>>15553528You make a lot of fair points, but 2019 WWE was really, really bad. Obviously not the worst--I think the New Gen largely has that on lock--but it sent me on my most recent wrestling hiatus. I didn't return for a while, and even then, it was for other promotions initially. I wasn't dumb enough to turn to "PWG on a budget" but I can see a lot of fans giving AEW a shot because of WWE's reputation at the time.
There's a lot of marks out there, and here, who despite claiming to love the industry in its entirety, despite "supporting" indie wrestling or Japanese wrestling, don't actually watch something unless it's as accessible as WWE or AEW. When the former is producing dogshit, the latter appears more enticing. So I don't think that's a hugely overblown narrative, I think it's reflective of what a lot of fans genuinely felt at the time, even if it is somewhat hyperbolic.
