WWE clearly isn’t done going after AEW whenever the opportunity comes up, and the company’s constant counterprogramming apparently has a much bigger goal behind it. This isn’t just about beating AEW for one night and walking away with bragging rights.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez explained that WWE is trying to weaken AEW ahead of the company’s next television negotiations. AEW will eventually be heading into another contract year, and the changing media landscape means those negotiations could become incredibly important. Alvarez noted that there has already been a major sale in the media business, which creates even more uncertainty about what things will look like by the time AEW needs another television deal.
“AEW is soon to be into a contract year, and there has just been a sale. And so, fact of the matter is, no matter what anybody says, nobody knows the future.”
That’s why WWE is expected to keep counterprogramming AEW whenever it gets the chance. WWE doesn’t necessarily need to completely crush AEW’s audience either, because even taking away 5% or 10% of its viewers would still accomplish part of what the company is trying to do.
“As long as there is that chance, WWE is going to want to make that happen. And so they are going to counterprogram all these events. And if they can even take away 5% of viewership, 10% of viewership, they want to chip away as much as they can because that’s just what they do.”
Basically, WWE wants to keep chipping away at AEW’s numbers before the company eventually heads back to the negotiating table. If putting NXT or another WWE show against AEW can pull even a small percentage of viewers away, WWE is apparently willing to keep doing it. That doesn’t necessarily mean AEW is in danger of suddenly losing its television deal. Alvarez expects the company will probably end up with something similar to its current arrangement and remain on TBS and TNT, but WWE isn’t going to make that process any easier.
“I would guess that they’re likely going to get a similar deal to what they’re getting right now, and it will be remaining on TBS and TNT, but WWE is going to do everything they can to try to prevent that from happening.”
This all comes right before another WWE vs. AEW fight. NXT will go head-to-head with Blood & Guts on November 4, and WWE is already planning to load up its show after getting a big confidence boost from beating AEW the last time around.
WWE wasn’t nearly as confident heading into that previous head-to-head battle, which is why NXT largely ran a normal show instead of loading up the card. After NXT still managed to come out ahead, that attitude changed, and WWE is now ready to come back much harder against Blood & Guts.
So the November 4 battle and even beyond that are about more than simply which show gets the better number that night. WWE is looking to keep taking bites out of AEW’s audience wherever possible, with AEW’s eventual television negotiations looming in the background.
Do you think WWE’s continued counterprogramming will actually make a difference for AEW when its next television negotiations arrive? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
