Introducing AEW and Tony Khan
AEW is the second biggest wrestling promotion in the world, owned by Tony Khan.
The establishment of AEW in 2019 brought a significant change in the professional wrestling industry. Following its purchase of WCW in 2001, WWE had no real competition, which led to a steady decline in the quality of its product and fan base. Rather than catering to fan preferences, WWE’s programming was often influenced by the personal preferences of their CEO, Vince McMahon. This resulted in fans booing or heckling wrestlers who were portrayed as heroes, as well as the inclusion of juvenile comedy segments McMahon was fond of.
Examining WWE’s monopolistic power in the wrestling business
One example of this was seen with Roman Reigns, who was promoted as the company’s main protagonist, but was met with opposition from a considerable number of viewers.
Some wrestlers didn’t like the style of the WWE and wanted to work for a company with a more serious tone. They wanted to have more control over their personalities and actions instead of following strict scripts. The WWE tells wrestlers what to do in their matches. This means they don’t have as much freedom to be creative and show who they really are. This made the WWE susceptible to competition, both in front of and behind the camera.
How AEW is challenging WWE’s monopoly
AEW is a company that Tony Khan started. Tony knows a lot about wrestling and people like what he does. People who did not like what WWE was doing started to watch AEW. Tony also bought Ring of Honor, which is another wrestling promotion. Additionally, AEW has fans from international wrestling promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling. This Friday, Ring of Honor will be hosting its annual Supercard of Honor event at the Galen Center.
AEW has managed to sign many talented wrestlers, including former WWE stars Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk, who have shown great interest in the project and raising the stakes at play casino projects. This greatly benefited the promotion.
Impact of AEW on the wrestling industry
In the first few years of AEW’s existence, there was a high demand for an alternative to WWE, and their talented roster led to numerous successes. AEW’s quarterly pay-per-view events consistently matched or surpassed their previous year’s viewership for over two years. Additionally, their show “Dynamite” remained a top-rated cable program on Wednesday nights and had a substantial following among 18- to 49-year-olds.
Experts think that “Dynamite” might become more popular than “Raw”. People say it is good because the wrestlers can talk in their own voices. This is different from WWE.
What can fans expect from AEW
According to Khan, what sets AEW apart is that wrestlers speak in their own words instead of being given scripts. He believes that they have the best talkers in wrestling and does not write scripts for anyone. AEW is like the rebel alliance in the Star Wars universe and WWE is like the Galactic Empire. 2019-2021 were happy times for AEW, just like A New Hope. But in 2022, it has been more difficult, just like The Empire Strikes Back.
In 2022, WWE presented some of its most engaging storylines in years, possibly due to competition. The Bloodline, anchored by Roman Reigns, was the central theme of this week-to-week drama. Previously, the company had relied on its past success for years.
Analyzing how competition between AEW and WWE will benefit the industry overall
In 2020, WWE transformed Reigns into a villain that suits his character. He now portrays a role similar to a mix of Logan Roy and Vito Corleone. Reigns manipulates his real-life cousins and a group of other wrestlers to remain in power and keep his title, which he has held for almost three years. This transformation has made Reigns the most captivating character in the pro wrestling industry and the biggest crowd-puller in over ten years.
After public scrutiny for hush money paid to women who worked for him and alleged sexual misconduct, McMahon handed over creative control to Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H. Levesque quickly demonstrated a better understanding of fan preferences than McMahon and showed more willingness to develop storylines in a satisfying way. This creative change helped improve WWE’s performance.
For the first time in many years, WWE’s ratings increased compared to the previous year
For the first time in many years, WWE’s ratings increased compared to the previous year. Also, the 2023 Royal Rumble on Peacock’s live event specials broke records, with approximately 2 million viewers tuning in from the streaming service’s 20 million subscriber base.
WWE’s live event ticket sales have recently improved, making it a much tougher competitor to AEW than it was two years ago. While the Red Sox’s success depends on their own efforts as an organization, having the Yankees struggle makes it easier for them.
Last year AEW faced challenges from within their organization
They made a big acquisition in CM Punk, a famous wrestler who had left the industry nine years prior to try his hand at fighting in the UFC. Despite bringing in Punk and seeing an increase in ratings, there was ultimately a falling out between him and Khan in September.
Punk criticized the management of AEW in a press conference following his AEW world title win and got into a physical altercation with three of the company’s founding wrestlers and executive vice presidents. The company’s ratings have decreased following Punk’s departure but still remain strong. In the previous week’s “Dynamite,” the show ranked fourth on cable for the night and outperformed Fox, ABC, and CBS for at least an hour.
Although there are some positive indications, such as AEW selling a high number of tickets for its Forbidden Door show with New Japan Pro Wrestling when they were released for sale on Friday, it remains unclear how Khan will react to a significant retaliatory attack in what is probably an ongoing struggle.
AEW has recruited Maxwell Jacob Friedman, a 27-year-old wrestler from Long Island, as their response. He is more commonly known as the villainous Maxwell Jacob Friedman or MJF and has a catchphrase of “I’m better than you and you know it.” Despite being underrated for his athleticism and in-ring skills, his ability as a performer is undeniable due to his outstanding gift of gab. As one of AEW’s early signings, MJF has consistently impressed even among more experienced wrestlers.
Today’s wrestling villains face a repetitive obstacle – the audience perceives wrestling more as a form of entertainment than in the past, resulting in the most skilled antagonists often receiving cheers. This trend started to occur with MJF in the previous year, yet Khan decided to maintain MJF’s role as a villain, which evidently brings him great enjoyment.
Khan says he takes into account the fans’ reactions
Although there were many fans who wanted MJF to become a good guy, Khan believes that MJF is an exceptional young wrestler and one of the best heels in the business. Khan believes that MJF’s ability to provoke other wrestlers and the crowd is unparalleled, and AEW is at its best when MJF is at his worst as a villain.
It’s a fact that every villain must have a hero to oppose them
Right now, AEW is highlighting a few of their own stars in that role. Darby Allin, a skateboarder and daredevil, as well as “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, a handsome and athletic individual who happens to be the son of actor Luke Perry, are both being focused on.
Concluding thoughts on the future of professional wrestling with two major players competing for supremacy
A new AEW series named “All Access” will air after Dynamite which will showcase the off-screen lives of wrestlers in order to attract new wrestling fans. The show will be similar to “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” “Ultimate Fighter,” and “Break Point.” Cole’s story will be prominently featured as a selling point of the series.
According to Khan, there was no guarantee that Adam would ever wrestle again. Khan assured Adam that he would support him no matter what and that he was part of the AEW family. However, Adam worked tirelessly by going to brain therapy and not leaving the house. His story will be featured on ‘All Access.’ AEW missed Adam a lot, and his return will give the organization a significant boost since it is in the midst of a wrestling war, with both sides gathering reinforcements.
