Now Is The Best Time to Be a Wrestling Fan

There's no beer guzzling "self-proclaimed" redneck, no pie eating brow raising Brahma bull, no invading and spray painting faction an no crotch chopping degenerates. Yet the best time to be a wrestling fan is right now.

1998 was great. The industry was at a peak and it was more popular than ever. We had two companies fighting it out each and every Monday night for ratings supremacy and our fingers were locked on the back button. It was a great moment in time. But it was a great time only for a moment.

If you follow the industry close enough, you'd see that it comes with its ups and downs. It got hot back in territory days when it first launched onto black and white TVs. Only to find its way off of everyone's radar.

Vince McMahon made it cool and relevant again, with a little help from Wrestlemania and Hulk Hogan. The industry soon toppled again due to steroids...and Hulk Hogan.

So as the roller coaster of broken records continue. Fans were elated to see that business picked up in 1998. And despite record sales, mostly due to record prices, we have recently been at the bottom of a wrestling recession.

Usually you wouldn't think of this as a good thing, more or less a great thing, but it is. History shows us that every 10 years or so the industry dips before coming up bigger and better than ever. And as we're in year 11, we're over due.

Signs of Change

WWE grossed it's biggest gate in history at Wrestlemania with $52 million in gross sales. Grant it the ticket prices are higher than ever, it is worth noted.

TNA is on the rise. This is huge because competition breed great wrestling. Anyone who doesn't think TNA is competition is sadly mistaken. TNA has posted its highest ratings yet, in the 1.4 area, which is up from .7 like a year ago.

They are beating ECW now. And before you throw out the C-Brand stuff reconize that ECW is droping in ratings as they debuted about 2.3 and are now around 1.3.

Many disagree with TNA's storylines and are quick to discredit, which is a shame. Although they are not always the best, neither are the WWE's. Despite great heel runs with Jericho, Orton and Edge (the main events) the rest of the show is mediocre to okay. And even the biggest storyline of the year thus far, ended quite horribly (Orton v. HHH)

Ring of Honor is on the verge. Finally after six or seven years, ROH has locked up a TV spot. So far their only fault is that the number of homes that get HDNet is limited. But that will change as many new cable providers start to add it.

A third player changes everything. And although they are a couple years away from competing with either of the big two, the story is set in motion.

New talent...finally. We have been on a talent drought since OVW was raided of the likes of Batista, Cena and Orton. Now we have Styles, Joe, DiBiase, Bourne, Kidd, Lethal and others slowly climbing through the ranks.

Respect. With more mainstream attention being shown on wrestling, the bigger and better it will get. Unlike No Holds Barred and Ready to Rumble, The Wrestler proved that there is an audience for wrestling—general fans or not.

What we've learned

The mainstream isn't exactly welcoming wrestling with open arms. The Benoit tragedy threatened to bring the heat on McMahon once again.

And Mickey Rourke was almost blacklisted from the Oscars just for being associated with wrestling, despite that being the theme for his beloved movie in the first place.

The highs are high, but the lows are really low. The low of the early 90s almost saw Vince go to jail. The lows of the mid 2000's saw the whole industry go under the microscope after an unpredictable tragedy.

The end result

No matter how bad the business gets, or how much money we're asked to fork out, wrestling fans will support their cause.

With this being said, it is the fans who are fueling the resurgence. They expect nothing but the best and won't shut up until they get it. They are the best fans in the world.

I'd say that 1996 was the year that got the ball rolling for the biggest feud in wrestling history. Make no mistake, 2009 is the 1996 of the ratings war. The troops are being assembled and we're about to go to war.

Not many, if any, were able to say in 1998 that they knew that something great was building in the two previous years. I'm saying it now. Pay attention and enjoy every bad angle and every great acquisition. Wrestling is on the verge of greatness.

It will not be without its casualties though. Just remember to take in every moment and every storyline. So that in a few year when wrestling is once again, "mainstream hot" you'll be able to say, "I remember when..."