WWE Pays Staff to Learn From and Dodge All Elite Mistakes
Listen up, marks and smarks alike: the latest "scoop" from WrestleVotes (via Fightful Select, because of course) has dropped a bomb that's equal parts hilarious and pathetic.
WWE—yes, the billion-dollar Netflix juggernaut pulling 2.8 million eyes on Raw while AEW scrapes by with 600k on Dynamite—has dedicated staff whose literal job is to sit in Stamford HQ, pop some popcorn, and watch every episode of AEW Dynamite and Collision.
That's right. Full-time payroll. Benefits. Probably a 401k match. All so they can file reports like:
"AEW did a 47-minute ladder match with thumbtacks and existential dread. Creative: steal the ladder part but make it family-friendly."
"Tony Khan booked a surprise return. Analytics: note the pop, then remind everyone our surprises get 3x the views."
"Collision drew 458k last week. Conclusion: still breathing, but barely. Recommend continued monitoring."
And the cherry on top? Some of these poor souls have AEW action figures on their desks.
Like, openly. In the building where Vince used to allegedly yeet people for less. Imagine the HR meeting: "Hey Chad, loving the Hangman Page figure, but can we move it behind the monitor? Triple H might walk by and think you're defecting.
"Why bother, you ask? Numbers don't lie:
WWE Raw: ~2.8 million global streams/views.
SmackDown: 1.4 million.
NXT: ~600k (basically Dynamite's twin, but with better production value and no random violin segments).
AEW? Dynamite hovering at 619k (March 11), Collision at 370k–458k.
That's not competition; that's background noise on cable while WWE's on the biggest streaming platform known to man.
So WWE's response? Hire people to babysit the smaller show "just in case" Tony decides to do some real bullshit—like another exploding barbed wire deathmatch, or booking Ricochet to apologize for existing, or (gasp) actually finishing a storyline without a corporate sponsor tie-in.
It's not paranoia if you're winning by a landslide! It's just... expensive pettiness. Dream job for the terminally online fan? Sure. But for a company that's supposed to be untouchable?
It screams "we're so secure in our dominance that we literally pay people to watch the other guys... to make sure they don't accidentally innovate something we forgot how to do." Keep scrolling, folks!
