Wrestling media in 2026 is at a crossroads. What was once a niche but passionate corner of journalism has become a landscape filled with politics, underpaid labor, tribal warfare, ego battles, and a constant race for engagement over integrity. For those of us who have actually worked in the trenches—writing live coverage, transcribing promos, covering shows, producing content for multiple outlets—the reality behind the curtain is far less glamorous than people imagine.

I’ve worked as a pro wrestling play-by-play writer and contributor for outlets like WrestleZone, Between The Ropes, and Wrestling Headlines. I know firsthand the grind that comes with trying to build a name in this industry. Long hours. Late nights. Live coverage that demands precision and speed. Endless content expectations. Yet despite the workload, fair pay remains one of the biggest issues in wrestling media.

The Fair Pay Problem

Too many wrestling media companies rely on passion as currency. They know writers love the business, so they exploit that loyalty. Contributors are expected to churn out articles, cover breaking news, recap television shows, and stay plugged into a 24/7 news cycle—all for compensation that often doesn’t reflect the labor.

In general, the people who do genuine play by play result coverage in pro wrestling are treated like their beneath everybody, the pay shows that, site owners will tell you that the numbers come in from the copy/paste rumor and innuendo content. So, it doesn’t really matter if you do genuine content or consistently rank high in the google search engine. It doesn’t matter if you’re good at the craft, if you don’t subscribe to the echo chamber’s narrative, you’re not going to be compensated as much. The fact that actual writers that are reporting actual news in real time get paid far less than podcast hosts and dirt sheet merchants is an absolute disgrace.

Some sites want full-time effort with part-time respect.

Budget cuts, reduced rates, inconsistent payments, and the idea that writers should just be “grateful for the opportunity” have pushed talented people away from the field. Wrestling media often talks about what promotions should pay talent, but rarely looks inward at how media workers themselves are treated.

Politics Over Merit

Another issue is internal politics. In wrestling media, opportunities don’t always go to the best writers or hardest workers. They often go to whoever is connected, whoever flatters the right people, or whoever fits into a certain clique.

Prime example, at my time at WrestleZone, I was killing it with the result pieces and was told by previous site managers that they weren’t happy that my coverage was outdrawing the clicks for anti Roman Reigns rhetoric that was being spewed amongst the dirt sheets, mainly from Wrestling Observer. More times than not, 99% of the content of most of these sites have copy/paste material content from Observer. It’s been a problem since I joined the space in 2014. The need for these sites to rely on rumor and innuendo from Dave Meltzer has done more damage to the industry than people want to admit. You know why wrestling result writers get paid on a low scale, it’s because a lot of times the clicks are going to spoiler content. I’ve had multiple shows over the years be completely spoiled before I was going to do “LIVE” coverage of said show I was going to cover. It’s a slap in the face.

That creates an environment where honest voices are punished while politically savvy personalities rise. Merit takes a backseat to relationships.

For independent voices trying to grow through actual work ethic, it can feel like fighting an uphill battle every single day.

Tribalism Is Killing the Audience

Then there’s the fan side of it.

The IWC on X (Twitter) has become one of the most contradictory communities online. Fans claim they want wrestling to thrive, yet spend every day tearing down companies, wrestlers, journalists, and each other.

They demand honesty but reject any opinion they dislike.
They say wrestling needs growth but celebrate low ratings for promotions they hate.
They preach positivity while living off negativity.

AEW vs WWE discourse has poisoned how many fans consume wrestling. Instead of enjoying multiple products, people treat billion-dollar companies like sports teams they personally own stock in.

This tribalism doesn’t help wrestling—it shrinks it.

The Andreas Hale Situation

A recent example of the complicated relationship between wrestling media and accountability came with Andreas Hale of ESPN reportedly not being approved for media credentials for WrestleMania 42.

Now, credential denials happen for many reasons, but the larger discussion was about behavior and reputation. Too often, people hide behind the prestige of major outlets and assume their platform protects them from criticism or consequences.

If you carry yourself like you’re above reproach, eventually people push back.

Ron Killings publicly calling him out only amplified that reality: no outlet name shields anyone forever. Respect still matters.

The Observer Problem

And then we get to the elephant in the room: Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, and the Wrestling Observer empire.

For decades, they positioned themselves as the gold standard of wrestling media. But in 2026, many see them less as journalists and more as agenda setters who shape narratives, move goalposts, and influence fan discourse in unhealthy ways.

Their model thrives on:

• Speculation presented as insight
• Opinion framed as expertise
• Selective outrage
• Feeding tribal fan wars
• Constant negativity disguised as analysis

They’ve become too powerful within wrestling conversation while avoiding meaningful accountability when wrong.

When a small writer misses a story, they get buried.
When Observer narratives fall apart, it becomes “plans changed.”

That double standard has damaged trust across the media space.

Wrestling Media Needs a Reset

Wrestling media doesn’t need more gossip. It doesn’t need more rage bait. It doesn’t need more cliques pretending to be objective.

It needs:

• Fair pay for writers
• Transparency from outlets
• Respect for independent creators
• Accountability for major voices
• Less tribalism
• More actual reporting
• More love for wrestling itself

Too many people in this space profit off keeping fans angry, divided, and addicted to drama.

Meanwhile, the real workers—the writers grinding every week, the creators building from nothing, the fans who genuinely love wrestling—are left carrying the weight.

Final Thoughts

I still love wrestling. That’s why I care enough to say all of this.

But loving wrestling and loving wrestling media are two very different things in 2026.

One is still magic.

The other desperately needs to clean up its act.

I’ve been in this space for 14 years. I recently stopped my old podcast, The Hoots Podcast, out of internal burnout from the IWC discourse and the overall vibe amongst pro wrestling fandom in 2026. The space is beyond toxic and destructive. Nuance and substance is nowhere to be found in this space. It’s a gotcha era we’re living in. We would rather dunk on a promotion and consume the product with binocular glasses instead taking a step back and actually watching the product for what it is. People have their opinions, that’s not my issue, my issue is allowing opinions from people in the space with blue checkmarks to become facts. Also, you can tell very easily that, no matter who the promotion is, there’s always somebody in the space that needs to an attach a yeah but response to everything they do. People say that perception is reality, but in the wrestling media, it’s only reality given the person’s subjective point of view. Can you say that wrestling fans in 2026 think for themselves? From my observations and my experience, I’ll have to say no and that’s a really said thing to say. I want this space to be better. We have to do better for the wrestling fans. Yes, the companies make mistakes and every episode of weekly wrestling program turns into fodder for weekly state of WWE or AEW episodes on any given pro wrestling podcast or video shows. The fact that most people still consume WWE programming like Vince McMahon is still running the shows tells you everything that you need to know.

Would love to hear from you guys. How do you feel about the state of Wrestling Media in 2026? Comment down below.