10 Times WWE Tried To Kill Wrestling

2. NXT Counter-Programmes AEW Dynamite

Devil Vince McMahon
WWE / Twitter (@CodyRhodes)

All Elite Wrestling was almost willed into existence via WWE's decline in popularity.

Its main players had proven, through the old metrics of merchandise and ticket sales, that they were draws on a mass market scale. A convergence of free agency and expert resistance marketing saw billionaire Tony Khan fund an upstart that posed the greatest threat to the monopoly in decades. WWE was the nemesis from the start, and the nemesis roared back before AEW started its run on television.

The strategy morphed from siphon to compete with the news that WWE had negotiated to move NXT from the Network not to FS1 but to the more widely available USA Network, and by adopting it, Vince McMahon has successfully marginalised the competition by creating a narrative of war. He rendered it impossible to mention AEW without comparison, and it proved that, if he has definitively lost it as a creative force, he endures as a genius businessman.

The Wednesday Night War has split - literally down the middle, on December 17 - a niche, dedicated fanbase between two electric products that appeal to their inclination of advanced and ardent pro wrestling in a sports entertainment-dominated world. Sports entertainment continues to dominate the world because its creator is as ruthless and effective offscreen as his most depraved acts on it.

By counter-programming AEW, McMahon has injected pro wrestling with lethal doses of poison - and adrenaline.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!