How Can Other Promotions Become Real Competition for WWE?

2018 has been a year of growth for Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Impact Wrestling. Still, the WWE does not have any of those three companies on their radar as direct competition. The question then becomes, what needs to happen for any wrestling company to push WWE in popularity?

Let’s start off by stating the obvious, and that is the fact that no company has been real competition for WWE since WCW was sold to Vince McMahon. WCW was able to defeat WWE in the ratings for 84 consecutive weeks, but when the sizzle and flash wore off of the product, WCW would unravel.

While there is a difference when someone like Ted Turner is backing a project, there are lessons to be learned from WCW’s rise and fall that can be used going forward. The biggest goal is targeting the interest of the casual wrestling fan.

“Being The Elite” and “Impact!” may be popular with die hard wrestling fans, but most likely a casual fan isn’t going to either search on YouTube or pay extra for a cable subscription that includes Pop TV. A big step for any independent wrestling company is convincing a major television station that there is a market for their product, and securing a weekly program.

What could help make the case is the upcoming All In event, and how quickly it sold out. Imagine if All In ends up being one of the best shows of the year (a distinct possibility). That critical response would elevate all of the talent on the card.

What if All In becomes an annual event? What if All In becomes the independent wrestling version of WrestleMania? Marquee events like All In are resume builders for these companies to prove that there is a market for wrestling outside of WWE when pitching for a major television deal.

Securing a television deal is a big step, but there still must be a reason given to the casual fan to tune in. WCW used acquisitions like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and eventually Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to accomplish this.

While I am not suggesting that Impact, ROH, or NJPW is going to lure John Cena or Roman Reigns away from WWE, a couple major free agent signings would help create buzz. That said, there must be a line drawn where the plan is not to just sign every recently released superstars from WWE.

To avoid getting this reputation, wrestling companies must remember the stars that helped get them to the dance. Learn from mistakes made by WCW with Ric Flair, or by TNA with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.