Tony Khan Called Out for Treating AEW As His ‘Plaything’ After Dynamite’s Record-Low Viewership

AEW has seen a lot of growth over the past five years when it comes to their production values and other avenues. However, the company continues to face issues of declining live attendance and viewership and now Tony Khan has been criticized for treating AEW as his plaything after Dynamite secured a record-low viewership recently.

After months of rumors and speculation, AEW officially secured a multi-year media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, reportedly worth $555 million over three years. Many fans felt this would turn the tide for AEW but things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing for the company. This is because the October 9th edition of AEW Dynamite drew 329,000 viewers, with a 0.10 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, which marked an all-time low viewership for the show.

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Jim Cornette criticized Tony Khan for treating AEW like a plaything after AEW Dynamite had its lowest viewership ever last week. He pointed out that fewer people are watching the shows while Tony is getting busier with his work. Cornette mentioned that Khan is working long hours, juggling wrestling, football, and other responsibilities, and warned that things might get worse.

Although many people are hopeful about AEW making money and receiving guaranteed payments from TV networks, Cornette found it embarrassing that they announced this during such low ratings. He recognized that AEW is making a lot of money, but they are also spending a lot. The problem is that if viewers aren’t interested in what they are producing, it raises questions about whether the money being spent is worth it.

Cornette referenced the recent cancellation of SmackDown on Fox, which had two million viewers, to show how networks might react to falling ratings. He questioned whether AEW’s current viewership justifies the money being invested and if Warner Bros. Discovery will regret their decision in the future.

“Less people are watching these shows, and it’s all Tony who’s only getting busier. Uncle Dave also mentioned the 19-hour days that Tony is putting in, not only with the wrestling but also with the football, analytics, statistics, and whatever else he’s doing. As you said, it’s only going to get worse. Everybody’s talking about how they’re going to be profitable, and they’re getting guaranteed money from a television network on the theory that they will bring eyeballs. It’s kind of an embarrassing situation that the very week they announced this, they did the lowest ratings in the history of their shows.

Whether they’re profitable, we do not doubt, and we fully admit they are taking in a ton of money and already had a ton of money. But the problem is, as we’ve established, they’re also spending a ton of money. Whether you are profitable or not, if nobody wants to look at the stuff you’re doing and nobody’s watching it, then at some point, they just canceled SmackDown on Fox, and it was on 2 million people. They thought, ‘Well, it’s not worth it to us.’”

Cornette insisted that AEW’s problems are self-made, not due to outside issues like a pandemic or economic problems. According to Cornette, Tony Khan’s background as a billionaire and his family’s ownership of sports teams have led him to treat AEW as a plaything instead of a serious business. He stressed that AEW needs to show its worth to justify the large financial support it receives.

”Are these numbers, or anything like them, worth what they’re being paid? Is WBD in three years going to go, ‘What the f*** were we thinking?’ They are doing this to themselves. It’s not like there’s a goddamn pandemic, and they can’t have crowds in the buildings, or there’s some horrible financial crisis and nobody can afford to go and do anything. That won’t happen again unless Trump gets elected.

It’s not exterior forces that are at work to hold AEW down; it’s the mistakes they’ve made themselves. Tony has viewed this thing from the start as his plaything instead of a way to make money. Because of his billionaire father and the fact that they already own pro football teams and all the other things they own or have invested in, minus the Black News Channel, which didn’t work out, they know the people that will give them more money. But at some point, you’ve got to do something to justify the money that people are paying you.”

We will have to wait and see whether Tony Khan will somehow improve the situation and ensure that AEW Dynamite’s dwindling ratings are a thing of the past. After all, despite their new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, things simply do not look favorable for AEW at the moment.

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