Rock, Cena, Punk, Lesnar - Can These Four Cause Another "Wrestling Boom?"

[TLK]

I think it's obvious that they're slowly entering a grey area between PG and "attitude." They're swearing more consistently, involving taboo subjects in feuds (Jericho/Punk), bleeding here and there (H was hardway'd during HIAC).

Semi-related, did anyone notice Punk spit up blood after the World's Strongest Slam on the outside just before Jericho's attack?

 

[Yesiamaduck]

I have noticed in the past year, in the UK at least, that interest in the WWE appears to be on the climb. Noticing more discussion on it in forums that aren't wrestling based, more friends talking about it and taking interest again and this years Royal Rumble and Mania public screenings I've been to have been noticeably more full and have been way more TLC from the promoters of these nights.

I don't see it hitting new HIGHS anytime soon but it's certainly getting a bit of a revival

I also believe the recent slant on once again re-introducing more exagerated/ott characters as opposed to relying on realism has helped the product a lot. Wrestling is a lot more acceptable to people I know (myself included) when it's a bit goofy, it's just easier to watch with friends, Brodus Clay and Daniel Bryans YES YES YES gimmicks are recent examples of this.

 

[Silly Willy Nilly Vanilly in the Milly]

Why not? These four men have the biggest draws right now. Cena is practically THE face of WWE, Punk being the number two man. Rock is a huge movie star and one of the best wrestlers of the Attitude Era. Lesnar was THE face of UFC, and with this popularity combined with his huge pushed he received with his first run with WWE, can certainly bring it home for his second. All four of these men have the potential to ignite the fire of WWE to a degree beyond measure... But it leaves me one question.
What about our younger talent? Should they not also be getting pushed?
WrestleMania 28 was awful in that position. Cody's loss to Big Show and the 18-second WHC match were both awful.
If WWE is going to truly make it in the long run, it should be more than these 4 men. Sure, they will be a great source of ignition, but the fire must burn with the young talent.

 

[#Zombienatureboy]

If WWE is going to truly make it in the long run, it should be more than these 4 men. Sure, they will be a great source of ignition, but the fire must burn with the young talent.

Agree. VKM was always great at CREATING stars. When Eric Bischoff signed all of Vince's guys away, what did Vince do? He created new guys who became legends of the industry. So, he needs to do that again and start now with the younger guys.

Also, on the indy scene (which is very smark based and IWC based) guys get cheered heel or face based on their performance. The IWC loves a good heel and if the heel is cutting great promos and putting on amazing matches, he gets applause and cheers. In the past, Vince had his tweeners and only embraced this as much as he had to. Going forward with DB he needs to just accept that this is how things are in the 24/7 internet information age.

 

[Brahma_Bull9]

I have to agree. Its obvious in several ways that this isn't the same landscape as 1999. WWE has to push into more media (aka more ways to get content with handheld devices et al. Youtube is a start).

The WWE specifically has gotten much better over the past year. The return of old faces shows me that they're trying to push their way back into the mainstream and will succeed. They have gotten a hell of a lot of press over Wrestlemania and if they book SummerSlam the same way, they can get a lot of press here in Southern California.

As far as cornerstones... I think CM Punk could bring in some viewers that wouldn't have watched otherwise but he doesn't have that cross-over that Cena and Lesnar have. Brock will help ratings/buys for the short term but I don't expect him to carry any load. Rock, he's filming another flick and will be back in a few weeks (months, ppvs, however you want to gauge that)... Cena, he's still the top guy, regardless. There's a lot of young talent that can bring more viewers in but have to continue that cross-over like The Miz has done recently.

There is no shortage on talent. Hopefully they will be allowed some liberties with their characters and make the WWE larger than life and capture an essence of days gone by (I don't mean recreate the Attitude Era... hell no...)

In my opinion though the WWE has an advantage in this new age where people want to be fully immersed in the entertainment. That is something new all the time.

They have a huge roster of talent, many titles to give them different options, feuds can be over anything, they are travelling all over... In my opinion they have a leg up on the sitcoms and reality show garbage they are competing against because they have so much more at their disposal. It's not 5 characters all involved in 1 or 2 storylines, its 50 guys in anarchy with their own histories personally and between each other. That's what I think the WWE needs to create again, that feeling of anarchy, you need more than 1 or 2 guys to do that. Back in the attitude era early 2000's, look at the talent you had at one given moment who could beat each other. That was missing, especially in the top half of the card where that was crucial. They have that, all they need to do is create the feeling that these are individuals acting out self interest all the time.

I'm just saying, Zach Ryder, I didn't watch them and I think him and his character suck, but he has the right idea with his youtube videos. If the WWE would get seriously involved in that aspect, off teleivision could be just as entertaining as on tv...

I mean imgaine never knowing when WWE cameras catch two guys running into each other at a hotel or bar who don't like each other during travelling. So much can be done to really develop characters, relationships, and story lines that they are just not doing. It's laziness and a lack of organization in my opinion. They could have done this crap for the last 8 years and been ahead of the curve, they are now behind it, and it'll only get harder to catch up.

 

[scottyshowman82]

This has been a very entertaining thread to read. Thanks everyone for their thoughts.
I think people are right when they say WWE is gaining steam and we're more in "a comfortable place" right now.

I totally agree with #Zombienatureboy when the last wrestling boom going on, it was a collaboration between interesting elements from both the WWE and WCW that came together and grabbed people's interest and made them want to watch pro wrestling.

I also agree with Brahma Bull that they internet can also be percieved as a plus and gave an excellent idea on how the WWE can use the internet and today's technology to get extra up and close with characters. Possibly it is a lack of creativity or maybe laziness. We may not get another wrestling boom for many many years it may not happen any time soon but the good news is I believe we are in store for an exciting few weeks at least in the WWE and the year looks like it could be one of the most exciting in years. And you never know where that may lead.