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Professional wrestling continues to evolve. What will it look like going forward?
Pro wrestling's modern, scripted form dates back to the days of the carnivals during the nineteenth century. The wrestlers would put on scripted performances to sucker the 'marks' into paying cash money for a chance to beat the champion.
Eventually, the scripted performances became more popular than the actual wrestling matches, which could take over an hour and featured both men laying still on the canvas for minutes at a time.
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Athletes like Gorgeous George added more show business aspects to the game with his flamboyant character and over the top mannerisms.
Pro wrestling increased in popularity over time and proved to be television friendly as that medium found its way into households all over the world. Stars have come and gone, but wrestling continues on, evolving and changing with the times.
Here are ten predictions for what the future of wrestling will look like.
1. The strong style will be the norm.
In the future, you can expect to see stiffer strikes, slams delivered with more authority, and a blurring of the lines between real and scripted pain.
Athletes like Pete Dunne and Shinsuke Nakamura have brought 'strong' style to the mainstream, and it could grow to be the dominant match style in pro wrestling.
2. More celebrities will be wrestlers.
With reduced road schedules and a guaranteed spot near the top of the card, expect to see more celebrity wrestlers taking to the ring.
Already we have seen 'mainstream' stars like Ronda Rousey and Stephen Amell have already stepped between the ropes. As pro wrestling becomes more competitive, the different federations will be tempted to use celebrity talent to boost attention and ratings.
3. A new 'wrestling war' will be fought.
With the advent of digital streaming, pro wrestling has reached a new renaissance. No longer do promotions have to deal with fickle cable television networks or lack of sponsorship. Now, wrestling can be consumed in more ways than ever by more different types of people than ever.
This has led to a surge of competition for the globally dominant WWE. New Japan, Ring of Honor, Impact, and Lucha Underground are all making a serious bid for WWE's fandom. In particular, WWE seems worried about ROH, who they have locked out from a show in Madison Square Garden. The animosity will eventually lead to head to head competition, just like during the Monday Night War.
4. Smaller, quicker wrestlers will replace the big men.
Ten years ago, no one would have believed that the top wrestler in WWE would be a man under six feet tall, but that is just what has happened with AJ Styles.
And he's not alone. Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, and even the Miz don't fit the huge and muscular stereotype that has fit so many previous WWE champions like the Rock, Triple H, and Hulk Hogan. Wrestling has become quicker and more exciting, and the plodding heavyweights of yesteryear will slowly be replaced.
5. More inter-promotional shows.
As the pro wrestling fan is exposed to more and more of what the world has to offer, their appetites for a variety of action will increase. Expect to see many of your favorite promotions reaching deals with their kin across the ocean.
Lucha Underground and Impact wrestling are already working together, as is ROH and New Japan. So long as the WWE is seen as the big bully on the block, the other promotions will be willing to join forces to cut a slice of the wrestling audience pie.
6. There will be more bold and varied match types.
When Matt Hardy first started having "Deletion" matches at his own house, many were skeptical from the fans to the critics to the wrestlers themselves.
However, the wildly divergent match type was a huge success, and let to Matt Hardy being hired by the WWE despite being middle aged. The WWE took a stab at deletion themselves, which led to huge ratings for RAW, after trying to copy the gimmick with a House of Horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt, without much success.
As fans become more willing to suspend disbelief, expect wrestling to spill out of the arena and into the real world.
7. The women will be just as big a draw as the men.
Women's wrestling used to be an embarrassment, an excuse to show exposed skin and sexualized antics.
Today, women like Charlotte Flair, Asuka, and Tessa Blanchard are proving that they're not just as good as the men; they're better. Expect women's wrestling to become just as prestigious and taken seriously as men's wrestling.
8. There will be a heavier Latin influence.
f you look at some of the top stars in any of the 'big three' US promotions, you'll find men like Punishment Martinez, Ricochet, Andrade Almas, and LAX right front and center.
Despite some uproar over border walls and immigration, the majority of the US citizens are prepared to embrace Latin culture. Expect Latin America to exert its influence over the wrestling scene as the new norm.
9. The WWE will still thrive.
There may come a day when another wrestling promotion--be it ROH or New Japan or Impact/GFW--becomes bigger and more dominant than the WWE. However, when and if that day comes it doesn't mean the end of WWE. Far from it.
The global juggernaut and corporate structure that WWE has built will endure almost any storm. Even if they are not the number one promotion, the WWE will continue to make billions of dollars a year and entertain fans all over the world.
And we're betting that if WWE ever does get passed in the race for number one, they'll work that much harder until they get the top spot back.
10. It will be a great time to be a wrestling fan.
As wrestling continues to change and evolve, its fandom gets to reap the benefits.
Better matches between bigger names, longer shows, badder rivalries, and competition for the fan's dollar will create an environment that is very kind to fans of sports entertainment. No matter what occurs, the future looks bright for the wrestling fan.
Comments? Please leave them below and thanks for reading!
