AEW has a billionaire and life-long wrestling fan financier who has had a love-in with the indies for years. Tony Khan is no slouch (family owns Fulham in the EPL), and he clearly sees burgeoning growth in the wrestling industry and a spot for a new player.
While I wouldn't assert that they are going to be competitive with WWE for some time, Cody grew up in the business and most likely has incredible industy contacts. Additionally, the Elite has proven to be excellent as self-promotion and marketing outside of a huge corporate machine. This is something I am not sure WWE has been up against before, nor Howard Meij in NJPW.
Cody may not be the best performer, but there is no doubt ALL IN was a massive success and there is an appetite for the Elite to grow their brand. And with Kenny Omega possibly joining the fold (contract in NJPW up next month), that could be huge. This could really damage NJPW's push into North America, or possibly impact ROH (although it is said all three companies are discussing working together).
Then there is the rumors of a TV deal in the works - but that doesn't even really need to happen as most of that brand is followed on social media. They could probably get by with an online show.
Let's not also forget the underrated product that Impact! is pulling out these days, and also have a stacked roster with Johnny Impact, Pentagon Jr. and Fenix (the latter two of which WWE tried to poach).
Interesting times in the world of professional wrestling.
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