Why is wrestling so much more popular per capita in N. Ireland and Scotland than England?

[Maikeru]

If you are sceptical then head over to Google Trends, where you can look at relative keyword search volume within the UK since 2004 broken down by region and (if you want) city. Try all the usual terms - ‘wrestling news’, ‘pro wrestling’, ‘WWE’, ‘Wrestlemania’ and a few other niche ones for good measure - ‘Njpw’ etc. You will almost invariably find nearly twice as much volume for N. Ireland as England per head, not far off that for Scotland, with Wales somewhere in the middle. If you look at it by city it’ll be Glasgow and Belfast up at the very top most of the time, with Cardiff and northern English cities following suit - the further north you go, the more popular it is it would seem. 

I have always thought that there seemed to be a disproportionate amount of buzz for wrestling in these places - look at how much modern talent to come out of Ireland and Scotland relative to their populations; pretty much any major English wrestler I can think of is from the North except Nigel McGuinness, Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll... ok there must be others but it’s late); look at the local scenes with ICW and OTT; the amount of WWE house shows they get. But this is the first time I’ve come across hard evidence for this hypothesis. 
 

Reasons? 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Maikeru

[Your Fight Site]

More kebab shops.

[bbabba]

I live in Derry, Northern Ireland's second biggest city.  In the six years I've lived here, there has been almost no local wrestling scene.  The Irish "American Wrestling" national touring brand aimed at families visits once a year, but besides that there has only ever been one "indy" show from a different company.

Lived in Newcastle and Nottingham in England in the years before moving here, and both had excellent local wrestling scenes.

I understand volume of and support local shows in just one of several gauges in how popular wrestling is in a given region.  But in general, and very anecdotally, I've not met very many wrestling fans here, or seen many people out wearing merch, compared to places in England I've lived.

Of course, could vary from city to city within Northern Ireland.  Wrestling may be a lot more popular in Belfast, which I've only ever visited once so can't comment on.

 

[Weezenal]

Full English Breakfast or Premier League.

[Carbomb]

3 hours ago, Maikeru said:

pretty much any major English wrestler I can think of is from the North except Nigel McGuinness, Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll... ok there must be others but it’s late);

Spud/Drake Maverick - Midlands

Paige - East Anglia

Nick Aldis - East Anglia

Zack Sabre Jr. - South East

Kip Sabian - East Anglia

Anthony Ogogo - East Anglia

That's about as many as I can manage. Don't know if you'd count Pete Dunne or Tyler Bate, but I think they're both from the Midlands.

[mim731]

I might be miles off, and it's pure speculation, but I would imagine the point about the north of England is probably a historical legacy from the sheer number of working class towns. Wrestling was not traditionally the sort of entertainment that would have appealed to middle or upper class audiences in the past, so the legacy of that culture within those working class towns would have made them historical hotbeds for promotions to book. Also the price of venues etc compared to the South East of England I would imagine plays some role there. Given Scotland, Wales and the North of Ireland were all largely working class areas too, or certainly areas that relied on agriculture and industry in the past, those roots probably mirror northern England. 

[Maikeru]

1 hour ago, mim731 said:

I might be miles off, and it's pure speculation, but I would imagine the point about the north of England is probably a historical legacy from the sheer number of working class towns. Wrestling was not traditionally the sort of entertainment that would have appealed to middle or upper class audiences in the past, so the legacy of that culture within those working class towns would have made them historical hotbeds for promotions to book. Also the price of venues etc compared to the South East of England I would imagine plays some role there. Given Scotland, Wales and the North of Ireland were all largely working class areas too, or certainly areas that relied on agriculture and industry in the past, those roots probably mirror northern England. 

I was thinking along the same lines. When you look at search volume by city it's Bradford and Wolverhampton right at the top and the likes of Cambridge and Brighton right at the bottom. Middle classes of the South too busy with the cricket and rugby perhaps? 😉 Can see how wrestling might be seen as a bit lowbrow in some circles.  

Edited June 4, 2021 by Maikeru

[Maikeru]

10 hours ago, bbabba said:

Of course, could vary from city to city within Northern Ireland.  Wrestling may be a lot more popular in Belfast, which I've only ever visited once so can't comment on.

 

I'm from Belfast and was surprised to hear you've only been over once - until I realised I've only been to Derry once! 

[air_raid]

19 hours ago, Carbomb said:

That's about as many as I can manage. Don't know if you'd count Pete Dunne or Tyler Bate, but I think they're both from the Midlands.

You’re right, Dunne, Bate and Trent Seven are all from the Black Country/Wolverhampton area. Hence following each other round all the same indies at the same time right up to getting signed.

Preferred CCK to be honest.