10 Things AEW MUST Achieve Over The Next Five Years
9. An Aggressive Move Across The Pond
The United Kingdom is there for the taking.
WWE has endured the same fate on each side of the pond: a decline in popularity illustrated by plummeting TV ratings and, pre-pandemic, live gates. WWE's position in the UK should prove particularly anxious for shareholders. House shows should in theory be more of a novelty, since the promotion tours Britain so infrequently, and yet it isn't enough. WWE's relationship with Sky Sports collapsed in recent years, and is now broadcast to fewer homes by BT Sport. Ratings are dire. WWE finds itself in the low end of five figures in recent times.
"BritWres," meanwhile, is dead. The boom is over. No shows are running. WWE drained its talent pool. Those who were willing to support what had became a cause, and not something especially fun nor vital to do, have lost the desire to do so for self-evident reasons.
Britain hasn't been this apathetic about pro wrestling in forever; it was, after all, WWE's home-away-from-home in a decade, the 1990s, defined by poor domestic performance for much of it.
The TV deal needs revising - the delayed Friday 11PM slot isn't good enough - and AEW might force a rethink by landing in the UK if and when we settle into a new normal. AEW is still performing well in spite of it, and if the success of those first live shows is replicated here - huge interest, near-instant sell-outs - there's more than mere expansion to consider.
Launched perfectly in the live arena, AEW could dominate the UK as the #1 promotion.