Dave Meltzer Believes Pro Wrestling Is In A “Boom Period”
Dave Meltzer might be ready to give professional wrestling five stars as he feels the industry is the strongest it has been since the 1990s.
WWE announced that Money In The Bank in London was the company’s grossing arena event of all time, taking place just 24 hours after the same location hosted the highest-grossing episode of SmackDown, it feels like WWE is reaching levels not seen since the Attitude Era.
With four of the company’s five premium live events so far in 2023 taking place outside the United States, WWE has been able to tap into the desire to see live action after two years of lockdowns affecting international travel.
AEW is following suit and has sold nearly 80,000 tickets as the company head to the UK for the first time ever in what is expected to be a historic All In inside Wembley Stadium.
The popularity of pro wrestling is clear to see, and the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer feels that wrestling is now in a “boom period” and has questioned why some are not willing to accept that reality.
The wrestling critic appeared on an episode of McGuire on Wrestling and shared his thoughts on the soaring success seen by WWE and the growth of AEW.
“We’re in a boom period, and it’s kind of weird that some people don’t want to accept that we are,”
“But we are, not just for match quality, but we are for popularity. It’s not the biggest. It’s not as big as the late ’90s, and it probably never will be. But since the late ’90s, it’s as big as it’s probably ever been.
Certainly, there’s been no number two at this level. To some people, that’s a big thing. But to me, that’s a great thing.”
Dave Meltzer believes it’s a “fantastic” time to be a wrestler
Widely discussed for his match ratings and insider leaks, Dave Meltzer has this time shared how he believes that it is a great time to be a wrestler.
Dave Meltzer feels that the competition between WWE, and their developmental brand NXT, with AEW, it allows wrestlers more opportunities to work, and provides fans with the choice to tune into the action they desire.
“If you’re a wrestler, that’s fantastic,”
“There’s more jobs and you can go back and forth. There’s more money to be made. And for fans, there’s more options of different things, and you get more on television than at any time in history.
You also have multiple promoters that are really, really into trying to give you great matches. It’s part of their thing. In the past, not as much. It was all about getting your money on Friday night, which is a different scientific thing. So if you like wrestling matches, this is the best time.”
Following WWE’s success and AEW’s strong sales for London, attention will now move to keep an eye on which company comes out on top in Chicago as AEW head to the “Windy City” for All Out in September, whilst WWE will be in town for this year’s Survivor Series.
H/t to WrestlingInc