AEW vs WWE TV Ratings: The Most Toxic Topic in Pro Wrestling
Today’s pro wrestling really fans don’t understand this history of pro wrestling. Many people forget before even the Monday Night Wars, NWA and WWE competed for ratings in pay-per-view buys and TV ratings. Clash of Champions would run up against WrestleMania and you wouldn’t hear all this uproar among fans. The southern states and parts of the east coast of the United States were very loyal to the NWA while WWE was taking over the rest of the world. When the NWA fizzled out, a phoenix rose from the ashes in the form WCW. Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling struggled for it’s first six years. Even though they had struggles from 1988-1994, if you go back and watch some of their content, it was some of the best pro wrestling content in that era if you enjoy more wrestling and less cheesy storylines and crazy characters. You had Ric Flair going sixty minutes with everyone he faced and elevated everyone he squared off with, while Hulk Hogan held his spot at the top with a firm grip. Hogan was WWE’s top and outside of a few performers, no one was elevated until his reign in WWE was over.
In 1994, Eric Bischoff became in charge of WCW and began hiring stars that WWE felt were outdated. He brought in the Big Boss Man, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Nasty Boys, Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan and many more. While WWE elevated started new stars, their ratings struggled for a good four years from 1993-1997. On other side, the entire WCW product was being elevated with all the WWE legends they brought in. A year and a half after Eric Bischoff had been put in charge, he and Ted Turner came up with concept of WCW Nitro, which would run head-to-head Monday Night Raw. The Monday Night Wars began on September 4th, 1995. They ended on March 26th, 2001. During that time, pro wrestling reached heights that it had never been to and will never reach again. During that era the internet was still in its early stages and there was no social media. There was also no streaming services and no DVR, so you either had to watch, or put a VHS tape and hit record. Personally, these were some of the best times for me as a pro wrestling fan. Believe it or not, during the Monday Night Wars, I was a WCW guy who primarily watched Nitro. I would flip to WWE during commercials, because in 1995 the product was still too cartoonish and not believable. As the Attitude Era began, I started paying more attention to both and would be one of those putting in the VHS Tapes and recording.
Once the Monday Night Wars ended, WWE held a tight grip on professional wrestling and monopolized the industry. NWA-TNA (Impact Wrestling now) and Ring of Honor Wrestling were formed, and they created a pathway for many of the starts over the last twenty years to create a name for themselves before they went elsewhere to become mainstream. Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor have been great for professional wrestling, but they have never reached the level that WCW did in competing with WWE. In 2019, All Elite Wrestling was formed. Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Adam Page, and Cody Rhodes had been in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor but wanted something to call their own. With the help of Tony Khan and television deal with TNT, the AEW vs. WWE rivalry was created among the fans, wrestlers and even Khan himself. We are now two years into AEW, and the topics of ratings, talent, and content have become some of the most divisive and toxic topics in pro wrestling history.
There was a big excitement among a lot of pro wrestling fans when AEW was first announced, but that all changed when AEW announced that it’s show Dynamite would air on Wednesday Nights on TNT. WWE countered that move with making NXT a live show from its previously taped format. Many fans might not realize that NXT had been airing on Wednesdays since 2014 when the WWE Network was released as a streaming service. This was the starting point of the division and toxic nature between the fans began. Every week you heard biased and impartial pro wrestling “journalists” feed into this toxicity and praise the new shiny product and downplay the years that NXT had in creating some major stars in pro wrestling. Then along came Chris Jericho, who I have the utmost respect for. He began to talk about the demographics of who was watching the show. AEW Dynamite beat NXT nearly every week they went head-to-head in the ratings until NXT switched to Tuesdays. You often hear AEW stars mock NXT for being “developmental” but some of stars they have signed in 2021 were in NXT and got better because they were being taught how to work a television show. Without “developmental” some of the AEW stars like Malaki Black, Miro, Andrade, and a few others might not have the skills for TV that they do now.
From a fan perspective, I could see where there would be a lot of frustration. During the height of the Monday Night Wars, when the nWo took over no one was being elevated with exception of Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page. In WWE, almost everyone was being elevated including Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley, and many other. WWE even acquired the the four workhorses of WCW in the form of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. Before Guerrero’s passing and the Benoit tragedy, they reached legendary status in WWE. They also acquired Chris Jericho in 1999 and he reached legendary status prior to AEW’s arrival. Jericho is a major part of history by being the first AEW World Champion and being the first ever WWE Undisputed Champion by beating The Rock and Steve Austin in the same night. In today’s WWE, not many stars being elevated. It is the same three to four stars in the men’s and women’s divisions that are consistently in the spotlight. With the amount of talent currently has on Raw and Smackdown, the entire roster should be elevated. AEW is doing a wonderful job of introducing new stars and getting them noticed immediately. The independent wrestling scene has become AEW’s best friends because they are open to letting their talent take other bookings outside of AEW. This allows for crossovers, dream match, and better relations with other promotions. Even though there is a lot of frustration for pro wrestling fans, there is also a lot to be excited about too. Be excited, be positive and enjoy the show. There is not reason to be negative about what other people watch.
The issue I am having is how Tony Khan and stars from AEW continue to blast WWE consistently, which has furthered the toxicity among AEW and WWE fans. Social Media has played a huge role in the toxic nature of what shows wrestling fans prefer. I’ve never seen so much bullying and harassment of fans and pro wrestlers whose contracts are coming up for renewal or are expiring. This is pro wrestling. It should be a fun thing to watch like any other TV show or Movie because that’s pro wrestling. They are stories that are being played out like any other movie or television show. What’s the point of attacking someone over a TV show that they watch? It’s pointless and a waste of time. If I am WWE fan who’s never watched AEW and their fans are attacking me and my show on a regular basis, why would I want to give that show a chance? The same could be said for the other side. If I am new to pro wrestling and only have watched AEW, why would I want to try out WWE if their fans are consistently attacking and harassing me? The fans just need to sit down, shut up, and enjoy watching what they want to watch. There is plenty of pro wrestling out there right now for everyone to watch and enjoy. It is fun to discuss and debate about the shows, but when you start being toxic, demeaning, and harass people over it, then it no longer is fun. The fans and wrestlers need to create a more positive atmosphere and environment for fans to discuss their favorite shows and wrestlers. Pro Wrestling is surging again, so why not make it great for everyone involved. That is truly what would be best for business.
By the Numbers and Facts as of this Writing
Net worth of Owners
Tony Khan- $8 billion (AEW not publicly funded)
Vince McMahon- $2.3 billion (WWE publicly funded)
Company Value
AEW- $400 million
WWE-$3.75 billion
YouTube Subscribers
AEW- 2.82 Million
WWE- 82.8 million
Premier Date of Shows
AEW Dark- October 8, 2019
AEW Dark Elevation- March 15, 2021
AEW Dynamite- October 2, 2019
AEW Rampage- August 13, 2021
NXT- February 23, 2010 (Originally started off as a contest show like Tough Enough)
NXT UK- October 17, 2018
WWE Main Event- October 3, 2012
WWE Smackdown- April 29, 1999
WWE Raw- January 11, 1993
Sources: Google, Forbes, YChart, and Wikipedia
