So the talk of the wrestling world is about AEW beating WWE in their head to head battle in terms of the coveted 18-49 demographic. I understand why Tony Khan, TNT, and even AEW wrestlers consider this a victory. I also understand why Vince McMahon, FOX and WWE wrestlers would be upset. But after reading all of the comments on social media and this blog over the past couple of days, I do have to wonder: Why do FANS consider this a victory for AEW and not for WWE?
Again, I totally understand that those in the television industry don't care, but from a fandom perspective wouldn't you consider “more people watched” as the victory here? This isn't intended to be pro-WWE or anti-AEW (both have their pros and cons). I do get why the executives have the mindset they have, but it seems weird to me that fans are arguing that WWE lost because the segment of their audience means less ad money for…..FOX?
So why did WWE have to extend the show by 30 minutes and make it ad-free in the first place? They started that fight and it backfired on them.