It's absolutely based on how well known a wrestler is. That's why when someone wins a match on a well-covered event in the game, their statistic increases, as they are now more well known by a lot more people. That's how the game works, and that's also how wrestling works.
Perception works hand in hand with notoriety. Notoriety is defined as "the state of being famous or well known." The more high profile matches that you win, the more well known and notorious you can become. That's how wrestling works, that's how real life works.
The reason Hogan, Ronda, Rock and Cena always have the most "popularity" is because they're more well known then every other person in the wrestling world, as they're mainstream personnel.