Ric Flair isn’t sold on the idea that CM Punk and Bryan Danielson have done much for AEW thus far.
The Nature Boy has a new podcast launching this week, Ric Flair Wooooo Nation Uncensored. Each week, Flair and former WCW commentator Mark Madden will take a deep dive into his career and current events in the world of pro wrestling.
In a teaser clip to promote the premiere episode, Flair and Madden discuss Punk and Danielson’s impact on AEW business since joining the company in August/September.
Madden acknowledges that Punk and Danielson certainly stars by any definition of the word. However, he asked Flair, what have they contributed to AEW?
“Well, if I’m looking at the ratings, I don’t know what they’ve contributed.”
– Ric Flair on CM Punk and Bryan Danielson’s impact on AEW
It’s a television business
Pro wrestling is business largely driven by television ratings and rights fees. Flair says Punk and Bryan have had successful careers, but so far, they’ve failed to deliver for AEW where it counts.
“Well, if I’m looking at the ratings, I don’t know what they’ve contributed,” said Flair. “Yeah, certainly, as you said, they’re both big stars in the business. Both have had a lot of success, but I don’t know how to answer that question, because all you can do, as we do with football or any other show, is look at the ratings.”
Flair continued, “To me, that show should never do less than 1.1 million. If they get there once, and bring in all this talent, and go back, then there’s something wrong.”
Tony Khan’s Take
AEW viewership has been sliding in recent weeks. After a nice stretch of time with Dynamite drawing over 1 million viewers in the overnight numbers, the show has been below that level for the past several weeks. The dip coincides with Dynamite being preempted several times in October.
Despite television viewership faltering, Tony Khan has been adamant that CM Punk and Bryan Danielson have made a significant impact on AEW’s business.
During an interview with Robbie Fox for Barstool Sports last month, Khan revealed AEW has seen half a dozen metrics increase since Punk and Danielson’s arrivals.
“I’d say since Punk came in, before Bryan, and now with Bryan, we’ve seen at least six business metrics go up,” said Khan. “We’ve had our all-time record for pay-per-view. Those digital numbers, live event attendance – all-time highs. We were already, before the pandemic, the number one attended wrestling company in the world.”