AEW has seen exceptional growth for a company that is less than 3 years old. So much so that even WWE has been forced to acknowledge their success.
The Vince McMahon-owned promotion is currently facing a lawsuit from MLW, who have accused the company of trying to monopolize the wrestling market.
In response to the lawsuit, WWE filed a 35-page motion. Dave Meltzer noted how WWE brought up the October 15, 2021 episode of SmackDown to prove that they are not a dominant monopoly.
The episode saw the final 30 minutes of the blue branded show going head-to-head with Rampage. The AEW show beat SmackDown in the 18-49 male demo 0.34 to 0.32.
The response further mentioned how AEW managed to capture an average 0.344 rating in the 18-49 demo in 2020. This was in comparison to Raw’s 0.5075 rating in the same demo.
WWE’s response used AEW’s ‘successful entry and expansion’ to refute claims that substantial barriers to entry exists in the market.
MLW, who have accused WWE of interfering in their deal with Tubi and preventing it from happening, have not responded to this motion yet. We’ll keep you updated on further developments.