Bully Ray On What ECW Accomplished That AEW Is Failing To Do
All Elite Wrestling often gets compared to the promotions of days past, primarily WCW and ECW. Speaking on "Busted Open Radio," ECW veteran Bully Ray gave his perspective on one of the big things that separated the hardcore promotion from what AEW is today.
"There's always the comparison of AEW to ECW," Bully said. "ECW took fans from ... WWE. ECW took fans from WCW. ECW did such special things that we forced viewers of two wrestling companies that were much bigger than us, and much more financially stable than us, and brought them over to our side. So much so that both companies had to deal with 'ECW' chants on their live TV shows. AEW isn't doing any of that. They're catering to their fan. And if Tony Khan didn't have a gazillion dollars, only catering to your fan would get old and financially [unstable] very quickly."
ECW, or Extreme Championship Wrestling, was an independent promotion based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, taken over by Paul Heyman in 1993. Heyman and his band of underground wrestlers transformed the promotion into a hit over the course of several years, but finances eventually became strained. The promotion held its last event in 2001, with ECW's assets later being acquired by WWE.
AEW and Wembley Stadium
One possible counterpoint to Bully's opinion on AEW's growth is the fact that the company is running a massive show at Wembley Stadium in London next month. So far, All In has moved nearly 75,000 tickets.
However, the "Busted Open" host called next month's show "an anomaly" with regard to AEW's current business. Bully pointed out that it's the company's first time in Europe, allowing them to draw in a bigger audience than they otherwise could at a normal show.
"If you take a look at everything going on within AEW right now, Wembley seems to be the only real ultra-positive thing," Bully continued. "If you're a fan of AEW, yes, you're going to like their weekly TV shows. You like what they're doing. But you know as well as I do, if you keep catering to that fanbase, you're going to either stay where you are or never take steps forward." Bully's co-host, fellow ECW veteran Tommy Dreamer, then shared his take on AEW's Wembley situation.
"I do not feel that selling over ... 74,000 tickets is an anomaly," Dreamer said. "They haven't announced one match, and they have that. The tell-tale is [how they do] if they go back."