[hb2k]

There are a ton of lessons to learn, and tragically they're ones that wrestling taught everybody else in the first place and has decided to forget in their quest to be something they aren't.

First lesson is that the stars draw the money, not the brand. People love that expression. "The brand draws now." No it doesn't. And if it does, then it never draws that well. In any walk of sport or entertainment. UFC buyrates this year are the shits. Why? Because there's no star power on the cards. Floyd and Conor were positioned to be two megastars and acted like megastars in the build-up. So it becomes a battle of megastars that people feel compelled to watch, lest they miss a big cultural event.

Second lesson is how far away from what works with the public this generation of indy wrestlers are, and even most WWE stars. I know they work hard, they do amazing things physically, but getting over beyond a subsection of fans requires far more. It takes more than just veneer and bullshit (Floyd genuinely being an all-time legend and Conor being the first 2 division champ in UFC history was a unique dynamic), but that comes from good booking and performing beyond expectations. You want to know the indy wrestler equivalent in the UFC? Demetrious Johnson. An absolutely superb fighter, perhaps the best in the world. And nobody buys his PPVs or watches him on TV because he has the personality and presence of a patio door.

You can't script charisma. The very essence of all these industries (sport/film/TV/music/etc) is an organic connection, a bond from star to fans that is authentic enough to convince people to part with their cash. Floyd didn't become a star by losing as much as he won, neither did Conor. They always won when they needed to the most. People can believe in them. Conor is a gimmick, but he goes so far with the gimmick that you can't turn away - similar to The Rock.

To answer the OP questions:

•Is the psychology of booking and promoting a wrestling card different? - No, the psychology of booking is to build stars, sell tickets and draw money. Promoting a card is doing the same thing once you've got the pieces in place.
•Does wrestling lack "larger than life" characters? - Obviously. I don't know how this is even a question. Overexposure, too prominent on social media, a company too concerned with being ass-patting entertainers. Kevin Owens, mega-heel, doing a PR video wishing well to Houston. WHY? You have an army of babyfaces to do that. You'd never have seen Roddy Piper do that in 1985, or DiBiase in 87, why the fuck are you doing it now?
•What has caused the lack of popular interest in wrestling? - No stars. Simple. They don't know how to build them anymore, and it's the stars that draw. Worse, you get the sense they don't want to build them, because then they have value. Once they have value, the promotion needs them, not the other way around. Since the death of WCW, the necessity to do this properly has gone, and McMahon's control issues means he can have it his way.
•What can wrestling learn from events like this one? Booking, promos, promotion.