During a recent edition of his podcast, former AEW star Matt Hardy shared insights into areas where All Elite Wrestling could enhance its appeal. Hardy highlighted AEW’s initial surge of goodwill, especially amid the pandemic when it emerged as a distinct WWE alternative.
However, recent controversies involving CM Punk, The Young Bucks, Jack Perry, and backstage tensions might have corroded some of that goodwill, potentially prompting fan disengagement.
Offering constructive feedback, Matt suggested strategies for AEW to reinvigorate its fan base, stressing the importance of capturing casual viewers. While acknowledging AEW’s prowess in delivering high-octane matches, Hardy proposed a shift toward spotlighting established stars and crafting storylines with broader appeal.
Here’s what the WWF Tag Team Legend had to say:
“AEW earned a lot of goodwill over the first few years, especially during the pandemic and being a different alternative to WWE, whatever else, but I think through some of the stuff with Punk and The Bucks and the fights and the backstage stuff and Jungle Boy all this stuff, this hurt some of that goodwill. I feel like that probably deterred some people from their support of the company at the end of the day; I mean, that’s my honest take on it.
I think that you have to appeal to more casual fans; I mean, I understand your mindset where AEW is built on the context of having great matches and having five star matches and bangers and whatever else since the place is very wrestling heavy.
If you love wrestling, where the best wrestle, you know, they’ve even used that as a catchphrase, and I’m okay with that, but I still also think there has to be people that are just casual wrestling fans that are trained in the way like, ‘Oh, well this guy’s a big star. I’d like to see him perform.
I would like to see him wrestle. I’d like to see her wrestle. I’d like to see this; I’d like to see that.’ I feel like that would be beneficial. I feel like sometimes AEW plays and caters to too much of a niche audience and I think they just need to broaden who they play to sometimes.”
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