Pro wrestling feels like it’s at one of the weakest points in its history. Mainstream popularity has faded, true crossover stars are rare, and many casual fans have stopped watching altogether. At this point, much of the audience seems driven by hardcore and online wrestling fans rather than the general public.

Here’s my bold prediction for the next 5 years:

• NXT gets shut down or heavily scaled back
• AEW either folds or becomes a much smaller online-based promotion
• Major broadcasters like Netflix, ESPN, and USA eventually move away from WWE
• WWE is left with one core weekly show, potentially streaming-only

Wrestling isn’t completely dead yet, but the industry feels like it’s slowly shrinking. Unless a new generation of major stars or a major creative shift happens soon, the future of pro wrestling could look very different within the next few years.