WWE SmackDown and NFL Fight for Supremacy as Tony Khan’s AEW Barely Survives

Tony Khan has undoubtedly been in the spotlight since the last week. In the final segment of the latest edition of AEW Dynamite, a returning Jack Perry along with The Young Bucks launched a vicious attack on the AEW president. After that, Khan decided to sell a neck injury on kayfabe, even in interviews and subsequent appearances on the occasion of the NFL Draft, of which the Jacksonville Jaguars (a team he owns) are a part.

The president of All Elite Wrestling was once again at the center of controversy at the aforementioned NFL appearance after some unfortunate statements where he compared WWE to Harvey Weinstein. But this surely helped the NFL interview grab some views and go head to head with SmackDown, while AEW still suffers.

NFL and SmackDown go neck to neck

It won’t surprise you to learn that AEW has been suffering to get some viewership. After all AEW Dynamite, their main show has been dropping viewership constantly. So it was something unexpected for Khan when he helped the NFL gain some unexpected views as the interview and his statements provided enough traction that the interview went head to head with SmackDown.

The latest edition of SmackDown was ‘boring’ as per the audience since the Draft only produced expected scenarios. But still the WWE, through its ever-loyal fan base, gained immense viewership. However, Khan couldn’t replicate the success he achieved with the NFL Draft for his own promotion as AEW Dynasty didn’t live up to its potential.

AEW Dynasty maintains mixed results in terms of PPV Sales

A few days ago, All Elite Wrestling held the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view from Saint Louis, Missouri. The day featured nine bouts, including three main bouts, resulting in a good reception from the company’s regular audience. Despite the praise for the card, the results in the sale of the traditional PPV didn’t hit the desired mark. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that AEW Dynasty reached 100,000 to 108,000 viewers within the pay-per-view market on television.

Even though it resulted in a higher number than its competitors in the same field, AEW Dynasty failed to reach the approximate 180,000 sales that All Elite Wrestling obtained with Revolution 2024. In fact, the figures recorded resulted in the PPV event with the lowest demand since All Out in 2023, which obtained a number close to 100,000 sales. WON highlights two key points when measuring the figure. One is that the availability of the show on other platforms such as YouTube On Demand, PPV.com, and Triller TV removed several buyers from the classic PPV. On the other hand, the competition with basketball and baseball games alienated a potential sports audience for the show.

On the other hand, the level of box office receipts is also an aspect that caused doubts among analysts and experts in the field. According to POST Wrestling, AEW Dynasty made a total of $401,373 in revenue from nearly 6,300 tickets sold. The figure results in one of the smallest All Elite Wrestling has ever earned for a pay-per-view. So what do you think? Will Tony Khan manage to increase the viewership like he did for the NFL? Let us know in the comments.