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Which wrestling companies will survive the 2020s?


RedRooster

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While the sting of losing Global Force Wrestling will never go away, we managed to leave the 2010s with most major wrestling companies at least semi-intact. But surely we can’t leave the 2020s without losing someone?

The market feels slightly oversaturated at the moment - you have WWE, AEW, ROH, Impact, NWA and MLW all producing weekly shows but surely that can’t continue?

Which wrestling companies/shows do you think will survive the 2020s? WWE is obviously going nowhere, but will they still be running three televised shows? Will Impact finally snuff it? Can AEW see out the decade?

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I think there’s a real risk of AEW going through an Impact style journey this decade, with crowd numbers dropping and interest dwindling and, potentially, TV slots being lost. That said, given the young audience they’re targeting, they may be better off courting a streaming service anyway.

I also don’t see any way ROH can survive the decade in its current form. It’s utterly abysmal at the moment, and without some pretty major changes the only way is down for that company. 

Edited by RedRooster
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Yeah, ROH seems like a good shout.

I could easily see WWE letting its value dwindle and dwindle before buying them out in 2/3 years just to pick up their video footage and archives, to be honest. As long as they don't try and bring fucking Delirious with them.

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I have a feeling Impact will somehow become No.2 at some point. Something involving a mass cash injection and them creating some sort of developmental centre to create their own fresh stars. Maybe Corgan involvement ha! NWA will continue the studio stuff for another year or so and then will morph into the next stage. Which could be absorbing Impact.

As much as I enjoy MLW I don't see it lasting another 3 years to be honest.

ROH definitely will close.

 

 

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I don't think ROH is going anywhere. It's cheap programming for Sinclair to use how they see fit. If Sinclair does drop them, or multiple scandals lead to the promotion's execs leaving, there's enough legacy and name value to convince a hundred thousand money marks to drop their wads just to save the promotion and have a go at being booker. ROH will be around for ages...

*Fast forward a few months from now*

1325851042_Annotation2020-01-02103343.jpg.36da7666a952bee42cac246b54940e87.jpg

Edited by Accident Prone
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14 hours ago, Philjax said:

I have a feeling Impact will somehow become No.2 at some point. Something involving a mass cash injection and them creating some sort of developmental centre to create their own fresh stars. Maybe Corgan involvement ha! NWA will continue the studio stuff for another year or so and then will morph into the next stage. Which could be absorbing Impact.

I honestly can’t see Impact ever reaching these heights again, the brand still feels pretty toxic. Impact is pretty enjoyable at the moment with one of the best characters in wrestling in RVD, but I think it’s pretty much found its lame for the foreseeable future. I wouldn’t be shocked to see it eventually end up as content on the apparently forthcoming tiered section of the WWE Network.

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Without trying to sound morbid Vince may not live out the next decade, feels like he has aged a lot the last few years so WWE could be at risk if/when it does happen.

I have no idea how much shows make on the likes of Netflix/Prime but maybe AEW could end up on there at some point as everything is heading that way. What would WWE do then? Keep the Network or try get there own deal? Monday Night Streaming Wars?

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1 hour ago, Briefcase said:

Without trying to sound morbid Vince may not live out the next decade, feels like he has aged a lot the last few years so WWE could be at risk if/when it does happen.

I have no idea how much shows make on the likes of Netflix/Prime but maybe AEW could end up on there at some point as everything is heading that way. What would WWE do then? Keep the Network or try get there own deal? Monday Night Streaming Wars?

Netflix doesn’t really feel like the service to watch weekly, episodic stuff. They’re more, binge-watch series/movies. I think if AEW were going to head to a streaming service, then Prime Video would be a more likely candidate.

Amazon seem to be dipping more into the live sport arena with coverage of tennis, football, etc. Stands to reason they’d pick up a pro wrestling show if there were money in it.

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Amazon tried to get WWE last time the rights came up, or at least were rumoured to have. It may be that they’re only interested in paying big bucks for wrestling if it’s the proper stuff, in which case anything non-WWE isn’t an option, but they definitely seem like a viable possibility this decade.

I expect WWE will still be around, though I don’t see Vince himself making it to 2030. The decision-makers after him likely won’t have his mental level of drive, but I’d expect they’ll be motivated enough to keep it going. Some kind of downsizing might not be a bad idea if things do go south - they’ve no need for such a big roster, and constant touring likely won’t make sense as attendance dwindles. Are house shows even making much profit anymore?

It’ll be interesting to see whether there’ll ever be a tipping point for AEW, and what happens if it’s reached. At this point, Dynamite is already the emperor walking round with his cock out, but people have put so much of their faith in it that they’ll keep saying it’s a lovely new dress as long as possible. When the wheels fall off completely and dey turn on it, will it just die or will it sink deeper and shrink smaller to keep surviving like TNA sort of has?

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