10 Biggest Ways WWE Changed In AEW's First Full Year

WWE's social media presence is no joke. Their millions of followers absorb hours and hours of content every week. But, it wasn't until this past year that WWE really began to shift some of their storylines towards getting more YouTube views.

The Bobby Lashley, Lana, and Rusev storyline is just one example. An angle that felt universally hated by WWE fans, it was also one of the most watched storylines on the video platform. WWE saw the views climb and kept upping the oddness factor of that storyline, at one point reaching out to Jerry Springer who almost made an appearance for the company.

The idea of gearing towards YouTube is not without merit. In many ways, AEW's early success can be attributed to their popularity on the internet. The Young Bucks and other performers who didn't have a television deal, used the platform to get over and sell out their first-ever pay-per-view in minutes.

YouTube doesn't create revenue like WWE's network deals do, but the platform has become a big player in their decision-making.