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Survey Once Revealed 33 percent Adults Couldn't Name Any Current WWE Star And Only Handful Knew Roman Reigns
A survey once revealed that 33% of adults did not know the name of a professional WWE wrestler, and only a few people knew Roman Reigns. Read on to discover more!
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Possible reason behind the decreasing popularity of current WWE stars
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WWE is doing better in the Triple H era
A nationwide poll from December 2022 revealed a depressing fact about the professional wrestling business. Approximately 33% of adults from the poll of 503 people were unable to take the name of a professional wrestler, showing how mainstream popularity has waned since the Attitude Era.
Dr Alex Williams of Kansas University conducted the poll. The alarming part was that a majority of people could not take the names of wrestlers from the current generation.
Hulk Hogan, wrestling's first megastar, received the highest percentage of 19%, followed by The Rock at 17%. John Cena, WWE's biggest star from the 21st century, received only 7%, sitting third among individual names.
Surprisingly, the Attitude Era legend Stone Cold Steve Austin got a voting share of only 4%, while The Undertaker secured 3%. The list ended with the names of Ric Flair and Macho Man Randy Savage. WWE's current biggest star, Roman Reigns, had less than one percent vote in the poll, placing him behind these legends.
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Possible reason behind the decreasing popularity of current WWE stars
WWE was at the peak of its popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. After taking charge of WWE in 1982, Vince McMahon altered the structure of WWE, introducing grand pay-per-views like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
WrestleMania started getting bigger each year with dream matches and popular celebrity appearances. Hulk Hogan was pushed as the biggest babyface of the company, as he would become a known face in the mainstream world alongside Andre The Giant, Macho Man Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior.
With the emergence of the Attitude Era, WWE expanded more in the 1990s, creating megastars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, etc.
However, going PG in 2008 was the biggest contributing factor to WWE's decreasing popularity, especially among adults. The company stopped making notable stars like they did in the past. Moreover, the PG product was aimed at the younger audience, as opposed to the edgy product in the Attitude Era or Ruthless Aggression Era.
WWE is doing better in the Triple H era
Compared to the time when this poll was conducted, WWE is currently thriving under Triple H as the creative head. WrestleMania 40 turned out to be the turning point, setting up the platform for a new era.
Now, Cody Rhodes is getting a push as the top star and mainstream exposure. The Rock helped elevate Cody. Apart from the American Nightmare, WWE is making efforts to build new stats like Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, Tiffany Stratton, Gunther, etc.
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