10 Ways Wrestling Was Just BETTER In The '90s
5. Legitimate Head-To-Head Competition
Firstly, it's great to have AEW around these days, offering up some of the best pro wrestling on the planet. But to say AEW is genuine competition to WWE is a bit of a stretch.
This isn't a slight on AEW, for WWE simply has had a huge head start on Tony Khan's promotion. As such, WWE has more history, has reached more homes for a vastly longer time period, and is a household name across the planet. To highlight the disparity between the two organisations - as per Gerweck.net - the highest viewership for AEW Dynamite in 2023 so far has been 1,028,000, whereas Raw's highest is 2,344,000 and SmackDown has hit a 2,647,000 high.
Again, this isn't indicative of the quality of the AEW product; WWE as a brand is simply far bigger and far more storied. AEW is minor competition with the potential for further growth, but we're far from seeing the then-WWF and WCW pushing each other's buttons on a weekly basis and bringing in mammoth ratings.
We saw how stacked NXT and AEW Dynamite were when going head-to-head recently, and how much interest and hype there was for both shows. Back in the '90s, that interest and hype was there for all to see as the WWF and WCW went directly up against one another on Monday nights.
That head-to-head competition keeps all parties on their toes, means shows can't simply be phoned-in, and pushes all involved to be better with their creative.