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This evolution and separation from the concept of trash television adopted in the 90s and early 2000s showed us two things:
-Wrestling, if it wanted to, could be more than just a cheap midnight show
-The wrestlers could be more than heroes and villains
Then we entered the 10s. The evolution of the worked shoot was such that we started to forget what it was. Kayfabe was alive again and even though we all knew it was scripted, no one knew how it would go. Wrestling embraced the drama.
The characters that were introduced became more and more 3D, and the plots that surrounded them were the seeds of what we would see in the future. In this era, characters like Eddie Kingston and CM Punk were getting applause from the crowd for the way they delivered their promos
The three-dimensionality of the characters became more and more notorious, and so we got the famous "lore merchants" like Bray Wyatt, who to this day divide us in our understanding of wrestling
Wrestling no longer had the need to break the kayfabe all the time to catch us, because it had built one that every time it broke left us with our mouths open and wondering if what we saw was planned. From 2014 onwards, wrestling evolved.
The exciting plots, the underdog arcs, the three-dimensionality of the characters and the honesty of both the great hero and the great villain were noticeable. Bryan Danielson, The Miz, Kenny Omega, Dolph Ziggler, Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, Sami Zayn, Johnny Gargano, etc.
The 2010s closed with golden clasp an era where wrestling explored its barriers and gave us quality stories without resorting to a showbiz aspect. The fight that most represented this era was Kenny Omega vs Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
Then, 2020 came along. Suddenly we had another great company besides WWE and NJPW, where the protagonists were the ones who managed to explore the barriers of what could be counted in wrestling. Naito completed his journey against Okada, and then, the pandemic arrived.
