8 months ago
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AEW's ratings have been an ongoing topic of discussion in the wrestling industry, especially considering that the promotion is the second biggest in the US and has grown rapidly from its formation in 2019. Eric Bischoff, who similarly went to war with WWE in the 1990s, recently commented on the latest ratings report for AEW in an episode of "83 Weeks," and how it affects the promotion's newest acquisitions.
Bischoff said that Tony Khan continues to fumble the formatting of his shows, especially in the cases of Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada. "They just popped up in the middle of the show. There's no build. Nothing is done within the format to create anticipation to hold the audience with an expectation of something exciting happening."
He continued, explaining how shows need to be built around the main event and build interest throughout the show, but that failing to do this results in lower ratings. He then questioned whether Khan is getting his money's worth out of Okada. "No one knows him outside of the hardest of hardcore fans. And that's not a reflection on him, that's not his fault. It's incumbent upon Tony to build him up and make him feel special, same with Will Ospreay."
Mercedes Mone's debut was also brought up as another failed example since Bischoff expressed that it should have brought in more ratings. "800,000 viewers on a show where you're bringing in arguably one of the more recognizable female stars in the wrestling industry who spent a decade in a high-profile position in the largest wrestling company in the world and you bring her into AEW and she gets 800,000 viewers?"
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "83 Weeks" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
