The Secret Reason Why AEW Can Beat WWE

AEW Revolution
AEW

The advantage handed to WWE through its broadcast deal with Fox is only theoretical. The ratings are more or less consistent with those generated, somehow, by Monday Night RAW.

AEW was once on track to do precisely that before the first quarter of 2021 unfolded in quite inexplicable fashion. AEW has landed a glove on RAW's demo ratings, but only infrequently. A pattern has not yet formed, though the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer calculated - by examining WWE's ageing and declining audience against the gains AEW made in 18-49 from late 2019 to early 2021 - that AEW was on course to overtake RAW by winter 2022. The complexion has shifted.

AEW, post-Revolution, suffered significant viewership decline as floating fans presumably looked on at the dud explosion in disgust. In parallel, despite a critically panned WrestleMania build - and a show so drastically awful that even hardcore tribalist WWE fans are unanimous in that assessment, in order to put over SmackDown - RAW has managed a string of impressive numbers relative to modern standards.

But it has shifted subsequent to that; AEW now runs unopposed, and has grown its audience and vaulted atop the cable rankings.

The differences between AEW and WWE are vast, and are illustrated most weeks.

CONT'D...(2 of 6)

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!