Triple H's WWE Vs. Tony Khan's AEW: Which Is Better?
7. Attendances
Again, AEW has made a b*llocks of a lead.
The hype generated by All Out last year allowed AEW to draw better median attendances than WWE (although the house shows skewed the number in AEW's favour).
And then it all went away to a quite drastic extent.
On one level, it doesn't matter whether those who attend AEW shows make more noise than those who attend WWE shows in larger number; the reality is that, on an objective level, WWE is doing more to entice their audience to part with their money and watch the shows live.
Why?
WWE fans might be more secure in the knowledge that, if they do attend a show, they have a far better chance of seeing the stars that they see on television. The more casual-leaning AEW fan - i.e. the sort that won't go to any old thoroughly skippable Rampage taping - can't feel so confident. The byproduct of such a stacked roster means that, if you're a Bryan Danielson guy, you can't be sure that you won't see a Chris Jericho main event. And vice versa.
Also, there's a very good chance that AEW has already come to their town eight times in the last three months, or that the ticket price hike came into effect one year after the promotion may have peaked.
There's also the simple fact that WWE is more popular. It just is. There's a strange dissonance to the crowd number and the noise those fan make that never gets easier to articulate - but it is more popular.
Except it does matter, because watching a show with a far more intoxicating atmosphere is just a better time...
Winner: WWE