10 Things AEW MUST Do To Compete With WWE
4. Sign A Household Name
Stars still draw.
That they don't in WWE - in which Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey barely influence quarter hour ratings or, as was the case at Royal Rumble, ticket sales - is an indictment of the company-wide malaise more than an indictment of their own ability to spark a quantitative interest within the public.
The Elite helped elevate ROH's recent commercial fortunes, drawing company-record crowds in spite of arguably the worst creative period in company history. It is astonishing that ROH once was considered the ultimate benchmark of critical acclaim, but the Elite were immune to that malaise. Promoted as true stars elsewhere, that stardust rubbed off on the ailing company in a far quieter echo of Hulk Hogan's ability to jolt WCW in 1994. They were difference-makers...
...to a niche audience.
ROH fans low on Delirious' booking but high on Omega's seminal New Japan work parted with their cash, but the lapsed WWE audience (or the more casual arm of it) aren't immediately receptive to in-ring work of the highest order. Some are even irrationally put off, depending on which renowned critic is fawning of it.
ALL IN didn't need a Goldberg or a Brock Lesnar to draw a five-figure house, but arguably, that house was drawn because the show was so effectively promoted as a once-in-a-lifetime event. We're in that lifetime now; what was once framed as special is now normal.