What Wrestling Niches Are Currently Not Being Served?

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

When WWE was the only American company on TV in a major way it seemed like a bunch weren’t being served. Now with AEW, a lot of things fans were wishing for have been covered.

But there still has to be some niches not being covered, right? If so what would you say they are?

[Deleted]

Lucha Underground.

[Wieners=$$$]

Mud wrestling, hang on a second, with kaiju.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

I don't know if anyone has really filled the niche that CHIKARA left behind of goofy, family-friendly, lucha themed wrestling.

Well, except Camp Leapfrog, but they paid a little too much homage to CHIKARA when Kris Levin got outed as a scumbag just like Quackenbush was.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Mar 24, 2022 1:43:58 GMT -5 Oh Cry Me a Screwball said:

I don't know if anyone has really filled the niche that CHIKARA left behind of goofy, family-friendly, lucha themed wrestling.

Well, except Camp Leapfrog, but they paid a little too much homage to CHIKARA when Kris Levin got outed as a scumbag just like Quackenbush was.

Yeah them, Excellence, and LVAC have been some Philly promotions that had TRIED to keep the CHIKARA spirit alive but... yeah, that one just hurt, not to say CHIKARA hadn't been on a steep decline for like five years prior to that but even still

Between them going down and Lucha Underground also going down, American Lucha has really taken a hit the last few years.

[Bo Rida]

No promotion can replicate WWE at it's very best. The royal rumble to wrestlemania season, The Undertaker gimmick when it really worked and the streak, the feeling of the true giants colliding on the grandest stage. Unfortunately that's included WWE for some time.

We may get the equivalent to steamboat Vs savage or hbk Vs Bret but not Hogan Vs Andre or Austin Vs Rock. There's many imitations but I don't think anything can truely replicate the best royal rumbles.

I know some will point to G1 to WK, countless big matches or something like Hangman's recent rise. You'd be right. It's largely a subjective, intangible feeling mixed with nostalgia that I can't quite explain properly.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Mar 24, 2022 1:43:58 GMT -5 Oh Cry Me a Screwball said:

I don't know if anyone has really filled the niche that CHIKARA left behind of goofy, family-friendly, lucha themed wrestling.

Well, except Camp Leapfrog, but they paid a little too much homage to CHIKARA when Kris Levin got outed as a scumbag just like Quackenbush was.

Speaking of Quackenbush being a scumbag have any of his group e-mails ever surfaced?

For those who don’t know from what I’ve heard after every show or almost every show Quackenbush would send out a group e-mail to everyone breaking down the show in brutally honest detail. If he thought something sucked he wouldn’t just say it sucked but break down exactly why you are so bad.

It’s far from the worst thing Quackenbush has done and from the sound of it, it would be kind of like getting a job evaluation. Only in front of all your co-workers. Every work day.

[Deleted]

Mar 23, 2022 23:57:24 GMT -5 @negan said:

Lucha Underground.

^That one

Some try but none have come anywhere close.

One can hope amazon realizes they own a piece of it by fans reminding them and maybe something happens in the future because outside of that that niche may never be filled and on the slight chance it ever does wont be for a very long time.

[oxbaker]

I guess we’ll see what Khan does with ROH (I fear ‘AEW developmental’AEW lite’) but in its reboot ROH was going with much more of a straight sports presentation especially built around the pure title.

They were doing records and logical progression to title match stuff kind of in the style of what some people expected AEW would be when they mentioned their more sports-like identity before really launching.

I don’t know if any promotion (or at least any of any significance) is filling this niche.

[tafkaga]

I haven't watched any All Japan that's not 30 years old. Are they still doing the King's Road style, because I loved me some Tenryu and Misawa in the early 90's.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

Mar 24, 2022 1:43:58 GMT -5 Oh Cry Me a Screwball said:

I don't know if anyone has really filled the niche that CHIKARA left behind of goofy, family-friendly, lucha themed wrestling.

Well, except Camp Leapfrog, but they paid a little too much homage to CHIKARA when Kris Levin got outed as a scumbag just like Quackenbush was.

I think the hole left by CHIKARA is actually the same as the one left by Lucha Underground, though the presentations and audience were 100% different: promotions characterized by having elaborate, complicated storylines planned out months in advance, with no desire to stick close to external rules of logic and reality.

[Allie Kitsune]

Mar 23, 2022 23:57:24 GMT -5 @negan said:

Lucha Underground.

One of the most underrated things about Lucha Underground was that by giving most talent either a Brand New Gimmick, or at least a suitably-modified version of their usual one, more or less everyone could participate in any kind of storyline without it hurting their future marketability.

I really liked the storytelling avenues that that opened up, and would love to see another company be able to operate like that.

[chazraps]

Officially released curated physical media compilations.

[Deleted]

Mar 24, 2022 17:46:43 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

Mar 23, 2022 23:57:24 GMT -5 @negan said:

Lucha Underground.

One of the most underrated things about Lucha Underground was that by giving most talent either a Brand New Gimmick, or at least a suitably-modified version of their usual one, more or less everyone could participate in any kind of storyline without it hurting their future marketability.

I really liked the storytelling avenues that that opened up, and would love to see another company be able to operate like that.

Largely in party why the Chris's are my favourite creative team in wrestling because of their mindset.

1.There are no ego involved with them from always being available to ideas no matter how insane and always wanting to do more and being so collaborative with everyone.

To Chris Dejosephs..EVERYONE that works for him will be important and be important to the show....hell how many times did Ricky Mandel die only to get retooled lol is the perfect example to your point because Chris never gave up on him and was always willing to find something for him where as IMO put him in any other company and he is either relegated to slumming it on C show at best or just not used at all.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Mar 24, 2022 6:58:38 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

Mar 24, 2022 1:43:58 GMT -5 Oh Cry Me a Screwball said:

I don't know if anyone has really filled the niche that CHIKARA left behind of goofy, family-friendly, lucha themed wrestling.

Well, except Camp Leapfrog, but they paid a little too much homage to CHIKARA when Kris Levin got outed as a scumbag just like Quackenbush was.

Speaking of Quackenbush being a scumbag have any of his group e-mails ever surfaced?

For those who don’t know from what I’ve heard after every show or almost every show Quackenbush would send out a group e-mail to everyone breaking down the show in brutally honest detail. If he thought something sucked he wouldn’t just say it sucked but break down exactly why you are so bad.

It’s far from the worst thing Quackenbush has done and from the sound of it, it would be kind of like getting a job evaluation. Only in front of all your co-workers. Every work day.

A few surfaced years ago on another forum. I always knew there was something about Quack and Chikara I didn't like. But it was just a gut feeling.

As to the OP question. Is there a fed that promotes a southern style of wrestling on a nationwide level?

I know of plenty of regional feds that book southern style. But none that are nationwide.

[DSR]

Mar 24, 2022 17:48:13 GMT -5 chazraps said:

Officially released curated physical media compilations.

I was really hoping part of ROH's relaunch (prior to the TK sale) would include Best Of DVDs for Gresham and Bandido to help hype people up for the main event. And by "people" I mean me.

[Non Banjoble Tokens]

Time to make Extreme Sumo a thing.

[Mozenrath]

There's not really anyone in anything approaching mainstream wrestling pushing for T&A-style wrestling, but that's not exactly a tragedy. NXT's flirtations with it as of late is probably as close as anyone could go without it being too trashy to be stomached on the big stage.

When people say that "sex sells", there's an element of truth to it, but I also think that if it wasn't something the business had outgrown, someone would be doing it still.

[Chiral]

Big dumb sports entertainment. Big sports entertainment spectacle with big sports entertainment storylines. Crash TV to an extent though there are shows trying.

Stuff WWE used to do that isn't being done by them since house show booking on TV became a thing and steadily took over their whole product. :/

If examples of any of that are needed I wrote a bit more in detail here:
officialfan.proboards.com/thread/618336/big-new-sports-entertainment-show

[TOK Hehe'd Around & Found Out]

Mar 27, 2022 2:43:26 GMT -5 Chiral said:

Big dumb sports entertainment. Big sports entertainment spectacle with big sports entertainment storylines. Crash TV to an extent though there are shows trying.

Stuff WWE used to do that isn't being done by them since house show booking on TV became a thing and steadily took over their whole product. :/

If examples of any of that are needed I wrote a bit more in detail here:
officialfan.proboards.com/thread/618336/big-new-sports-entertainment-show

NXT is getting there, and that's a good thing