Bully Ray thinks that WWE’s counter programming is a great idea.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of months, WWE has been aggressively counter programming AEW. Recently, the company put NXT Battleground up against Double or Nothing. The next target is All In, where the biggest show for AEW is scheduled for 2:00pm. However, WWE opted to put Saturday's Night Main Event and Evolution on the exact same weekend as the big pay-per-view.
It’s obvious what WWE is doing and there’s been some backlash over the company clearly trying to counter program AEW, but according to Bully Ray, this is actually a smart idea on WWE’s part.
"If wrestling has taught us anything, it's to always have ... your company represented on that same night, so your fans aren't encouraged [to] go watch or look at another product," Bully said Busted Open Radio. "However, WWE has told us that AEW is not competition, correct?"
From a business perspective, what WWE is doing does make sense even though it’s quite ruthless. However, professional wrestling needs a company that’s on par with AEW. Though Tony Khan’s promotion won’t be catching up to WWE anytime soon, it’s fan and away the biggest threat the promotion. The momentum can swift any moments, and AEW can return to it’s hot streak that had WWE management sweating bullets over the possibility of AEW taking over as number one.
Bully Ray further explains WWE’s mindset when it comes to this approach and why it’s so effective.
"Here's the mentality: 'We could lose fans because we did not command their attention on this night, and they watched the other company's biggest show,'" Bully continued. "They became the biggest company in the world for a multitude of reasons, positioning of shows being one of them."
Do you think WWE is smart for counter programming?
There’s pros and cons to what WWE is doing, but it is a shame that we as fans can’t have two wrestling promotions thrive in the sport. But at the end of the day, this isn’t something new when it comes to business in general. It’s a crappy business tactic for sure, but it’s doubtful that AEW would go out of business because of this. Of course in the world of professional wrestling, anything can happen. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see how many buys All In gets this year. Given the build so far, All In is shaping up to be a great show.