The wrestling landscape has changed quite a bit since the emergence of AEW in 2019. Fans have seen All Elite Wrestling crossover with several other wrestling promotions, and some interesting names have recently joined the company.
It certainly seems that AEW is focused on building up their roster, and it’s been rumored that both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are AEW bound.
During the recent WWE Q2 2021 earnings call Vince McMahon was asked if he views AEW as a competitor, and if he feels he needs to counter AEW when it comes to investing in talent. The Chairman of the Board was also asked if it could be a similar situation to WCW during the Monday Night Wars where the rising tide raises all ships.
“It’s certainly not going to a situation [like with WCW] where it’s the rising tide because that was when Ted Turner was coming after us with all of Time Warner’s assets as well. That was a different situation. AEW is where they are. I don’t know what their plans are, I only know what our plans are. I don’t consider them a competition like I would WCW back in the day, nowhere near close to that. I’m not sure where their investments are. When it comes to their talent, perhaps we could give them some more.”
According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite average 1,108,000 viewers.
AEW Dynamite last night on TNT was watched by 1,108,000 viewers on average.
582,000 viewers were aged 18-49 (about a 0.45 rating).
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— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) July 29, 2021