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Pro-wrestling shows or professional wrestling promotions have become an important staple in the sports business today. Even though the outcomes are scripted, the consistent story arcs leading into feuds between combatants have always pleased fans. Due to this bond, the fans can connect with the stars on a much personal level.
Let's look at the most popular Professional Wrestling Promotions currently.
#1 WWE
The World Wrestling Entertainment is the biggest and the most popular pro-wrestling promotion in the world currently. Founded in 1952 as Capitol Wrestling and from 1980 onwards as Titan Sports, the World Wrestling Federation or the WWF emerged. Back in the early days in the 80s, it was Vince McMahon and popular star Hulk Hogan who oversaw the growth and expansion over the next few years.
The next major development came when the WWF's Raw began competing directly with the WCW's Nitro known then as the Monday night wars in the 1990s. This era was spearheaded by Shane McMahon, the son of Vince McMahon. On October 19, 1999, the WWF became a publicly traded company on the NYSE and has traded under the WWE symbol since then. This phase also saw the acquisition of their main rivals - the WCW and the ECW and with an unparalleled roster, the WWE had become the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.
The current programming for WWE relies mainly on WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown brands. Besides this, there are a number of PPVs conducted throughout the year- the SummerSlam, WrestleMania, Money in the Bank and others which the talent from both the brands compete in together.
Apart from all this, the WWE has become a product which is more than just sports or business. The WWE has a significant impact on pop culture today.
The current roster include stars such as John Cena, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair, The Miz, Samoa Joe, Shunsuke Nakamura, Jinder Mahal, Ronda Rousey and more. Also WWE is the home of The Rock, Batista, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Big Show and a plethora of other talent over the years.
In India, the main shows - Raw and Smackdown and the PPVs air live on Sony Ten channel.
#2 Impact Wrestling (TNA)
The Total NonStop Action Wrestling first started in 2004 by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett was born out of an idea once the WCW dissolved. Its main idea was to provide an alternative to the more mainstream WWE. The founders at the time believed that only one Wrestling promotion was not a healthy business model.
From 2004 to 2013, TNA produced 2 shows- the flagship show Impact as well as the secondary show Explosion. After 2013, the company saw a decline with big guns Hulk Hogan and AJ Styles leaving upon expiry of their contract. Jeff Jarrett left to start his own Global Force Wrestling Promotion. Branded as Impact Wrestling from March of 2017, the promotion retained the Impact Wrestling show and also started airing TNA Wrestling's Greatest Matches.
As a result of the big names leaving TNA, the roster has significantly declined over the years, but still Impact Wrestling has maintained its stronghold with partnerships and tie-ups with other major wrestling promotions such as the Lucha Libre from Mexico and the Wrestle-1 and NJPW from Japan.
Also, in the Impact Wrestling era from 2017 onwards the main PPVs- Slammiversary and Bound for Glory have been headlined by talents shared with other wrestling promotions.
The current Impact Wrestling roster includes stars such as Austin Aries, Abyss, Brian Cage, Bhupinder Singh and others. Former Impact Wrestling stars include Aiden O'Shea, Alex Shelley and AJ Styles.
The Impact Wrestling shows along with the PPVs are available on Sony Six/Sony ESPN in India.
#3. ROH (Ring of Honor Wrestling)
The Ring of Honor Wrestling is considered to be the third most popular wrestling promotion after WWE and Impact Wrestling. The ROH has been estimated by some to have overtaken Impact due to the general decline in talent in Impact and also the backing which ROH has received from the Sinclair broadcasting group which is the one of the largest in America.
The loss of Impact turned out to be a boon for ROH, as the show announced the return of star AJ Styles in 2014 along with a partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Such a partnership on a global scene has seen the ROH produce some mainstays in the form of Best in the World and Glory by Honor. There has also been a rise in the increase of supershows co-organised by the NJPW - Global Wars and War of the Worlds.
The fights in general in ROH are highly technical and in fact, in terms of pure wrestling, the ROH provides more than WWE and Impact. The only downside which ROH seems to have at the moment are in terms of the production budget and also the lack of significant storylines leading up to the fights themselves.
The current ROH roster of wrestlers includes Adam Page, Alex Shelley and Berreta, while the illustrious list of ROH alumni includes AJ Styles, CM Punk and Samoa Joe.
In India, you can watch the Ring of Honor wrestling on Dsport.
#4. Lucha Underground
Lucha Underground is a serial drama style wrestling promotion show, the first season of which premiered in 2014. The story-telling is more episodic in nature and features some of the best wrestlers from the American independent circuit and Lucha Libre AAA, one of the biggest wrestling promotions in Mexico.
The biggest plus of Lucha Underground is that that it is produced like a television series where each season has a specific arc for all the individuals and talents involved. Such a format allows all the storylines to develop and nothing feels rushed as in the case of WWE. This natural storytelling combined with the raw nature of the wrestlers provides gratification for the viewers when two combatants compete in a championship match. This is a rarity now in wrestling these days.
The format also allows the wrestlers enough time to concentrate on their own health which can sometimes take a toll on the body due to excessive workload. The only downside currently seems to be that the viewers are dwindling and as such there is always the threat of talents leaving for the glamour of WWE.
The current roster for Lucha Underground include Pentagon Jr, Rey Mysterio, Fenix and Joey Ryan.
In India, the past seasons of Lucha Underground air on Dsport.
#5. NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling)
The New Japan Pro-Wrestling is the biggest wrestling promotion from Japan. It features some of the best wrestling matchups that you are going to see in this day and age. The matches do not occur randomly as the promotion generally sticks to particular format and calendar for individual shows, main events and annual shows.
New Japan has created some of the most followed PPVs in recent times in terms of the Wrestle Kingdom and the New Japan Cup. While in WWE, the general quality of hardcore wrestling seems restricted to big main events such as Wrestlemania, the quality in NJPW is just top-notch which allows the wrestlers to flourish.
One of the obvious downside for external viewers seem to be the language barrier which should not be a problem once you get a hang of the talent involved. Also, the growing western influence has been a concern in NJPW in recent years and should not get undue attention at the cost of local talent.
Cross promotion with ROH and stars crossing over to WWE have also brought significant viewership from around the world.
The current roster includes Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr and others.
In India, the NJPW is available for viewing on Dsport.
