Like many others, veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer is gravely concerned about AEW's current state compared to its earlier years. In his "Wrestling Observer Newsletter,"Meltzer highlighted two key factors that could shape AEW's direction in 2025: television ratings and public reception. Regarding television ratings, since AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery announced their multi-year media rights deal that officially launched earlier this month, reports indicate that television ratings remain strong by cable standards, despite "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" being simultaneously broadcast on TBS, TNT, and the promotion's new home, the streaming platform MAX. As Meltzer recounts, in its earlier years, AEW had a lot to celebrate, as the promotion did reasonably well compared to its chief competition, WWE. In Meltzer's words, AEW "almost always beat" "WWE NXT" and even a few weeks of "WWE Raw" back in 2021. He even recalls that AEW did well against "WWE SmackDown" the few times it aired on FS1.
However, the numbers among the all important 18-34 demographic remain low, which has been the case for over a year. Meltzer reminded his readers that once upon a time, The Elite (Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, The Young Bucks, and Cody Rhodes) blueprinted a company they knew could outperform and serve a more PG-13/R-rated substance WWE could not. Meltzer recognizes the decline in interest and acknowledges "ratings lag behind actual interest levels." Since Triple H's reign of control, WWE has restored a lost feeling. With WWE's partnership expanding with TNA, the move to Netflix, more popular former free agents capturing top titles/remaining the big stars they were before signing with WWE, and compelling storytelling, it's no surprise to reporters like Meltzer that the WWE audience attendance is on the upswing.
Meanwhile, Khan is facing some scrutiny in AEW. This includes the lack of use of original roster membersRey FenixandRicky Starks,the recentloss of Malakai Black,anddiscombobulated storylines.Khan and AEW have their work cut out for them before they can return to their unbeatable prominence from six years ago.
