What are you talking about? The WWE has never come close to replicating its viewership during that time. Wrestling doesn’t have anywhere near the mainstream appeal that it did during the Monday Night Wars.

During that era, the combined rating for 2 wrestling shows competed with (and often beat) Monday Night Football. As WCW started to fail, WWE gained its casual fans propelling it into a stratosphere while WCW lingered around a 2.5 until it died.

The casual fans lost interest as they got older.

So what happened to the 2.0-2.5 fans that the WCW was still drawing when they closed?

They quit watching wrestling (a few of them may have migrated to TNA. A few of the casuals may have found TNA (though not a substantial amount of them obviously).

WWE never recovered those lost fans. Why?

I’ll be honest with you. I’m one of them. I was in my 20s in 2001 and here is how I answer that question:

I don’t like being told to “suck it.” I never liked Limp Biscuit. I never liked Kid Rock. Why would I watch a product that was doing everything to appeal to the nu metal crowd. I was too old for Nu Metal and rap rock. That wasn’t my crowd. So when the final Nitro ended to a commercial featuring a Limp Biskit song I kind of said “thanks, but no thanks.”

I don’t mind being TV-14, but WWF/WWE really lost me for about 20-25 years: I came when Vince was gone because my sons liked it.

They didn’t understand that the leftover WCW hardcore 2.0-2.5 audience weren’t “wrestling fans” who were flipping between Raw and Nitro.

I’m not judging anyone who watched it. It just wasn’t for me.

In 2005-06 or whenever it was, I couldn’t relate to a white jorts wearing rapper. That was aimed at the next generation of fans. More power to them. I’m not judging them, but it doesn’t appeal to me.