The spectacle returns

It’s been a decade and a half since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena transitioned from being the biggest names in pro wrestling to major movie stars. In that time, wrestling became cultural wallpaper, ignored by the masses, yet still passionately embraced by its devoted fans. That quiet period may be coming to an end.

Next month, pro wrestling bursts from the walls of broadcast and cable TV to streaming. Wrestling’s two biggest U.S. promotion companies, World Wrestling Entertainment and All Elite Wrestling, inked major deals with Netflix and Max, respectively, to bring their weekly broadcasts into homes live.

Most notably, WWE brings its flagship weekly “Monday Night RAW” to Netflix, live and on demand. “RAW’s” previous home was the USA Network, where it was only available live on cable, then via the Peacock streaming service after a monthlong delay. Accessing all of WWE will be a bit of a chore, with its other weekly show, “Smackdown,” still on USA and all premium live events and library content available through Peacock.

Regardless, Netflix’s ubiquity will thrust WWE and its powerful nostalgia factor in front of those who haven’t watched since Stone Cold Steve Austin was dropping Shawn Michaels with a stunner, or even since Ultimate Warrior was taking on a young Bret Hart. WWE knows this, and its current chief content officer, former wrestler Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, planned accordingly.

Starting with last year’s “Wrestlemania,” both The Rock and Cena made appearances in the ring to kick off a storyline that will most definitely continue into the new year. Additionally, “RAW” will stream live and, while a pro wrestling weekly broadcast isn’t a Mike Tyson fight, it does offer immediacy and sporting competition.

Pro wrestling has always been a grassroots spectacle at heart. In 2019, a handful of wrestlers united with Tony Khan, the son of Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, to form All Elite Wrestling. “Dynamite” and “Collision,” AEW’s weekly broadcasts, found homes on cable networks TBS and TNT, respectively. Starting Wednesday, they’ll also be available via Max. It’s somewhat doubtful that AEW will beat WWE in popularity anytime soon, but for anyone bitten by the wrestling bug, AEW gives fans an alternative that may sway new and veteran viewers.

WWE tends to lean on its tried-and-true formula of slow-moving storylines and somewhat predictable feuds involving a handful of recurring wrestlers, while the mid-card talent is left to languish with little story or personality. Not so with AEW. It seemingly has signed every great up-and-comer, as well as every wrestler for whom the WWE was not a good fit.

The result has been an exciting and wild ride involving ring veterans like Chris Jericho and Sting, while pushing first-rate grapplers from around the globe, such as England’s Will Ospreay, Japan’s Kazuchika Okada and Australia’s Toni Storm. Talent from the U.S. also plays a major role, including Tacoma’s Swerve Strickland, who is positioned as a modern Steve Austin — a menacing-yet-charismatic figure who is neither hero nor villain and possesses an astonishing acumen inside the ring.

While pro wrestling hasn’t evolved at a cultural level, and most folks still react with, “Isn’t it fake?” it has continued to progress since it was last in the zeitgeist, without losing what has always made it so appealing: huge personalities with even bigger physiques settling a high-stakes score in spectacular combat, only to do it all over again the very next week.

It may see yet another heyday in the coming year.

Thompson, Vhs.D, holds a doctorate of cult media in pop culture from University of Maine at Castle Rock. He delivers lectures on movies and other pop culture topics under the moniker Professor VHS. Find him on Instagram as @professorvhs.