AEW gets a lot of comparisons to promotions of the past and present such as WCW, ECW, and pre-IMPACT Wrestling TNA—for better or worse. The better is often in regards to the match quality, several potential-filled young talents, and the chance to see dream matches and cross-promotion cooperation regularly. AEW acknowledges that it is part of a specific industry and participates in it.
Of course, that specific industry—the wrestling industry—is part of a larger industry: entertainment. Not only that but entertainment dictates that to be both successful and maintain that success, the general public is key. In wrestling, the general public includes the wrestling fans and the casual fans.
Bully Ray Says AEW Needs to Do a Better Job in Capturing Non-AEW Diehards
The discussion about needing to hold casual fans—the largest viewer group of any nationally-broadcasted wrestling program—has always been around. Wrestling fans will show up to support a product or hate-watch it to complain but they do watch a good balance of different types of wrestling. They tend to be more pickup about a product and will discuss it in person and online.
Casuals will tune it and make it a regular part of their week if it’s convenient to watch. The something-for-everyone approach to wrestling shows is—in part—to catch casuals. Something will interest them enough to tune in next week or even view the other programs. It’s different from wrestling fans who will be familiar with a product and know if a company has what they want to see or not.
Also, wrestling fans can be hardcore about a specific product or promotion.
NWA and IMPACT Wrestling star Bully Ray discussed the need for AEW to cater to fans outside of the company to grow. On Busted Open Radio, he noted the comparisons mentioned above but added that ECW did things that were different from what WWE and WCW were doing at the time.
He said that this allowed ECW to pick up fans who watched both of the bigger products and that the company had to deal with ECW chants—not to mention the signs—and eventually ECW itself. However, AEW isn’t doing that, according to Bully Ray. Instead, all of the focus is on fans who already love AEW and that’s not growing the fanbase much.
It’s a common criticism of AEW’s approach as the company tends to give its fans what they want or what it knows they will enjoy. Of course, what AEW diehard might dig might not appeal to someone flipping through the channels. The WWE Hall of Famer added:
“If you take a look at everything going on within AEW right now, Wembley [All In] seems to be the only real ultra-positive thing. If you’re a fan of AEW, yes, you’re going to like their weekly TV shows. You like what they’re doing. But you know as well as I do, if you keep catering to that fanbase, you’re going to either stay where you are or never take steps forward.” (h/t: Wrestling Inc)
Do you believe AEW can move forward with just their hardcore fanbase or is Bully Ray right and they have to attract fans from elsewhere? Share your thoughts in the comments.
CHECK IT OUT: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
