It was on WrestleTalk TV recently, host Joel Ross put to co-host Partick Lennon an interesting question. He asked; 'Will British wrestling ever be as big as it was in thr 80s?' He seemed downheartened to hear Lennon's response was a simple 'No'.
But lets face it, Lennon is right. Maybe we should face facts, Britian doesn't like wrestling. But why I hear you cry? Well i don't have any answers, but lets look back to the 1980s, British wrestling in its hayday. The events look rather similar to events from the US throughout the 70s, nothing wrong with that. The wrestlers themselves look more realistic than their American counterparts (they looked like they might frequent betting shops) and the style of wrestling was groundbased and technical. We wanted people to believe it was real.
It was the opposite of American wrestling. People had started to realise that wrestling was predetirmed (not fake! But we'll talk more about that later). But the fans were turning away, look at an american event pre-1980, all adults, usually over 30. Look at post 1985 however and you will see that the fans are now kids, main 3-12 with their parents. American wrestling had evolved to suit a new audience. It was family friendly, and sadly, looked faker than ever.
American wrestling began to get shown over here, and it seems that the British audience too began to realise; Wrestling wasn't 'real', we have been had. There was no way of explain what it was, and seeing wrestling cancelled was the final nail in the coffin. No more UK wrestling. All Star would continue to fly the but their efforts would be in vein, and would turn out to be a pale immitation of the then WWF.
British wrestling today is healthier, but not good. We are now a bit too over crowded, too any promotions senslessly competiting for handfuls of fans. Like the old American regional promotions... that is until the next Vince comes along. More on this subject soon I think... I have rambled enough for one day...
But lets face it, Lennon is right. Maybe we should face facts, Britian doesn't like wrestling. But why I hear you cry? Well i don't have any answers, but lets look back to the 1980s, British wrestling in its hayday. The events look rather similar to events from the US throughout the 70s, nothing wrong with that. The wrestlers themselves look more realistic than their American counterparts (they looked like they might frequent betting shops) and the style of wrestling was groundbased and technical. We wanted people to believe it was real.
It was the opposite of American wrestling. People had started to realise that wrestling was predetirmed (not fake! But we'll talk more about that later). But the fans were turning away, look at an american event pre-1980, all adults, usually over 30. Look at post 1985 however and you will see that the fans are now kids, main 3-12 with their parents. American wrestling had evolved to suit a new audience. It was family friendly, and sadly, looked faker than ever.
American wrestling began to get shown over here, and it seems that the British audience too began to realise; Wrestling wasn't 'real', we have been had. There was no way of explain what it was, and seeing wrestling cancelled was the final nail in the coffin. No more UK wrestling. All Star would continue to fly the but their efforts would be in vein, and would turn out to be a pale immitation of the then WWF.
British wrestling today is healthier, but not good. We are now a bit too over crowded, too any promotions senslessly competiting for handfuls of fans. Like the old American regional promotions... that is until the next Vince comes along. More on this subject soon I think... I have rambled enough for one day...