Not Their Style: WWE Trashes Violence On AEW Programming

I guess they aren’t fans. There are a lot of different ways to present a wrestling match and some of them are a bit more intense. Occasionally you will see a match get a lot more violent than others, which may or may not be a good thing. You will occasionally see bloodshed during a match, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. That was apparent this week.

The Toronto Star has published an article comparing WWE and AEW programming. The article looks at the television ratings for WWE SmackDown and AEW Dynamite, noting that the numbers are getting closer and citing AEW’s edgier content. WWE sent in a statement for the piece, criticizing AEW’s content, particularly the street fight between the Bunny/Penelope Ford and Anna Jay/Tay Conti while promoting its own more family friendly product. Here is WWE’s statement:

“If you look at the gory self-mutilation that bloodied several women in the December 31 event on TNT, it quickly becomes clear that these are very different businesses. We had an edgier product in the ‘Attitude’ era and in a 2022 world, we don’t believe that type of dangerous and brutal display is appealing to network partners, sponsors, venues, children, or the general public as a whole.”

Opinion: This is what the debate basically boils down to and your individual tastes may vary. Ultimately, three is great content on either side, but some might not be fond of the more violent style. At the same time, some might not be too fond of WWE’s more family friendly style and it can create some interesting discussions. Both sides are doing well at the moment, but we’ll have to see how long they can sustain it.

What did you think of the statement? Which style do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 60,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 6,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books

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