Professional Wrestling in general is one of the most popular sources of sports entertainment in the world. The fans widely followed WWE for a long time and current wrestling companies AEW, NJPW, etc.

Moreover, stars like Dwayne Johnson, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Sting, and more are the most popular wrestling stars in the game’s history.

However, Forbes covered recent data that gave disheartening news about the future of professional wrestling. Dr. Alex Williams, a professor at the University of Kansas, did a recent nationwide Google survey. He did a poll asking 503 adults to identify the names of several pro wrestlers. 

To a surprise, 33% of adults(approximately 165 adults) were not able to answer the names of many wrestling stars. For keeping the poll simple, Dr. Williams asked about the stars from WWE and AEW. 

We can assume the 503 adults he asked the names of wrestlers have witnessed the 90s and early 2000s product. Hence, those people will be familiar with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, etc.

Hulk Hogan and Dwayne Johnson were top recognized pro wrestlers

The poll indeed had some disheartening news of 33% weren’t able to identify famous wrestlers. However, on a positive note, The Hulkster and The Rock got the most votes. Hogan got 19% (62 votes) and ‘The Great One’ got 17% (23) votes. 

Unfortunately, other stars like Steve Austin (4%), Ric Flair (2%), and “The Macho Man” Randy Savage (1%) got less that 10% votes. 

John Cena who is set to appear on the December 30th episode of SmackDown, got 7% votes (9). Moreover, The Undertaker who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year got only 3% votes.

As per reports, the final episode of SmackDown has sold over 4000 tickets since announcing Cena’s match. Even though being the third most recognized in this survey, no other star can currently generate such ticket sales as ‘The Cenation Leader.’

Read More:- When Did Hulk Hogan Start Wrestling?

What were the other results of the poll?

One of the veterans of the business and current AEW star Sting received less than 1% of votes. The former WCW champion has now nearly wrestled for three decades. Another current top star Roman Reigns had a similar feat as Stinger in this survey 

Surprisingly, fans also recognized Mr. T and Mike Tyson for appearances in WWE. What are your thoughts on this survey? Do you think there is a major shift in the business’s popularity? Share your thoughts below in the comments.

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