Is Age Going to Effect TNA's Future?

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

2012 was a fantastic year for professional wrestling, and I don't want to take anything away from that by making this thread. However, there's a potential problem I see creeping up on the horizon, and it's the ages of all the heavily used talent in both TNA and WWE. Moreso TNA, actually, and that's what we're going to discuss.

Look at the people TNA uses with the most frequency, and to the greatest effect with their weekly Impact Wrestling product:
Kurt Angle: 44
AJ Styles: 35
Jeff Hardy: 35
Devon: 40
Bully Ray: 41
RVD: 42
Tara: 41
Abyss: 39
Austin Aries: 34
Bobby Roode: 36
Chris Daniels: 42
James Storm: 35
Matt Morgan: 36
Samoa Joe: 33
Sting: 53

You get the point. TNA has a lot of main event talents that are getting up there in age. Not a single main event caliber talent on the TNA roster is under the age of 30. I'm not trying to say older guys can't go; Kurt Angle is 44 and has done some of his best work in the last 4 years. He's still better than probably 98% of the current wrestling landscape. And you know, if these guys had been main event factors for TNA for 5-6 years now, this wouldn't be a problem. But the issue is, a lot of these just made a lasting impact within the last 2 years. Bully ray, Devon, Austin Aries, Storm and Roode, etc. Daniels, to an extent. These are guys who are already on the other side of their career hill - again, no offense meant - and are just now making a name for themselves.

The biggest thing that worries me is the lack of young talent that I could see holding together the roster. At 33, Joe is the youngest veteran worth anything to TNA's long term product. When Beer Money, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels and Joe were all in their 20's, people were starting to see greatness in them. You could build a company around those guys - and they pretty much did - and have it take off. But who's around now? Zema Ion? Joey Ryan?

When you look at WWE, they actually seem to be in a really good transitional period towards the next generation. John Cena is 35, same as James Storm, but he's been the face of pro wrestling for 5+ years now. You've got your 20-something Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins guys. Ziggler is early 30's, but he's also still in fantastic condition. They're a bigger company, they get first pick of pretty much whoever they want, and can doing whatever they want with them. I'm not worried about WWE's next generation of talent.

Who in TNA is going to represent the next generation?

How long do you think the current main event guys can stay at the top? Long enough to build a completely different dynamic of young wrestlers?

I do see TNA trying at least. You've got the Gut Check and British Boot Camp things. But Tough Enough never, ever worked for WWE. It just produced flash-in-the-pan guys that dropped out. Mostly. TNA needs to start raising a new crop, the old fashioned way. Maybe buying OVW was the smartest thing they ever did for the future.

 

[Brewski]

Some guys are obviously way older but Aries, Roode, Storm, Morgan, and Joe are all in the prime of their careers. WWE has invested a lot in the future in the last year but all their top guys are in their mid 30s too. Magnus and Big Robbie are both guys i could see some day main eventing and they're both in their 20s. They still have OVW and a good amount of time to bring guys in so I wouldn't be worried.

To adjust your perceptions though Joey Ryan is 36 and Christian York is 35.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Some guys are obviously way older but Aries, Roode, Storm, Morgan, and Joe are all in the prime of their careers. WWE has invested a lot in the future in the last year but all their top guys are in their mid 30s too. Magnus and Big Robbie are both guys i could see some day main eventing and they're both in their 20s. They still have OVW and a good amount of time to bring guys in so I wouldn't be worried.

To adjust your perceptions though Joey Ryan is 36 and Christian York is 35.

Yeah, I knew Christian York was up there, but I had no idea about Joey Ryan. Crazy! I wonder what made TNA take a look at him then.

EDIT: I looked it up, and he's actually 33. According to Wiki anyway. It's only 3 years, but that does make a bit of difference. You can still add him to the names that won't be main eventing TNA in ten years though.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

The top stars being in their 30's has pretty much always been the case. Austin and Michaels were well over 30 in their prime. Undertaker, Flair, Sting and Hogan were as well. Even Goldberg was past 30 when he got his break. The only minor exceptions are Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

However, I do see your point. While TNA is good for another 5+ years even with people in that age zone, I really don't see who the next crop will be. Everyone else is just not talented enough or maybe not used frequently enough to blossom.

On the other hand, WWE isn't doing that well either. You mentioned guys like Ambrose and Rollings, but let's not forget that this is the WWE. Last year Miz was a Main Eventer and a few years before that Jack Swagger was World Champion. WWE's problem is not a lack of talent, just lack of building them and establishing them, while this is TNA's strength.

Either way, I hope both companies can iron out their respective flaws and find some good talent to build up for the future.

I don't see it IN the companies AND in the indies, to be honest. With wrestling dying out, it is probably logical for less dudes to want to pursue a wrestling career - thus there's less talent to pick from. At the end of the day, if you have no good wrestlers I don't care who you are, your company's dead.

Maybe that'll do it.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I guess maybe my point was a little pre-mature. Allow me to amend it: does TNA have too many guys over that hill, and not enough of a mix?

When I look at WWE, I do see a bunch of great talents in their 30's. Sheamus, John Cena, ALberto del Rio, etc. But I also see guys like Miz, Ryback, Ziggler who are juuuust over 30 and probably have 10-15 years still left in the tank. But I also see a great mix of guys like Big E Langston, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, etc. I see a ton of NXT talent in their 20's that could be called up and eventually main event the company. It'll take them 3 or 4 years to really be key players, but that's the point.

Look at TNA, they have a LOT of guys that are really, really good. RIGHT NOW. They could continue to be really, really good for another 5 years. Maybe more in some of their cases. But where is the up-and-coming crowd? Where are the guys they can mold over the next 4 years so eventually they are at their peak? You can mold Bobby Roode for 4 years, but he's going to be 40!

Also, Titus O'Neil is 35. That kind of makes me sad.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

While I do agree with you that a lot of TNA's talent are getting on a bit in age, I still think there is enough time for them to correct the problem. Guys like Styles, Storm, Roode and Aries still have at least 5 or 6 years left at the top. When somebody like Kurt or Bully Ray do decide to hang it up, I'm sure Joe will easily fit back in to the main event picture and with him only being 33, i'm sure that if he looks after himself that he could go for another 10 years if he wanted to.

What TNA need to do now is start pushing the younger talent that they have. Magnus is a great talent and given a couple of years he could very well be one of the best talents tna have on the roster. Also you have Crimson. the guy was sent to OVW to improve and since he has been there training there have been signs of improvements and while we are on the subject of OVW, another guy who showed a lot of promise during his time there was Jeese. While we have not seen that much of him so far in tna, he did have some very good matches down in OVW. so there are some promising young talent on the roster that TNA can call on when some of the veterans do decide to hang up there boots.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Someone created a thread similar to this not all that long ago. Might've been IDR or Killjoy, or someone else. I just know that the thread was in regard to a similar subject.

At any rate, the fact that TNA has so many older guys on the roster right is something that will be a factor later on IF, and I mean IF, they're unable to really generate some genuinely exciting young talent. Guys like Hardy, Roode, Storm, Joe, Styles and Aries are all in roughly the same age group of 33-36 years. That's still fairly young but these guys are definitely not kids anymore. If they remain healthy and stay with the company, they can still be the faces of TNA for several years to come. It's not at all uncommon for most of the top guys to be in their early to late 30s. Punk, Bryan, Ziggler, Sheamus, Cena, Orton, Barrett, Cesaro, Kingston, Del Rio Sandow, Miz, Ryback, etc. are in their 30s. Cody Rhodes & all the members of the Shield are 26 & 27 years of age. As far as guys in their 40s, that consists of Big Show & Kane as of right now I think. Kane's 45 and seems to be as fit as ever. Guys like Trips & Taker are special attractions now and might wrestle once or possibly twice in a year.

Magnus is really the only of the "young" guys on the main roster that I've seen that's shown consistent promise. He's only in his mid 20s and is someone that has all the tools to be a player in TNA. Joey Ryan definitely has personality. He's 33 years old I believe, but I see him as being mostly a mid-card mainstay. Especially since his character is basically Val Venis Lite. Kenny King is someone that has some potential. He sort of reminds me a bit of Shelton Benjamin, just with some personality. He's 31 I think.

As for guys like Robbie E, Rob Terry, Zema Ion and a few others, I don't see them as being the guys to carry TNA in the future. Robbie E & Rob Terry both suck and Zema Ion is really just your standard generic X Division guy. Oh wait, he's got hairspray.

At this point though, I don't think the numbers for TNA would be any worse without all the more established names on the roster. I'd be willing to bet that TNA would still be drawing just a little under a 1.0 if Angle, Hardy, Sting, Ray, Devon, Hogan and the other established stars were gone tomorrow. Their presence hasn't taken TNA to the Promised Land, so I really don't see their absence being much of a hindurance. Numbers wise, TNA has been at near rock bottom status for a very long time, so I think TNA might possibly have a lot of wiggle room when it comes time for younger guys to step up.

 

[klunderbunker]

TNA's problem isn't the age of those guys. It's how long they've been in TNA for. Think about this. These people have been in TNA for:

Angle - 6 years
AJ Styles - 10 years
Jeff Hardy - 3 years
Devon - 7 years
Bully Ray - 7 years
RVD - 3 years
Tara - 5 years (I think?)
Abyss - 8 years
Austin Aries - 2 years (consecutive, about 3-4 in total)
Bobby Roode - 10 yeas
Chris Daniels - 10 years (total, on and off for about 8)
James Storm - 10 years
Matt Morgan - 6 years
Samoa Joe - 7 years
Sting - About 8 years

Even of the guys who haven't been around that long, the only one really new to the national stage is Aries. TNA's problem isn't the physical age of these guys. It's that they've all been in TNA for years now. they're nothing new for the TNA audience, which makes it hard (albeit not impossible) to fire the fans up. Think of it like this: what's more exciting: a guy you've seen for years rising up the card, or a guy you've seen for a short amount of time rising up the card? Look at Aries last year and Joe back in 05 when they started to rise. They were new and exciting and people got fired up. It's cool to see guys like Ray and Storm get their moments, but at the end of the day we've seen these guys for so long that it's a bit harder to care. If they didn't draw in an audience in the past, why would they draw one in now?

 

[MrPlatano1989]

I see your point with new stars rising being exciting, like Joe in 2005, and Aries 2011-2012. I disagree however on old stars not being able to be exciting. I don't measure TNA's success on ratings in the USA. Wrestling ratings have continue to go down since the 80's. The fact is that life can be very busy, and almost every home has some kind of set up with over 120 channels. The chances of a casual person always finding time to ignore their favorite programs for wrestling have decreased.

I don't think most TNA's fans find their more veteran stars stale. In the past 3 years TNA has found ways to shuffle the roster around and put them in exciting new stages. Examples include the legendary Beer Money, splitting and becoming huge single main eventers. Bully Ray's rise and re-birth as a singles star. Devon being a core leader in a strong heel faction. Sting really being the leader of the company when he became GM and then fought for the company. Joseph Park & Abyss. I believe TNA will continue to place their stars on new stages with things like the BFG series and the X-division champ being able to vacate the title for a world title shot.

Idk its just my opinion but I know I love to see the TNA vets still wrestling, they are the people that first got me hooked in the first place, and I know most of their careers are still blooming. I mean look at Hernandez, a couple years ago, a random new member to LAX. Since, he has established himself as a dominant vet in tag team. When its all said and done, the history books will show him being champs with names like Homicide, Matt Morgan, Anchara (lol however its spelled), and now even Chavo Guerrero.

To me its all about history, the longer these careers run the more history they will lay for me to enjoy. Who would have thought back in 2002 that AJ Styles would have been the first triple crown champ, and have had tag title runs with names like Tomko, Daniels, and even Kurt Angle! Going down most of the rosters history of feuds and titles is always fun and dynamic, especially considering they are far from done!

 

[mlp420]

Right now for TNA age shouldn't be relevant. They've done the same numbers for several years now regardless of who has been at the top, so there's really nothing to lose at this point. When and if they reach a point where they're doing major business, then these things will be a concern. For now, age and everything else takes a back seat to what they need to do to grow the fanbase.

 

[ciaran1]

with the current taallent the should be fine for another 5 if not 10 years but in the next 5 years the do need to start building main eventers to fill in the spaces for the likes of aj styles , bobby rood, christopher daniels , austin aries.I think that TNA have realised this and that is the reason why they have joined with OVW and sent some of their trainers down there so that they can get them when there young and mould them into what they want for the future of TNA wrestling.This is the same reason for setting up gutcheck and show like british bootcamp

 

[phenom187]

In addition to Joey Ryan being 36, and Christian York being 35, Hernandez who also has main even potential is sadly 39, and Matt Morgan is 36. I think the huge problem is the talent scouting, which if you look at the OVW roster, compared to the NXT roster, just by looking at their photos and their looks you can see a stark difference in potential. I mean if you can stomach it try and watch a OVW television taping, compared to an NXT show. WWE may not do everything right but their talent scouts are top notch. I like the addition of Kenny King, but what else do they have to offer. My suggestions? Shaun Ricker 30, Brian Cage 26?, Michael Elgin 24, Roderick Strong 29, Davey Richards 29, Chuck Taylor 26, Scorpio Sky 29, Anthony Neese, 27. Who else do you think should be recruited by TNA? Luke Robinson maybe? Martin Casaus maybe? Matt Cross maybe? Does anyone know of any young Big Men on the independent scene? I mean I theirs Eric Watts but he still kind of green. Someone mention British Bootcamp, there's only four contestants on their and two are a set of twin females, and one is 5'3".

 

[entertainer101]

I keep seeing people saying in 5-10 years we can add so and so to the list of people who won't be main eventing in TNA. 5 years is a LONG time in pro wrestling. 10 is even longer. Consider the major differences in the stars/products of WWE of 1996 and 2001. Major difference. Consider it between 1996 and 2006. Even bigger difference. So much changes even with a year. If these guys last five-ten more years, which I'm guessing most of them will, that's perfectly fine. Age isn't a factor. That's plenty of time for more people to be built up. And they've done an excellent job at proving they can build people up looking at all those people on that list. There should be no concern here.

 

[R.K.O]

I think everyone forgot that TNA can always pick up from WWE releases. I expect talents like Jack Swagger, Alex Riley and the likes to get released and TNA could certainly use them. Besides WWE there's ROH and other organizations too that they can sign talents from, I think they will be alright.

 

[Cereal Killer]

It probably will. Talent isn't all that good nowadays. I guess Aries, Joe, Styles, Roode and Storm are at a fair age but that's all. These guys can go on for another 5-6 years if they keep in shape but they need new wrestlers, not people that we have to see for yet another couple of years.

I know tough enough didn't work for WWE but I'm all in for OVW, Gutcheck and Boot-camp. Bootcamp has great British wrestlers that can break out on to the scene, Gutcheck finds great talent, so far not a bad job with Alex Silva, Christian York and Jey Ryan; they just need a push already before they age and then there's OVW. NXT seems to be working for WWE, why wouldn't OVW work for TNA. OVW has some decent talent like Cliff Compton and also Crimson. Also at the moment, TNA has Magnus and Gunner, young and talented wrestlers.

So, I guess they CAN carry on in the future. IT probably won't feel AS good because it's talent that isn't exactly AJ Styles' level but I reckon they would be OK. Dixie just needs to come up with more ideas and better wrestlers for OVW and Gutcheck. You'll have better wrestlers and they can carry the company on their backs for another generation.

 

[fenderjapan]

I don't even look at it from an age perspective as much as I do "TNA Originals vs. Wrestling Legends". When so much of the card is made up of stars who found their fame in other organizations, that well will dry up (or continue to shift to the next generation of ex-WWE talent) and TNA will find themselves with a roster full of talent no one cares about since everyone was tuning in to watch the Angles, Hardys, RVDs, Dudleys, Stings.

I won't pretend to know if or how TNA can get their original talent to the level that the aforementioned legends are at in terms of "overness", I just know they need to figure it out

 

[Papa Pillman]

I don't even look at it from an age perspective as much as I do "TNA Originals vs. Wrestling Legends". When so much of the card is made up of stars who found their fame in other organizations, that well will dry up (or continue to shift to the next generation of ex-WWE talent) and TNA will find themselves with a roster full of talent no one cares about since everyone was tuning in to watch the Angles, Hardys, RVDs, Dudleys, Stings.

I don't think this is accurate. Yes people tune in to see Hogan, Hardy and Angle, and when he's around they tune in to see Sting. But along with those guys, I think just as many people also tune in to see AJ, Daniels/Kaz, Roode, Aries, Joe, Storm etc. Hell, I bet if we really looked at quarterly ratings breakdowns that slightly more people are tuning in to see Aries at this point than any of the former WWE/WCW guys you mentioned.

So to assert that TNA isn't capable of building characters of interest that weren't already established mainstream stars is just flat wrong.

If they were drawings 1.5's when Hardy, Angle, etc. were on screen, then dropping to 0.5's when the TNA built guys came out then you would have a point, but that simply isn't the case.

As for the topic itself... We just had an identical thread about three weeks ago. So I'll reiterate the same points:

Guys like Aries, Hardy, Styles, Storm, Roode, Kaz, Ryan, Morgan, Anderson, and Joe mostly have atleast five or even ten years left.

It is likely that the guys who will be the next wave of TNA stars once most of the current guys decline probably aren't even on the roster yet.

It isn't as if the WWE has already fully depleted the Indy ranks of its young talent, preventing TNA from finding more future pieces.

There are lots of top Indy stars still in their twenties who may have no interest in TNA for now but once they have accomplished their indy goals, or have been passed up by the WWE, TNA may become an option. Especially if TNA continues to grow as a company and can begin offering more monetary security than touring the country on the indy's offers.

ROH alone has a roster full under 30: Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Micheal Elgin, the Briscoes, Cedric Alexander, or Roderick Strong for example. All could one day fit that mold of a guy wanting to try TNA, like King has recently or like Aries did a couple years ago. And that doesn't mention the other 20 somethings in Chikara, PWG, Dragon Gate etc. like Sami Callihan, Willie Mack, Brian Cage, Chuck Taylor, Tony Neese, TJ Perkins, and so on. The Indy circuit is full of the guys who will likely flesh out the main roster over the next several years.

There is clearly no need to panic. If we are having this same conversation four or five years from now, and TNA is still featuring basically the exact same crop of talent that they are currently, then it will be time to get concerned.

 

[Dirk]

Look, there's always the ol' WWE-titty. If you look at relatively young guys like Ryder, Bourne or JoMo, these guys could be HUGE in TNA.

Also, while Aries and Hardy are roughly the same age, Aries hasn't put his body, brain and soul through hell like the Charismatic Enigma, so he'll be able to go for a longer time, if the injuries keep away. I LOVE Hardy, but I'm going to miss him very much, very soon.

A last option would be Randy Orton. With a draw and talent like that, nobody would mind his personal problems, except Ken Anderson.

 

[blairvb79]

I do get your point on TNA and the age but like they have always seem to do and will likely continue to do is take from WWE what they dont want and make them into stars. if they get rid of A RY and Ryder there are two guys TNA will surely make into stars for their company and ride their success.

2012 was a fantastic year for professional wrestling, and I don't want to take anything away from that by making this thread. However, there's a potential problem I see creeping up on the horizon, and it's the ages of all the heavily used talent in both TNA and WWE. Moreso TNA, actually, and that's what we're going to discuss.

Look at the people TNA uses with the most frequency, and to the greatest effect with their weekly Impact Wrestling product:
Kurt Angle: 44
AJ Styles: 35
Jeff Hardy: 35
Devon: 40
Bully Ray: 41
RVD: 42
Tara: 41
Abyss: 39
Austin Aries: 34
Bobby Roode: 36
Chris Daniels: 42
James Storm: 35
Matt Morgan: 36
Samoa Joe: 33
Sting: 53

You get the point. TNA has a lot of main event talents that are getting up there in age. Not a single main event caliber talent on the TNA roster is under the age of 30. I'm not trying to say older guys can't go; Kurt Angle is 44 and has done some of his best work in the last 4 years. He's still better than probably 98% of the current wrestling landscape. And you know, if these guys had been main event factors for TNA for 5-6 years now, this wouldn't be a problem. But the issue is, a lot of these just made a lasting impact within the last 2 years. Bully ray, Devon, Austin Aries, Storm and Roode, etc. Daniels, to an extent. These are guys who are already on the other side of their career hill - again, no offense meant - and are just now making a name for themselves.

The biggest thing that worries me is the lack of young talent that I could see holding together the roster. At 33, Joe is the youngest veteran worth anything to TNA's long term product. When Beer Money, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels and Joe were all in their 20's, people were starting to see greatness in them. You could build a company around those guys - and they pretty much did - and have it take off. But who's around now? Zema Ion? Joey Ryan?

When you look at WWE, they actually seem to be in a really good transitional period towards the next generation. John Cena is 35, same as James Storm, but he's been the face of pro wrestling for 5+ years now. You've got your 20-something Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins guys. Ziggler is early 30's, but he's also still in fantastic condition. They're a bigger company, they get first pick of pretty much whoever they want, and can doing whatever they want with them. I'm not worried about WWE's next generation of talent.

Who in TNA is going to represent the next generation?

How long do you think the current main event guys can stay at the top? Long enough to build a completely different dynamic of young wrestlers?

I do see TNA trying at least. You've got the Gut Check and British Boot Camp things. But Tough Enough never, ever worked for WWE. It just produced flash-in-the-pan guys that dropped out. Mostly. TNA needs to start raising a new crop, the old fashioned way. Maybe buying OVW was the smartest thing they ever did for the future.

 

[xavyer]

Most people here have great points, but in my opinion, what TNA needs to do right now, is to have the older guys like Angle, Sting, Bully Ray starting feuds with people like Magnus, or the younger guys in TNA so they can start building the next generation or the future of TNA, not feud among eachother, the vets like them need to put people over during the three of five years most people give them, for example, imagine Angle wrestling for one more year, he can use that year to put, let's say Crimson over, he will be over big and Angle can go out swinging, same thing with Sting, let's face it, i don't thing that Sting has exactly 5 years left, it's obious that injuries are a big factor for him at this age, so he can have one last run, and if his injuries allow him, he can have great run, so why not put Magnus over? That could be big for Magnus and Sting can also go out swinging, but do we really need Bully Ray to feud with Hulk Hogan? Bully can feud with someone else that can use the rub........

 

[fenderjapan]

I don't think this is accurate. Yes people tune in to see Hogan, Hardy and Angle, and when he's around they tune in to see Sting. But along with those guys, I think just as many people also tune in to see AJ, Daniels/Kaz, Roode, Aries, Joe, Storm etc. Hell, I bet if we really looked at quarterly ratings breakdowns that slightly more people are tuning in to see Aries at this point than any of the former WWE/WCW guys you mentioned.

So to assert that TNA isn't capable of building characters of interest that weren't already established mainstream stars is just flat wrong.

If they were drawings 1.5's when Hardy, Angle, etc. were on screen, then dropping to 0.5's when the TNA built guys came out then you would have a point, but that simply isn't the case.

As for the topic itself... We just had an identical thread about three weeks ago. So I'll reiterate the same points:

Guys like Aries, Hardy, Styles, Storm, Roode, Kaz, Ryan, Morgan, Anderson, and Joe mostly have atleast five or even ten years left.

It is likely that the guys who will be the next wave of TNA stars once most of the current guys decline probably aren't even on the roster yet.

It isn't as if the WWE has already fully depleted the Indy ranks of its young talent, preventing TNA from finding more future pieces.

There are lots of top Indy stars still in their twenties who may have no interest in TNA for now but once they have accomplished their indy goals, or have been passed up by the WWE, TNA may become an option. Especially if TNA continues to grow as a company and can begin offering more monetary security than touring the country on the indy's offers.

ROH alone has a roster full under 30: Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Micheal Elgin, the Briscoes, Cedric Alexander, or Roderick Strong for example. All could one day fit that mold of a guy wanting to try TNA, like King has recently or like Aries did a couple years ago. And that doesn't mention the other 20 somethings in Chikara, PWG, Dragon Gate etc. like Sami Callihan, Willie Mack, Brian Cage, Chuck Taylor, Tony Neese, TJ Perkins, and so on. The Indy circuit is full of the guys who will likely flesh out the main roster over the next several years.

There is clearly no need to panic. If we are having this same conversation four or five years from now, and TNA is still featuring basically the exact same crop of talent that they are currently, then it will be time to get concerned.

I'd like to see that breakdown cause I don't think its true. The casual wrestling fan or wwe-only wrestling fan, which makes up a critical (and majority) part of the wrestling audience isn't going to be pulled in by an Austin Aries or a Kazarian. I can't prove that, just my opinion