Too Soon to Call AEW the New WCW?

[Ricky Smarks]

First AEW became the first major promotion since WCW to generate over 200 thousand PPV buys that wasn't WWE and now the first company since WCW not WWE to draw 20,000 fans and a million dollar gate. They now have two mainstream television shows with one soon debuting for the TBS superstation.

TNA wasn't quite able to make it, but AEW is here to play.

 

[Barry Poppins]

I'd still say it's too early to declare it WCW tbh.

 

[Deezy]

Why insult them?

 

[Sky]

To call any company the next WCW would be to tempt fate - we do not want AEW to collapse in a few years under a torrent of horrible booking

 

[Ricky Smarks]

Yes, being the only company in the history of professional wrestling to compete with and for a brief period do better than WWE is in insult.

 

[Ricky Smarks]

People are too caught up in the label. Say next WWE if that makes the analogy work for you.

 

[Deezy]

Can't be the only AEW?

 

[Ricky Smarks]

Can't be the only AEW?

Sure, but that doesn't mean anything. The only AEW could be TNA drawing 90 thousand eyeballs on the weekly TV.

WWE is the name of the game because they've been doing this for 50 years and continue to draw money to spite their face.

WCW was the only company other them to do this kind of business. So call it whatever you want, AEW might be a real mainstream competitor.

 

[Deezy]

When they start collecting 55 mil for ONE show.....maybe we can call them competition.

They making money, not much the way trust fund Tony spends his daddy's money, but they making money. But let's get this straight, they are not competition, and probably will not be, unless they get an IPO, a billion dollar TV deal and the sponsors who WWE have partnered with.

 

[Ricky Smarks]

They don't have to do as well as WWE to be a really profitable number 2 competitor.

Doing a million dollar gate is a seriously huge deal even if Saudi wants to throw dumb money at WWE for a glorified house show.

 

[Deezy]

Well if they are not doing as well.....what makes them competition?

 

[Ricky Smarks]

Because they're competing for the actual consumer's dollar. AEW is the first company since WCW to do serious PPV and live attendance money.

WWE is great at swindling business types for billion dollar deals, but when it comes to the fans, AEW is knocking right on their doorsteps.

 

[Deezy]

The consumer is barely a fraction of business.

This is the reality.

 

[Marty McFourth]

It was founded in 2019. So the fact they are now already selling out to 20k fans for a weekly televsion show 2 years later really says a lot about their growth. I don't think it's too soon to see them as basically the next WCW. There has not been a wrestling promotion this close to popualrity to WWE in a long ass time, TNA was never taken as seriously on this level. Whenever they tried going up against WWE's numbers they got steamrolled but AEW is putting up very impressive figures week in and out

 

[Moon Bird]

Calling AEW the new WCW is a slight on AEW.

AEW is 100 times better than WCW. And that's coming from a former WCW fan.

Tony Khan loves wrestling. Ted Turner loved money. Eric Bischoff loved money. Jim Herd loved money. That's why AEW is already better than WCW and will continue to keep improving.

Hell even look at the in ring talent. People in AEW are there because they want to entertain. In WCW most of the top guys were there chasing the money. Hall and Nash didn't go to WCW for the same reasons that Punk and Bryanson moved to AEW...

Goldberg didn't give a damn about wrestling....

Tony Khan is making a wrestling show for Tony Khan. And that's why AEW is and always will be superior to WCW.