If AEW is the rebel alliance in the “Star Wars” universe fighting against the powerful Galactic Empire in WWE, the 2019-2021 period was “A New Hope,” whereas 2022 more closely resembled “The Empire Strikes Back.” A look at the pro wrestling rivalry:
Enter AEW and its founder Tony Khan, a lifelong wrestling fan with a deep understanding of the business and disarming memory for its history. AEW was able to appeal to WWE fans disillusioned by that company’s product along with fans of smaller wrestling promotions such as Ring of Honor and international wrestling promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling.
If AEW is the rebel alliance in the “Star Wars” universe, an underdog crew fighting against the powerful Galactic Empire in WWE, the 2019-2021 period was “A New Hope,” a happy tale of triumph that ended in a medal ceremony. Unfortunately for AEW, 2022 more closely resembled “The Empire Strikes Back.”
WWE saw year-over-year ratings increases for the first time in many years, with last Monday’s “Raw” drawing 1.7 million viewers. It set records its Peacock live event specials , with 2 million of Peacock’s approximately 20 million subscribers tuning in to watch the 2023 Royal Rumble. Its live event ticket sales increased and have done particularly well in the last couple of months. In short, WWE is a much stronger competitor to AEW now than it was two years ago.
There are other positive signs, such as AEW nearly selling out the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto for its Forbidden Door show with New Japan Pro Wrestling when tickets went on sale officially Friday. On balance, however, it’s an open question how Khan will respond to a major counteroffensive in a war that is likely only getting started.
“I listen to the fans,” Khan says. “When the reactions were so massive, I had to at least think about [making MJF a good guy], but MJF is the world’s best young pro wrestler and one of the best pro wrestling heels of any age I’ve ever seen and I think his ability to antagonize the other wrestlers and the crowd is unparalleled. AEW is at its strongest when MJF is at his worst as a villain.”
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