Interesting study shows Pro-wrestling fans have the highest IQ of different fanbases. Although, it’s a limited study as there are some glaring omissions like FIFA, F1, EPL, pro-boxing, UFC, etc... This study is from a couple years ago, so missing AEW makes sense.

Poor NASCAR. I’m not even really sure what that is, I know it’s car racing of some sort.

EDIT - I guess it would help if I actually posted the study:
https://www.howtobet.com/most-intelligent-sportsfans/

WWE average fanbase IQ is 112.6, with close runner ups being NHL at 112.3, and NBA with 110.7.

At the bottom is NASCAR with 95.2

Also, women sports fans are around 5 IQ points higher than men.

Now, IQ isn’t the only measure of intelligence, it’s primarily focused on pattern recognition and problem solving. A great asset for academia, but even if you do have a higher IQ, if you’re lazy, you’ll end up spending your life in a job that’s primarily having meetings, often meetings about meetings, and when you’re not in meetings, you’re writing emails about agenda items that weren’t covered in meetings. Then after hours, you’ll be organizing and processing data, writing tear-downs and reports dumbed down so idiot execs with no attention span can process it. Just saying…

There’s also EQ, whatever the fuck that is.

My favourite D-Lo moment was probably the infamous Chyna/Mark Henry date episode where Henry fake-hired a limo driver. Chyna looked at the driver, concealed by shades and uniform, holding the door in, and disappointingly she says “D-Lo?” Before Mark Henry jumps in and says “It’s not D-Lo!”

Something about that cracked me up so hard… WWE was so random back then. This kind of came off the heels of the break-up of the Nation, when WWE was transitioning these guys into their Attitude Era roles, so WWE was getting exciting because it was getting cool with people my age (I was a teenager back then… yeah, I’m old now) not just 4 year old Hogan fans and their grandmas.

IMO, WWE really got their act together sometime between late 1999 and early 2000. The show went from being an interesting and cool sports themed shock entertainment show into something with consistent storylines that were easy to get invested in. Yeah, some criticized the whole “male soap opera” element. But that’s why I tuned in. A lot of women watched it too… OK, getting on a tangent again… I’ll stop now before I drift onto another topic. damn cannabis.

I would take that data with an entire shaker of salt. There is potentially some reason why wrestling fans may be smarter, it is more narrative driven than any other "sport", and thus may attract more intelligent people. But with the average IQ in the US being about 98, I find it hard to believe that Roman Reign's fans are so far above the common man at 126.

Only part I believe is Jets fans being exceptionally stupid. Anyone who can recognize patterns wouldn't be a Jets fan.

The quality of WWE's TV programs has definitely gotten better post Vince.

The philosophy is different. Before, there was kind of a focus on building to the next PLE (Premium Live Event) match. So, wrestlers would often be running in place for a month till the pay per view. For example, the Street Profits and Usos facing off in some capacity for what seemed like an eternity or two.

Now, it's kind of more like juggling. There's a lot more going on between wrestlers in different ways. For instance, with Drew Mcyntyre, his main thing is that he's going to take on Reigns for the championship in a couple of weeks. But, Karrion Kross is also after him for reasons not entirely apparent. And, he also has started some beef with Kevin Owens. And then there are other things going on like Sami trying to protect Roman Reigns in a dorky way.

There's a lot more moving pieces which for someone who keeps up with the show regularly is a good thing. It's more engaging, everything serves a purpose, and there are more surprises. To the more casual fan, I wonder if it will work. In general, more complex interveaving storyline makes the product more engaging but less accessible. We'll see how that turns out. For all the negatives you could have said about WWE's booking over the past few years, it was at least easy to follow.

Along the same lines as what I was saying before, there have been a lot of returns. Kross, Scarlet, Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis, Gargano, Io Shi- errr Iyo Sky, Hit Row, and maybe a couple of more. If you thought Vince was somehow really running things... probably not. I'm excited to see these people as most of them were people with potential that just didn't fit Vince's idea of wrestlers. But, it's a lot coming at once. I'm guessing Hunter wanted to lock them up as at least a few of these guys probably had some interest from AEW. It makes for good TV, but debuts (or redebuts) are easy. Maintaining interest beyond that initial excitement is the tough part. We'll see if they can do it. Are people gonna care about Johnny Gargano in 4 months? We'll see I guess.

Theres also less of an emphasis on comedy, which is probably a good thing. The 24/7 sketches were a guilty pleasure and I kind of miss them. But, I enjoyed them in a "so bad it's good" way, and I guess it's better that they go away. I am generally a fan of comic relief when it's done right, so I hope they don't abandon it altogether.

Bottom line is that WWE has gone to something I would watch when I happened to be home and not doing something else to something that I actually want to make an effort to watch. Still not completely sold on the McMahon-Helmsley regime, but optimistic.

Yup, WWE is acting more like AEW with its storytelling and interwoven plots and more mature style.

Or, you know, like NXT was for years there.

This is the thing that struck me, and I glad I'm not alone in seeing it. WWE is now booking and storytelling very similar to AEW, even including a higher emphasis on longer match times per show.

I can't help but find it funny how the people who crapped on AEW (on twitter, wrestling sites, and elsewhere) for this, claiming casuals don't want this in a wrestling show, are now loving it being done in the WWE. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying the WWE should not improve their product, but I always find the fanboy hypocrisy hilarious.

Regardless if this can lead to a stronger industry, something close to what we saw during the Monday Night Wars, great. Competition is good in any industry.

:-/ People jump on me if I breathe wrong in AEW's direction, but it took two posts to turn this into an AEW vs WWE thing.

I'll just speak for myself. But yeah, the booking style is more similar to AEW than Vince's booking style, which as pointed out should be expected, as that's the way HHH booked NXT. And, WWE fans (or at least the internet ones) loved H's NXT, so it shouldn't be surprising that they are praising this. 

This just feels like a strawman argument. Don't think many people really were saying everything AEW does is wrong, and I especially don't recall WWE fans reasoning for not liking WWE that there was too much wrestling. My impression is that a lot of WWE fans had been looking for that for a while. It's just that they, myself included, didn't find the way AEW built to those matches, the matches themselves, or the talent themselves to be compelling enough to watch regularly.

I could go into detail about why I like the stuff WWE is doing now and not what AEW has done (based on what I've seen which hasn't been much recently), if we want to go there. But, I really wasn't intending to start that. Was just getting excited about what WWE is doing and wanted to post about that. So, maybe better just to leave AEW out of it, and if you want to talk about what they're doing, do so separately. But, again, if you really want to go there, I can.

Dude I wasn't referring to you with my comment at all. There is a reason I said twitter, wrestling websites, and elsewhere. I never ever directed my comment at you or even attempted to do so. If we had an exchange in the past, that was the past I don't know why you need to flip out when my comment was not directed at you (not even indirectly). My comment was a general statement on peoples reaction to the WWE's current booking, not an attack on you. Just relax man, geez.

Didn't think you were saying anything about me directly, but as a WWE fan who has been critical of AEW, I felt I fit in the category you were describing, and gave my perspective. Don't think my response was anything but even keeled. 

Dude you started with ":-/ People jump on me if I breathe wrong in AEW's direction, but it took two posts to turn this into an AEW vs WWE thing" so its hard to see it as even keeled.

Like I said, my comment was meant as an overall observation of how many (especially on twitter and wrestling sites) would say no one wants a show heavily focused on wrestling and with longterm storytelling have now changed their tone. I can list countless people (again from twitter and elsewhere) who claimed "casuals" don't like this, but have done a complete about-face now that the WWE are going in that direction. Hell even bringing Gargano back has been very positively received, a guy many of these people would have refereed to as a "vanilla midget" only weeks ago.

I was just pointing out the hypocrisy (which all fanboys partake in to be fair). You opening response to me definitely came across as if my original comment bothered you despite the fact I was responding to someone else who brought up AEW. Seriously, I would not have brought it up if I didn't see someone else point out how the " WWE is acting more like AEW with its storytelling and interwoven plots and more mature style." I mean good lord my comment was a RESPONSE to this comment.

I wasn't trying to start an AEW vs. WWE war, just agreeing with someone else's comment and giving an opinion after.