Seth Rollins believes professional wrestling has never been better.
Although controversy is never far away, business in professional wrestling is booming. AEW All In saw more than 81,000 fans cram into Wembley Stadium for the biggest paid attendance in wrestling history, while WWE has already sold 90,000 tickets for WrestleMania 40 in 2024. This is after the runaway financial success of WrestleMania 39, Money In The Bank, and SummerSlam.
2023 has also seen a number of acclaimed matches across the world in a whole variety of promotions, and long-term stories being praised far and wide. In short, pro wrestling is flying.
Appearing on After The Bell, Seth Rollins gave his thoughts on the boom, explaining why wrestling and those within the industry have never been healthier.
“We are in the boom. You have to understand, there is another company that just put 80,000 people in a stadium for one night. A week before that, we sold 90,000 tickets to WrestleMania, broke the all-time gate on the first day. There are seven, eight different television programs of pro wrestling on a week, not counting premium live events or pay-per-views. The talent roster, across the board, is beyond what any generation has ever put forward. It’s very easy to look back at the past with rose-colored glasses and say, ‘but this, but that,’
I’m not taking anything away from the guys who paved the way, I stand on the shoulders of these guys. I don’t do what I do without the legends of our industry that have defined their own generations, but they should be proud, and I know they are, because they are the people who got us to where we are now. The business is bigger than it’s ever been, it makes more money than ever, it’s healthier.
The future of the business is so bright and I’m so happy to be a part of it in any capacity. I can’t tell you the pride I take when I see young cats coming up and succeeding in our industry and pushing the thing forward or guys getting an opportunity to prove their worth, and they do because they are capable and seeing guys like Edge, who is close to deciding to hang it up one way or another, going out there and tear the house down with Sheamus in Toronto.
On every level, it’s just firing. I can’t say enough about our industry right now. I’m so proud of it. It’s healthier physically than it’s ever been. The longevity for our generation is going to be better than the generation before us because we learned and got smarter. The business as a whole, the money, it’s all there. I can’t say enough, I really can’t,”
Seth Rollins In Action At WWE Payback
On another massive weekend for the wrestling industry, WWE Payback is due to take place on September 2nd, with AEW All Out a day later. At Payback, Seth Rollins will put the World Heavyweight Title on the line against Shinsuke Nakamura.
The star won the gold back at Night of Champions and has since defended it against the likes of Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Bron Breakker.
H/t to Fightful