AEW Rampage Beats SmackDown In Viewer Ratings

Good news for AEW fans as it appears Rampage beat SmackDown in the viewer ratings. This would mean the first defeat for WWE since 1998 and excellent news for Tony Khan and co.

AEW Rampage Beats SmackDown In Viewer Ratings

During the first 30 minutes of Rampage, SmackDown went toe-to-toe with the WWE. Since SmackDown started earlier, many believed it would be a crushing defeat for AEW.

However, this appears to be far from the truth. In fact, AEW Rampage beat SmackDown and with it set a milestone for itself that has not been done since 1998.

If WWE were not worried about AEW before they certainly should be now. 

Before the brands went toe-to-toe, Tony Khan issued a stark warning to WWE. In fact, he claimed he would enjoy beating the promotion when they battled it out.

Now it seems Tony Khan’s prediction paid off. If anything, it should cause some considerable worry for Vince McMahon and others in charge.

McMahon did not take AEW seriously when it first got off the ground. To this day, it seems he has no interest in seeing what the competition really offers to fans.

And this seems to have been a big mistake. Obviously, fans are finding something in AEW they no longer find in WWE.

Of course, the war is far from over. After all, each promotion has a unique product to bring to the wrestling table, and it has never been a better time to be a wrestling fan.

Reminiscent of the Monday Night Wars, wrestling is hotter than ever.

Why WWE Struggles Against AEW

Looking at it logically, the WWE should have little problems with a smaller promotion such as AEW. So why is it that the WWE continues to struggle.

Well, the core of the problem is quite evident. The WWE does not listen to its fans and pushes its own ideas over that of wrestlers who are liked by the crowd.

Instead, some of the most popular wrestlers were released over the course of the pandemic. And those remaining are stuck on the mid-card to say the least.

Furthermore, the WWE has a plethora of script writers. Unfortunately, these writers have very little creative freedom.

There are dozens of stories of Vince McMahon ripping up scripts mere hours before the start of Raw and SmackDown. And great ideas coming from wrestlers barely make it to television if they are not liked by Vince.

When someone is not open to ideas, it certainly reflects on the product. While Vince is undoubtedly a smart businessman, he does have problems letting go of control.

Vince has ruled the WWE well over several decades and made it a huge success. Unfortunately, his ideas are no longer resonating with the larger majority of wrestling fans.

Wrestling should be exciting, fun and most of all an escape of our everyday mundane lives. I feel I get that from AEW, but no longer receive that from the WWE.

The truth may be painful for WWE, but I am happy there is a rival promotion to turn to.