AEW: To Be For The Fans, They Must Look Beyond The So-Called ‘Average Fan’

If AEW is truly going to cultivate wrestling that fans want to see, it must listen to voices beyond those in the mainstream.

Listening to customer feedback has never been a strong point of the WWE. In fact, there’s many that believe the promotion frequently goes the opposite way of that fans ask. All Elite Wrestling is looking to be a true alternative to the WWE and according to reports by Dave Meltzer the company is looking to lean into data and analytics that capture the voices of the fan. While that’s a great idea for those invested into the industry, it raises two bigger questions: One, can the interest of the hardcore fan generate the mainstream dollar and two, which fans will have the loudest voices?

Over the weekend, Felix Upton of Ringside News presented a report with a quote from Meltzer that pushed the idea of AEW using data analytics to help drive content.

“I’ll tell you what you know, AEW is going to do that like crazy because of who owns it,” Meltzer said during a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. “I mean, that’s his business Tony Khan is an analytics guy so I guarantee that there will be wrestling analytics from AEW in different ways.”

His reference to Khan is very important. Khan is the well-known co-owner of multiple sports organizations, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C. This is important in reference to Meltzer’s comment because data analytics are becoming a major part of sports business and that goes well beyond the daily box scores. Teams are using analytics in a “Money Ball-like” fashion to make personnel decisions that will hopefully drive the organization toward success. Seeing that mentality brought over to the professional wrestling space is a captivating move.

Promotions such as the WWE and NJPW have taken up the practice of sending out surveys to capture an idea of what their viewers want. But are those the mainstream viewers that drive major jumps in business? It’s frequently understood that even though hardcore fans spend their money to enjoy wrestling content, it’s the so-called “mainstream” fans who drive the viewership that is seen on TV.

However, the wrestling industry would be unable to grow with only the appeasement of hardcore fans. Take the WWE for example, if hardcore fans were the target audience for the WWE, we would see content that featured different stars, matches and potentially would be different from top to bottom. Which voice is it that leadership in the AEW is looking to listen to the most?

Then there’s the second question about which fans will have the loudest voices. It’s clear that demographics are key when understanding the customers that frequent the product. Unfortunately, wrestling has long been an industry that’s catered toward the pleasure of white, heterosexual males. Voices of groups such as women, African-Americans, the LGBTQ community and others are frequently forgotten about when creating content that’s for millions of viewers each week.

If AEW is truly looking to cultivate the thoughts and desires of fans, then it must do the due diligence to lean into these groups as well. Major organizations like the WWE and WCW of yester-year failed in making those groups feel, “welcome.”

WWE continues to struggle with the ability to promote men and women of color, while running angles that raise an eyebrow to insensitivity from those in other marginalized groups. If they can do so successfully, then AEW will put themselves in a position that quickly separates itself from many of the other promotions in wrestling today.

Professional wrestling is an industry that attracts more than those that are just a part of the majority. If AEW is looking to be the true alternative to the WWE, then it needs to look toward those that represent minority communities to capture a wider group of fans around the world.