Exposing The AEW Bias Myth
Just listen to the crowd noise between a typical episode of WWE RAW and AEW Dynamite. RAW is largely silent. Dynamite is almost always very loud.
WWE and AEW are wrestling promotions. Each promotion exists to promote talent and and the matches they are performing in and will later perform in. On the objective basis of crowd volume, AEW is doing a significantly, audibly superior job of promoting its talent. This is inarguable and resistant to the old arguments: the old debate, of smark cities, no longer holds weight: AEW just created a furnace in the cold depths of Pittsburgh.
The USA Network is unhappy with WWE RAW’s ratings decline, hence the imposition of the 24/7 Championship and the RAW Reunion, and the response of hiring Paul Heyman. TNT is thrilled with Dynamite ratings. The show has over-performed against projections. AEW is more effectively serving its fanbase and paymasters. Critical acclaim and commercial success are not mutually exclusive, but this new, engaged fanbase exists for a reason. WWE’s dwindling audience is dwindling for a reason.
This sh*t isn’t hard. It really, really isn’t hard to grasp. It feels like kicking Homer Thompson in the shin: AEW literally exists because WWE is so provably unpopular. AEW exists because WWE has in recent years driven off a significant number of fans.
And what happens, when a pro wrestling critic, analyst, journalist, whatever, attempts to create an objective framework to gauge the quality of a match, on which personal taste has no bearing?
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