>>13175000Why exactly do you think quality of the event bears any connection to its viewership? How would people know the Rumble would be bad before watching?
It's more a case of there being interest in the product and event or not, combined with reach of it. The RR is an event which always has intrigue amongst fans, even if it's often shit and disappointing. Moreover, the WWE product is hot now and there is genuine intrigue, particularly given the Rumble winners weren't completely telegraphed and obvious as they usually are. They also kept most of the entrants obfuscated so there's intrigue in the unknown. On the men's side, the actual outcome was pretty predictable and there were basically no surprise entrants, but nobody knew that beforehand. They also have great reach with Peacock, so that's good business strategy paying off.
AEW is now perceived as in a downward spiral and the product is cold. The matches have always been good; that doesn't really make the product hot or make people outside of hardcore wrestling smarks want to watch it. There needs to be some hook to watch it, and there isn't one.
