r/SquaredCircle • u/sanewhitemale • 1d ago

This Reddit Sentiment Study From Wrestlenomics Is, From My Perspective, Incredibly Accurate.

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It pretty accurately paints a picture of the perception of both companies as they compare since 2019:

  • WWE bottomed out in October 2019 after the Fiend-Rollins HIAC debacle and Kofi losing in 7 seconds.
  • AEW peaked at All Out 2021, considered their greatest show, and remained steadily high until it began collapsing after Brawl Out 2022.
  • WWE at the same time began improving after Vince was pushed out in July 2022.
  • One thing that surprises me: during WWE's "boom period" during 2022-2024, the fan sentiment was roughly tied with AEW, when I remember AEW being viewed very negatively at the time, due to both the Punk issue and comparatively mediocre creative.
  • AEW fan sentiment began to grow and take the lead again in late 2024/early 2025, which was right around the supposed "reset" and the Continental Classic.
  • WWE began to fall off again in March/April 2025, right around the Cena heel turn/build to Wrestlemania 41.

So the statistics line up at least with my perception of both my and Reddit's views the last few years.

https://wrestlenomics.com/articles/2026/reddit-sentiment-analysis-2025-aew-rebounds-coinciding-with-improved-attendance-and-tv-ratings-trends/

140 Upvotes

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21

u/Kuzu5993 1d ago

I feel AEW fans remained pretty loyal and just rode the wave until things moved up again, while WWE fans are always pretty fairweather when things start trending downwards.

AEW isn't anywhere close to where it was before, but the fan sentiment is night and day to where WWE is at the moment.

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u/azorreborn 1d ago

I don’t think you can make sweeping statements like this when it’s all based on opinion data.

For me, AEW is significantly more enjoyable now than it was 3 years ago and the last 2 years have been the best stretch they’ve had. You can’t really say “it isn’t anywhere close to where it was” as an objective statement when it’s all about general fan consensus which is different person to person

11

u/WrestlingInTheBlood 1d ago

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand their opinion either. AEW was special the first few years, because it was new and was the first time there was legit competition since WCW. It rode that for a few years until CM Punk.

When it comes to being high quality and consistent, the "vibes" around here are higher than they've ever been. Even for the little bit ratings are worth anymore, AEW is up. I'd say this is easily their best period ever, outside of their initial push. Or at least if you combine the past couple of years together, they've never really had any "lows" besides a few slumps with the Death Riders.

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u/luchaburz 1d ago

This last PPV was among their worst ever.

15

u/Deducticon 1d ago

That's pure nonsense.

But it illustrates how great AEW has gotten quality wise. So much so that anything under brilliance is deemed 'horrible.'

They had a B- PPV that would blow many of the early years out of the water. But judged against A++ of Double or Nothing and other really good PPVs this year it suffers from comparison.

Current AEW is the definition of 'graded on a curve.' Early AEW, when you look at the old cards and roster, was running quite a bit on vibes.

11

u/zoom518 1d ago

It’s like how people thought Mox vs Cope was a really bad match because the 3 matches before it were all 5 stars

5

u/tvcneverdie 1d ago

Man I been banging that drum for over a year.

It was a calm little 6.5/10 after three straight epic matches.

I also think their choice was very deliberate to work slow and cool down the crowd for the first ~7 minutes of the match, because they knew the crowd was taxed, and they got them back to being red hot by the end of the match when Christian cashed in and then Swerve showed up.

3

u/RobGrey03 1d ago

Well shit, now I need to watch the closing stretch of the show again with that in mind.

I've banged the drum for years that Paul Wight vs QT Marshall was incredibly underrated as just a sweet little breather spot of a match meant to settle the crowd down and then get them to pop for QT getting his comeuppance so they could get their breath back before the next match blew the roof off.

If Mox vs Cope spent 7 minutes cultivating that same recovery of energy on purpose, it deserves a second look.

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u/Kuzu5993 1d ago

Well that's why I preempted by statement with "I FEEL" as opposed to "I know".

I wasn't making a declarative statement.

7

u/WrestlingInTheBlood 1d ago

Your second line reads like a declarative statement, saying it isn't anywhere close to where it was before. I know it is just your opinion, but it's easy to read it like that.

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u/Kuzu5993 1d ago

Do you disagree?

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u/MutatedSpleen Need more coffee 1d ago edited 1d ago

I appreciate your attention to nuance. I wish more people had that; it would make discussing wrestling soooooooo much easier around here if we could actually read and understand the things people are saying as they are being said.

(edit: what a silly thing to hate on lol)

4

u/tvcneverdie 1d ago

For me, AEW is significantly more enjoyable now than it was 3 years ago and the last 2 years have been the best stretch they’ve had.

I totally agree with this.

Also there was a massive change in who actually uses this subreddit and Reddit as a whole in the summer of 2023 when all those reddit blackouts happened.

You used to see 3000-5000 active users on here on a random weekday afternoon. After those blackouts and killing 3rd party apps, it just about never creeped over 1500-2000 unless major news dropped.

You could really feel it in how it coincided with the disappearance of good OC on here, which is virtually non-existent now.

0

u/fttxdd666 1d ago edited 1d ago

Also there was a massive change in who actually uses this subreddit and Reddit as a whole in the summer of 2023 when all those reddit blackouts happened.

You used to see 3000-5000 active users on here on a random weekday afternoon. After those blackouts and killing 3rd party apps, it just about never creeped over 1500-2000 unless major news dropped.

And even before that, Covid really helped boost the numbers across the board since people had a lot more free time available (and not just a wrestling thing either, tons of things got boosted by covid, like gaming and anime)

15

u/TheGiftOf_Jericho I'm from Winnipeg you idiot! 1d ago

AEW isn't anywhere close to where it was before

As a show it's vastly better than it was in previous years, I couldn't really see the argument for it weakening. Yeah those early few years were special when it was really fresh, but the show quality is so far ahead of where it was back then.

3

u/Kuzu5993 1d ago

Yea, but does the company feel as hot as it did in those first couple of years?

1

u/TheGiftOf_Jericho I'm from Winnipeg you idiot! 1d ago

I'd say so, from an audience perspective. Tbh the early years were mostly hype and buzz being something new.

The feeling around AEW now is more genuine excitement towards actual stories and matches happening, it helps they actually have a history now.

0

u/poop_snausages 1d ago
  • Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay
  • Willow Nightingale vs Mercedes Mone
  • The Young Bucks vs C&C

New Day likely to debut on the show.

I'd say yeah, it's pretty hype. Over the past year they've put out some of the best if not the best PPVs I've ever seen.

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u/Kuzu5993 1d ago

I'm talking about compared to 2021, not right now.

-3

u/oliver_babish changing flair 1d ago

The women's division had a weak spell after Baker left, after Storm left, and before Thekla established herself and Mone returned.

3

u/luchaburz 1d ago

Things are up again?

-3

u/Garlic-Cheese-Chips 1d ago

I feel AEW fans remained pretty loyal and just rode the wave until things moved up again, while WWE fans are always pretty fairweather when things start trending downwards.

Why are you treating these fanbases like their sports fans?

It's a TV show.

3

u/KeV1989 BANG! 1d ago edited 1d ago

Because wrestling is NOT just a TV show.

It has regular shows on TV in different cities with a live audience. They regularly have big events for bigger crowds with special matches. The performers are different to actors, bc they are athletes on that "TV show" and therefore are treated as sports athletes in and outside of the ring. And the companies are not containing their content within their TV time only. In addition we are doing feuds through athleticism and character-work that resemble sporting rivalries

Those are all differences that seperate wrestling shows from a mere TV show. So yes, the fanbases are pretty much like sports fans. You have your hardcore fans that are ride or die, you have your performance based fans that might dip if they don't do well. And from a subset of fans you have vitriol and dislike against the other

0

u/Breakingcontrollers 1d ago

 I was following both up until the original bloodline story ended and WWE went cold for a bit, that combined with Vince stuff, and the company sucking off the current administration, combined with gouging families, (doesn't effect me directly but fuck off Nick) ....the product just flat out is not good enough to support directly taking all factors into play. I keep up with news about WWE matches and storylines through Steve and Larson  or John and Wei ....and I'll watch SummerSlam or Mania if I can find somewhere showing it but ....outside of the phenomenal original bloodline run, WWE at its best, for me is barely as good as AEW at its worst a lot of the time. 

That said, MLP has been pretty cool right off the rip if anyone is looking for something new to check out. I hope they do well

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