In an interview with TVInsider.com, Cody Rhodes commented AEW’s fan feedback and criticism:
“For me, I know that early on I put out a nice post that I wanted everyone’s feedback. I wanted to hear what they liked, what they didn’t, what worked and what they thought didn’t work and why. I still very much stand by that. There absolutely is this background noise that exists on certain social platforms. Twitter is kind of dying out to a degree in terms of its potency. One of the mistakes I made in management early on is I talked a lot. I talked a lot in terms of the product will be this. This is how the product will be presented. I was basically trying to frame up what our goals were for the company. But when you talk so much, the show almost draws the ire of many fans.
I’ll admit everyone in MGM Grand loved when I broke the throne. But there are people who consider that a very real shot [at WWE]. They take it very seriously. When it comes to social mentions, we have a full data report after every show. If you follow them, you can clearly see where you find actual credible thoughts. It’s then you can see the hurt WWE fan that is pretty much going to say what they want to try and draw attention. A lot of times we have given them attention. We’re learning slowly and surely that Twitter is really aging out in terms of its value and what it can offer. That’s what I learned in year one. Talk less as a member of management and show more.”
“It’s fun to hear about what some of the armchair bookers would do. I love that discussion. Some good ideas come out of that. One thing I want to hit and stress is the industry has changed. The pay-per-view is no longer the lifeblood of a company. The pay-per-view is not what generates and feeds you. The television does.”
