Secret Power Players Pulling Strings In Wrestling Today
1. You
For the first time in the brief, shared history of both promotions, WWE and AEW are both in sync with and energising their respective fanbases.
Of course, you’ll find undiscerning ultra diehards on either side - but between AEW’s inception and the summer of 2022, WWE crowds were quiet when they were allowed in the buildings, the ratings ranged from modest to alarming, and Vince’s glorified corpse stench permeated everything. Business boomed when he went away and took all-time bad creative with him.
AEW meanwhile endured Brawl Out about a month after that development, a problem of its own making, after which the spark, the verve, the vibe deserted the promotion. In late 2023, its identity followed. The fortunes of each promotion oscillated wildly.
WWE continues to pack out buildings as Cody Rhodes closes in on the Undisputed WWE Universal title. Those arenas were already surging with electricity before the Rock came back. AEW, in parallel, is in the process of actually restoring “the feeling”.
Why?
It’s because of you.
You put your money where your f*cking mouth is and demanded better from AEW; AEW in response realised the gravity of the backlash and rediscovered itself. The gates were looking terrifying, AEW got terrified, and now, the momentum is back.
WWE doesn’t need you quite as much - the promotion survived 2019, which says everything - but, to use a recent example, they brought back CM Punk when there was no pressing need because they gauged the appetite of the fandom.
They pivoted from the Rock Vs. Roman Reigns far more quickly than they did Randy Orton Vs. Batista because they didn’t want to try to get away with anything; they felt the need to deliver what you wanted in a decision that took all of a few days.
WWE, now that Vince is gone, probably collectively realises that it shouldn’t operate with the same insane mentality that created the market conditions for AEW in the first instance. AEW knows that it can’t f*ck around. The defence squad on social media evidently isn’t large enough to fill the buildings.
You’ve never mattered more. You control wrestling more than you ever have. The days of Vince McMahon and Vince Russo laughing at you are over.
The 2000s, thankfully, are dead.