33% Of Adults Couldn’t Name A Pro Wrestler And Few Could Name Current WWE Stars, Per Survey

A recent nationwide Google survey, from University of Kansas professor Dr. Alex Williams, revealed some pretty disheartening data about today’s wrestling product.

Williams’ study polled 503 adults, simply asking them to name a pro wrestler. 33% of adults could not name a pro wrestler, a figure which led the poll. Even more damning for the current product, whether it be in WWE or AEW, the top two vote-getters were Hulk Hogan (19%) and The Rock (17%). Others receiving votes included John Cena and WWE Hall of Famers “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Ric Flair, “The Macho Man” Randy Savage and The Undertaker.

Interestingly enough, Mr. T. and Mike Tyson—celebrity wrestlers who competed during WWE’s last two golden ages—also received votes.

‘Name a Pro Wrestler’ Poll Results

• Hulk Hogan | 19%
• The Rock | 17%
• Other Wrestler | 15%
• John Cena | 7%
• Steve Austin | 4%
• Undertaker | 3%
• Ric Flair | 2%
• “Macho Man” Randy Savage | 1%

A more informal survey by the Los Angeles Times, which inspired Dr. Williams to conduct his own study, ceded similar results with Hulk Hogan (62 votes) and The Rock (23) leading the way. John Cena (nine votes) came in third. With television content more fragmented, and wrestling’s fanbase gradually becoming hardcore, Cena very well may go down as WWE’s last mainstream star. After tickets flew off the shelves for WWE’s Summer of Cena last year, Cena’s drawing power was back on display to close out 2022. The final SmackDown of 2022 on December 30 has sold 4,000 tickets since Cena was announced. With WWE promoting the brand over its talent, this is a feat no full-time star on its roster can pull off.

WWE’s current top star, and the top star in the industry, is Roman Reigns. Reigns polled at less than one percent, as did AEW’s Sting, whose legendary career has spanned several promotions. Reigns is at the peak of his powers as part of a critically and commercially acclaimed angle alongside Sami Zayn and The Bloodline. But little-to-none of the well-deserved praise for Reigns is coming from outside of the wrestling bubble.

Last December, AEW President Tony Khan acknowledged the hardcore makeup of today’s wrestling fanbase.

“There used to be a more broad base of people watching wrestling, and now it’s really— like all of television—hardcore fans,” Khan stated in an interview with the Wrestling Perspective Podcast (h/t Wrestling Inc). “It makes what the National Football League does that much more impressive that the audience for the NFL has grown while the audience for TV has shrunk and shrunk and shrunk.”

NFL Monday Night Football has once again taken a chunk out of WWE’s audience in 2022. After soaring as high as 2.230 million viewers on August 1, 2022, during the honeymoon period of the Triple H Era, Raw viewership fell 17% against the return of Monday Night Football on September 12.

“I don’t think there’s casual wrestling fans anymore,” echoed CM Punk during the AEW Full Gear 2021 media scrum.

“My opinion, maybe I’m wrong and maybe somebody at TNT is going to get mad because I’m saying this and am of this opinion, but our fans are wrestling fans and we give them wrestling.”

AEW stars were few and far between in Dr. Williams’ poll. Those who were mentioned from AEW were free agent signings who made their names in outside promotions such as Sting, Matt Hardy and Daniel Bryan (not Bryan Danielson).

A more interesting study may have been to ask 503 adults if they’ve ever heard of AEW.

Though wrestling’s modern-day audience has skewed hardcore, this has hardly hampered the business of pro wrestling, particularly in WWE. In fact, on the strength of a loyal audience and multiple lucrative television rights deals with Fox and NBCUniversal, WWE is making more money than it ever has.

WWE flagship shows Raw and SmackDown consistently rank at or near the top of the Cable 150 ratings, even with an audience that’s a fraction of its boom period during The Attitude Era. WWE’s polarizing relationship with Saudi Arabia is estimated to bring in $50 million per show. WWE’s live event business has also come roaring back post-pandemic. Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown from Chicago, Ill. was a legit sellout with over 12,000 tickets sold. Monday’s Raw in Milwaukee, Wisc. was a near-sellout with over 6,000 tickets sold.

AEW has also thrived, inking a multimillion-dollar television deal with Warner Media (now known as Warner Bros. Discovery) in 2019. Much like Raw and SmackDown on Mondays and Fridays, respectively, AEW Dynamite performs very well compared to its Wednesday night competition.

All signs point to the current pro wrestling product failing to transcend outside of the wrestling fanbase. More casual fans would bring in fresher perspectives on the product, while offsetting the ravenous toxicity that is prevalent among wrestling’s hardcore fanbase. But with unprecedented revenues in pro wrestling in 2022, it’s clear that the wrestling business is doing just fine as a niche.