughts on the next year and beyond in wrestling? Share them with me @RealKevinKelly.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
