WWE Allegedly Using Shady Tactics Against AEW

AEW has solidified its position as legitimate competition in professional wrestling over its five-plus years of existence, emerging as WWE’s primary competition. However, amidst the perceived rivalry between the two giants, allegations have surfaced that WWE has been ordering the fast nationals for AEW shows for an extended period.

The influence that WWE wields over wrestling media has raised concerns among fans regarding the potential manipulation of information to shape narratives. A recent incident involving the misrepresentation of viewership figures for AEW Collision on June 1st serves as a notable example of this trend.

Initially, Alfred Konuwa reported that the viewership for AEW Collision was as low as 122,000 viewers. However, it was later clarified that the actual viewership figure was significantly higher, at 378,000 viewers. Despite the correction, the initial misinformation had already sparked widespread online discussions. Due to this, WWE was accused of planting negative AEW stories to the media.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, obtaining fast national ratings is an expensive endeavor, costing thousands of dollars per episode, which limits the number of potential sources.

Meltzer revealed that WWE has been consistently ordering these fast nationals for AEW shows since Nick Khan’s tenure began. Additionally, WWE’s PR team has attempted to share these numbers with various reporters, many of whom have chosen not to engage, viewing it as a questionable practice.

”Cable fast nationals must be requested and purchased for thousands of dollars for each episode. So the possible sources are far fewer than for typical ratings reporting. And I know WWE has been ordering AEW fast nationals every week roughly since Nick (Khan) started. Plus I know WWE PR tried to feed the numbers to a long line of reporters who long ago decided it was too shady.”

WWE has the biggest PR machine in all of professional wrestling so them using such tactics against AEW would not be surprising whatsoever. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether AEW will do anything to counter WWE.

Do you feel WWE might be trying to sabotage AEW? Let us know in the comments section below!