Has WWE’s star power problem doomed future WrestleManias without legends?

[Oliverlogan263]

So many icons have stepped away lately, and looking ahead, next year’s WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia feels like it has little to no major star power. I think it’s safe to say TKO will make it their number one priority to lure back at least one of WWE's absolute biggest draws—whether that means pulling out all the stops for The Rock, Brock Lesnar, or John Cena. Personally, I really hope it'll be Lesnar.

With each passing year, the genuine star power on the active roster continues to shrink. When you look back at the track record, WWE has essentially been surviving on heavy nostalgia:

WrestleMania 40 relied heavily on the star power of The Rock

WrestleMania 41 relied on the retirement tour of John Cena

WrestleMania 42 was lucky to have Brock Lesnar anchor the big-fight feel

Future WrestleManias are going to look incredibly unimpressive without these massive attractions and proven box-office draws. The biggest issue is that creative isn't building new, credible stars to legitimately take their places. If things keep going in this direction, something drastically has to change within management and booking because the business was never this dry on top-tier talent in previous eras.

What do y'all think? Has WWE backed itself into a corner by relying too much on past legends, and who do you think TKO is going to try to bring back to save the star power for next year?

[NathanDavis]

the reason why WWE sticks to the old... that's because wrestling is mostly for boomers and elder millennials... they're the ones into nostalgia

this demographic is not the future...

newer generations are just 10 to 20% of their audience, and they definitely don't have ANY interest on anything that is on TV or lasts more than five minutes

if the WWE wants a future with the future generations... they better focus on social media content and "farming aura battles" lol

[Oliverlogan263]

I agree that the business has to adapt to changing demographics, and WWE definitely plays into the whole 'farming aura' trend to hook the younger crowd online. But there’s a massive difference between getting a viral TikTok view and actually selling out a 70,000 seat stadium for WrestleMania.

Short-form internet clips can get a wrestler over for a week, but they don't build the kind of deep emotional investment that makes people buy expensive ticket packages and travel across the world. If the company completely gives up on long-form, high-stakes television storytelling just to chase an audience with a five-minute attention span, then the product completely loses its core identity. Even the younger fans will eventually tune out if the matches feel completely meaningless. Social media should be used to supplement the product, not replace the building of legitimate, larger than life box office megastars.

[NathanDavis]

newer generations don't waste money on arenas...

Millennials and Boomers, do that...

[TonyMetal___1986]

You forgot about Chris Jericho, the Big Show... etc
It's true that they are in AEW now, but who knows what happens next...

[canamlusciouslad73]

Vince McMahon, who'll be 81 next Monday, should sign Yours Truly for the next Wrestlemania because the WWF/WWE has never had an HOBC ("Heartthrobby Older Black Cowboy") on its roster.

[Anonymous]

They are desperate

[Oliverlogan263]

Why do you say that?