Pro wrestling reporter calls out critics

All Elite Wrestling officially announced its new media rights deal on Wednesday and all indications are that it is a massive win for AEW.

That might have come as a surprise if you listened to the pro wrestling promotion’s critics over the years, some of which even went as far as to predict its demise.

Not only is AEW not going out of business, but it now finds itself on track to become the second most profitable pro wrestling company of all time , behind only WWE. According to multiple reports, AEW’s new deal with WBD is a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year, with an average annual value of $185 million.

Suffice it to say, many AEW skeptics now find themselves with the proverbial egg on their face. And in case they weren’t aware, Dave Meltzer is here to remind them.

“A lot of dumb s**ts got really exposed,” Meltzer said on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio . “I’ve been sitting here playing punching bag for these clowns for years. And this was quite the week of vindication between the Vince McMahon documentary and this deal. Yes, for me, but it was an even bigger vindication for [AEW owner] Tony Khan, even though they’re completely different topics.

“The guy who’s spent five years with all these clowns calling him a ‘money mark.’ There’s a lot you can criticize Tony Khan about. Obviously, the promotion is not without its flaws, for sure. They’ve lost popularity and things like that. That said, from day 1, this promotion, the goal was always to make money. It was not just some rich kid playing fantasy wrestling booker or anything like that… the long term goal was always to make this thing profitable. So at the end of the day, here we are, and with this deal, this is going to the second-most profitable pro wrestling company in the history of pro wrestling… once you’re profitable, the term ‘money mark’ goes out the window.”

While Meltzer didn’t call them out by name, it’s fairly easy to connect the dots that he was likely referencing Jim Cornette and Eric Bischoff. Both pro wrestling personalities-turned-podcasters have consistently been critical of AEW, Khan and Meltzer over the years, with Cornette even predicting that the pro wrestling promotion would potentially be out of business by early-2020 .

Make no mistake, AEW is far from perfect, but at this point, it would be foolish to question the company from a business standpoint. That, however, won’t stop many from trying, as it seems far more likely that the reaction from the critics will be to push the goalposts back even further rather than simply admitting that they’ve been wrong.

[ Wrestling Observer Radio ]

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