The best way to enjoy AEW is to forget about the ratings, at least past the point where you know it’s doing well enough to be successful and will stay on the air and exist. Anyway, it doesn’t matter what Chicago show is on NBC or whatever Tucker Carlson snorted that night. And the next step after that is not worrying about what’s going to happen next or what the roadmap will be.
AEW is a cult company for a cult fan base. And that’s okay. All of us AEW fans can accept that now and can accept the fact that it probably won’t grow much from what it is now. We all dream of our little thing conquering the world, no matter the arena. Football fans used to be there. You have a band or a singer that you wanted everyone to know was better than what most of the people you work with hear. All the while worrying that mass popularity would distort what you love. Fandom can be quite confusing.
AEW confirmed this last night by announcing that it will host a joint PPV with New Japan Pro Wrestling called “Forbidden Door” in June. It’s a no-brainer since so many members of AEW have gained popularity through their work at NJPW. Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, the Young Bucks, even Cody and Andrade, to name a few, all caught the attention of fans through their work in Japan. AEW also brought Minoru Suzuki, Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii, Satoshi Kojima and others, all of whom are current stars or NJPW legends. They were already in bed together, despite not changing their relationship status on Facebook.
And while it’s big news in the wrestling industry last night and today, it still really only applies to the dedicated fan Court around a specific type of creature. It’s the after-hours club. You need a password to get in (I mean literally since you need one for NJPW World, his streaming service). If you’re the type that dances ’till 5am, then this is for you. If you have to worry about your staff meeting or brunch with the family tomorrow morning, that’s not the case.
It’s not for everyone. It’s not for most. It’s only a few. This June show will be great for those who are already indoctrinated. We’re already dreaming of the matches we would book and how we would get to them, although deep down we know it will be mostly big tag matches to get as many people on the show as possible. In a way, most of the show will be “empty” as it lacks storylines that, after weeks of build-up, will continue for weeks to come. It’s just going to be cool matches. There’s some history for Hangman or the Bucks to perhaps draw on, but that will be the exception. Never mind, the thought of seeing Hiroshi Tanahashi or Tetsuya Naito live would definitely put most of us off.
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And you know what? All of that is fine! It is great! There was a fantasy, particularly just after the company got out of the pandemic (not that we as a society did) and started doing live shows again – and really got rolling when CM Punk and Bryan Danielson showed up – that that it would show the world what wrestling could really be and win over the masses. This is our little one dynamite show could become the dominant one, as WCW did for that famous “83 weeks.”
But it’s a different time now and every type of entertainment is fragmented unless you’re Marvel. It’s hard to imagine how something inherently niche like wrestling could rise to something higher. Let Vince pursue this dream that he’s been lusting after for decades.
AEW offers something for a specific type of fan twice a week. And the more they lock that down, the more they hold this fan in place, the more likely it’s never going to go away. It will always give us an outlet. It will always be the band that rolls through town and plays your favorite club once or twice a year. Who cares if it’s not an arena? Seriously, how are you going to explain Danhausen to all your friends?
Now, AEW’s viewership and ratings are likely to be like that for the foreseeable future. We’re obsessed with wars and competition, but it’s clear now that that’s not what it is. AEW offers a lot of what a subset of fans desire, and that’s probably all it ever will. Working with NJPW only proves that. As amazing as Kazuchika Okada is, he’s never going to attract casual fans. I’ll fuck off at the United Center in June when the sound of falling coins comes and he walks out, but that hardly means most people would.
This urge to see AEW grow and grow stems from most people’s obsession with being right. Not just being right, but being proven that everyone can see it, at least in our own minds. You can see this everywhere, much to the detriment of…well, everything. We believe the AEW product is better, more fun and a better example of pro wrestling. But many AEW fans can’t really feel right about it unless it’s endorsed by the crowd. For some, being a cult isn’t enough, especially when non-AEW fans seek their confirmation that we’re right and we’re wrong by pointing to ratings, viewership, or mass-market appeal. Neither of them looks so much for a better success for their company than for this confirmation.
None of that should matter. AEW has made itself a comfortable home in the industry, and it’s very close to the top. It offers three hours a week that’s extremely entertaining for a certain type of fan, and that’s probably all it’s going to do. If you’re having fun, why do you care how many others are? It’s here to stay, it’s here to stay for enough people, and that’s success.
