This is my first post here in eons. However, I had to read and reply to this.
There are two types of fans: The Professional Wrestling fan and the Sports Entertainment fan. There IS a difference. What we got at Double or Nothing was geared to the fan of Professional Wrestling. Those are the people that go to the bingo halls, VFW halls and school gyms to catch an Indy shows. These people will also be happy to drop $9 a month for NJPWorld and/or Stardom World. They have the FITE App and watch Pro Wrestling from so many companies that it makes ones head spin. Whether it is Nevada's Paragon, England's Defiant, Germany's WXW or whether it is the countless promotions that are available, fans of Pro Wrestling will watch. Last night, I marked out for Awesome Kong, Emi Sakura and Riho. Ask a fan of Sports Entertainment who Emi Sakura is, and they will look at you as if you are nuts.
Sports Entertainment is basically a "variety show" with a wrestling ring. You see products that they push, bright lights, Hollywood glitz and glamour, segments that make zero sense, and writing that is very safe for fans of "Sports Entertainment". Even many of the posters on this thread and others are more fans of "Sports Entertainment" rather then Professional Wrestling. They say with glee that WWE is "the biggest, the best. They are on TV every week!" and dismiss all others with words like "garbage" and "nonsense" and "the Little League". As far as I am concerned, WWE, by their OWN admission, is NOT a wrestling company. In fact, they run away from the word "wrestling". SO, why say they are "wrestling"?
With that said, the WWE is going nowhere anytime soon. They still have deep pockets. The Network brings in $180-200 Million per year. The have gotten 2 big TV deals and a monster deal from the Saudis. The only thing they got going for them is money to dish out. I mean, if they were going to pay Rhyno $500K per year to STAY HOME, they are not exactly poor. However, they will probably get the bigger stars who will see this, like AJ Styles, as a "retirement home", and get the big money like a Brock Lesnar. What AEW has going for it is that they will use the younger stars, and develop what they have when that time comes. As long as they could keep it together for the next 5 years, AEW could put itself into a position where they can realistically compete with, if not surpass, WWE. The fans of Professional Wrestling are looking for that alternative. AEW might very well be it.
I agree, WWE is an ENTERTAINMENT company, and that may be why they are still in existence, and most of the other companies aren't.
You see, Vince thought ahead of the curve. Most of the other promoters thought that interest in wrestling would last forever.
But, interest in professional wrestling is at an all-time low. You see, people have other interests now, and other things to do.
Vince McMahon saw this coming, so he promoted to people's love of celebrity, and putting on a show, an experience. He catered to the mainstream, which brings TV deals, advertising and merchandise. He caters to the children, who bring with them parents, who then pay money.
He is selling "wrestling" as a TV show like BBT or GoT. Wrestling in MSG in a cage, and travelling from territory to territory is over.
The failure of ECW proves my point. Paul Heyman sold wrestling to wrestling fans, and got praise from them. Yet it was never profitable and died within ten years.
WWE will always succeed, because they are selling to the MCU audience, the mainstream audience who want drama, storylines, etc. These things are the meat and potato, and wrestling is the side-dish.
AEW is like an indy band or an indy movie, while WWE is like an artist like Michael Jackson or Madonna by comparison, or Marvel or James Bond by comparison.
AEW is like the movie that wins the Oscars, while WWE is like the movie that makes millions at the box-office, people go to see it, and it becomes a franchise.
AEW will fail for the same reason ECW and the indys fail. Because Vince is selling to a different audience entirely. Wrestling has a bad rap these days in the media, thanks to the Benoit murders, the drug trials and the damage that "The Attitude Era" did to wrestling's reputation so Vince distancing himself from it is in response to that.