5 Things That Could Change Professional Wrestling Over The Next 12 Months
No matter whether you call it "professional wrestling" or "sports entertainment", this is an interesting time in history for wrestling fans. While there is truly only 1 major wrestling company, largely in part due to WWE's acquisition of World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2001, there has been a growing rise in wrestling-related alternatives in recent years.
In turn, a wrestling fan that sees Raw or SmackDown as having been more quality-oriented in the past can still have plenty of hope for the business.
As of July 2018, there are a lot of interesting developments going on within the wrestling world. Not only are there independent promotions with growing fanbases, but there is also independent talent being buzzed about on an international level.
In other words, the concept of wrestling territories from decades ago exists in some fashion, as you have talent such as Austin Aries, John Morrison, Cody Rhodes and Shane Strickland working with multiple promotions at any given time.
But this writer is particular intrigued by a variety of current happenings and rumors, all slated to take place within the next 12 months, which can change wrestling in a big way. Here is a look at 5 of those things and what can possibly happen as a result.
#1 All In
The story of All In goes back to a little over a year ago when a tweet from the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer inspired Cody Rhodes to take on the challenge of booking a wrestling show that would sell 10,000 tickets. The show was announced in January 2018 and went on-sale on May 13th of this year, selling out in less than 30 minutes.
That immediate success is surprising not only because it All In is set to take place at a large arena, the Sears Centre right outside of Chicago, but also because only 1 match on the card had been announced.
The actual wrestling of the All In event is far from its most important area. What undoubtedly matters more is the fact that an independent wrestling event, with minimal advertising, can deliver a capacity crowd to a venue that holds more than 10,000 spectators. It shows that independent wrestling scene is healthy, and when branded correctly with recognizable names, that an indie show can deliver results comparable to WWE.
Should the initial All In -- and its accompanying Starrcast event -- deliver a noteworthy event, there is no reason that further All In shows can't happen. Or better yet that an All In arena tour cannot become a reality.
Many American arenas and stadiums have a minimum number of events to host each year for the sake of union requirements, so All In's ability to deliver an arena-level show on September 1, 2018 is something that can change how independent wrestling is booked, packaged and presented to the masses.