Who is responsible for the death of Pro Wrestling?

Pro wrestling isnt what it used to be....well not in my eyes anyway.

Gone are the days when you could suspend your disbelief and really care about the characters. Gone are the days when you could watch an event and forgive it for all of its faults - after all, who cares that The Ultimate Warrior no sold the HHH pedigree, right?

Gone are the days where we would see an evening gown in a pudding bowl match (although some are thankful for that). The Divas are all carbon copies of each other - where are the characters and genuinely good looking real women?

Gone are the days of a huge name returns, near to the knuckle storylines. Gone are the days of great gimmicks - when was the last great gimmick?

So who is to blame?

Have we all just grown up? Has Vince killed off the competition that he doesnt care anymore? Has WWE decided on euthanasia by adopting the non use of the "wrestling" term?

Have the writers employed run out of original ideas? Has the WWE run its course?

Is the IWC responsible for spoiling everything? EVERYTHING.

Has the WWE just become a production line of clone mediocrity? Has health and safety reduced what can be done?

Or has Hogan and Bischoff killed off the only viable competitor for Vince, leaving him untouchable for the time being.

Or should we blame someone or something else. Most people usually blame Hobo for things - is it my fault?

Is Dana Whites UFC taking fans elsewhere or is everything going well in the good ship WWE?

So lets hear your thoughts of who and when wrestling was put out of its misery......

(multi voting allowed)

I think there is a combination of things going on.

Number one: All the things you talk about missing - with the exception of the diva thing - are, I would bet, things that happened before you were "smartened up" to the business. So I would say largely when people feel this sort of sentiment it is because you look at it differently now, rather than the product being different. There are millions of people who still suspend their disbelief, believe in the characters, forgive the product any of its faults, etc.

Number two: The wrestling business has changed. It has become more sanitised, more controlled by one man's whims and quirks. That is because one man monopolises the industry. Who's fault is that? Well, you could blame a lot of people. Vince McMahon, for his ruthless business practices in the 80s and questionable ethics then and now. The promoters who lost out to him. The people running WCW, who managed to get ahead of him only to spectacularly screw up. The people running TNA, who have had so many golden chances to provide genuine competition but are so utterly incompetent that they never will. Or maybe the fans, the people who voted with their wallets in the 80s by choosing Vince's character-driven, storyline-driven style above the realism, athleticism and quality wrestling available elsewhere. The people who have continually voted with their wallets and viewing habits and live reactions for his product, however tawdry (the attitude era), badly written (higher power, any Cena storyline in the past year) or self-indulgent (Vince's TV appearances, DX and Hornswoggle and the other terrible attempts at comedy, any time JR is brought back just to be embarrassed) it may be.

We are undoubtedly in a situation now where Vince McMahon can put whatever he wants on TV. He can rewrite and disrespect the business, its history, and the way it has always worked. And many of us know no better. That situation will only change when a competently and ethically run - and well-financed - promotion comes along to provide an alternative. Don't hold your breath.

The biggest problem facing wrestling today is that WWE plays to an audience of one, and he seems to be doing whatever he can to distance the company from what made him a paper billionaire in the first place. Triple H seems to be the last great white hope but even if the early signs are encouraging (revamping the talent department) there's no guarantee that the Game-uhh can get wrestling back to how it should (in our eyes) be.

Let's face it, Vince isn't going to quietly retire; he'll most likely be doing this until he's wheeled out in a wooden box or off to the old folk's home. So we might as well get used to what's going on at the moment and prepare ourselves for worse to come.

As to what has killed pro-wrestling? There are a number of factors: the ending of kayfabe, the death of WCW, WWE becoming less about characters and more about clones, the rise of Stephanie McMahon to head of creative in WWE, Hollywood writers with zero wrestling background being responsible for storylines, less of an opportunity for guys to 'get themselves over' due to scripted promos & matches, wrestlers not being allowed to just be themselves 'with the volume turned up', the growth of the UFC into the mainstream and TNA being run by clueless buffoons.

There's not really one thing you could point at and say THAT'S what did it.

Vince McMahon undoubtably is to blame for the currant shape of the business but I wouldn't hold him solely responsible, if someone else had a vission as great as he once had and people willing to fund it then we wouldn't have a one man industry

Nice article & well written replys... It's a mixture of all of the above in my opinion. Agree with Gaffer if there's one soul reason for the staleness of the current product then it much be Vince... But you could argue he's also the soul factor in making it so popular in the 1st place