It's often said that the landscape of the wrestling world today is shaped by late 2001 and early 2002. With WWF having bought out WCW and ECW, there was a huge power vacuum for an alternative to this now-monolithic promotion. Fortunately, quite a few have filled it, and while it's said a single promotion with their total views could have competed directly, the diversity of options has led to them surviving quite well, with at least three of them having drawn a million viewers each every week. Notably, the total viewership of the "Little Four", as they're called, has recently jumped above WWE's viewership for an average Raw in the past few years.
- World Wrestling Allstars (WWA), originally an Australian-based touring vehicle for guys like Sting, Lex Luger, and especially Jeff Jarrett, now viewed as the successor to WCW, basically continuing where they left off in terms of outlook. Known as a vehicle for great women's wrestling and cruiserweight action - the International Cruiserweight title often headlines over the World title.
- X Wrestling Federation (XWF), owned by Jimmy Hart and so was dominated by Hulk Hogan and co. for a while. Their claim to fame is sticking to the basics, with traditional pro wrestling storylines and established talent who left the other promotions.
- Ring of Honor (ROH), for gritty and serious storylines and really good technical wrestling. They don't bring in many casuals, but their regular watchers are ridiculously loyal.
- Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), for those who just liked the violent stuff that went on in ECW. On a more minor channel so don't get as many views, and diehards will say they've mellowed too much from their early shows (two words: weed whacker), but if you're a fan of edge and raunch, you watch CZW.