Wrestlers battle during a tag team battle royal during AEW Dynamite at Footprint Center. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Former TNA, WWE star believes AEW will never crack 1M viewers again

By Adam Taylor | Last updated Jun 9, 2024 5:58 PM ET

Former TNA world champion, WWE star and current NWA world champion EC3 believes that AEW will never crack a million viewers again.

The company's ratings have steadily declined, with the May 15 episode of Dynamite drawing the lowest P18-49 audience in four years. The company has also seen a year-on-year decline in its audience, primarily within its key demographic of 18 to 34 year olds.

That's why EC3 believes AEW's impatience with building storylines and changing direction means it is unlikely to ever reach its previous highs.

"You do have to rebuild," EC3 said on Sportskeeda's WrestleBinge podcast. "You gotta tear the house down and I think even if they try to go that route, there's no patience, there's no foresight, there's no vision and there's no leadership that can allow 'Can we handle if we heard the number went to 600k but we're going to come back in three months and get back to eight and then in six months, we're back to a million.' There's no patience for that so that'll never happen."

EC3 may be right. AEW has some elite talent at its disposal. However, the creative team is constantly chopping and changing direction.

Wrestlers go from being completely off the scene to having a major role in a storyline within the blink of an eye. There's no continuity with how the matches are booked. Fans don't know who they're going to see from one week to the next.

AEW must begin to change direction before their stagnation becomes irreversible. They don't need to change their in-ring production or alter their identity in terms of what's on offer. Instead, they need a more consistent lineup of talent.

They need better storylines that are allowed to be built over multiple months and they need to be giving more TV time to their top-end talent.

Tony Khan has done a fantastic job in rebuilding the roster. It's arguably the most talented group of wrestlers in any company.

Now, he needs to rebuild the actual product on offer. Otherwise, AEW's biggest moments are behind it, and it will be stuck in viewership purgatory for years to come.

Adam Taylor

Adam Taylor is a sports journalist based out of the UK. Adam has been covering the NBA for nearly a decade with a core focus on the Boston Celtics. He currently holds bylines with Yardbarker, SB Nation and USA Today

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