Matt Hardy recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast and talked about AEW’s fanbase being different, noting that they prefer things to be more realistic with their pro wrestling product.
“Something I have learned by following AEW’s audience closely, it’s a very different audience than places I have worked at in the past. Impact’s audience, for instance, they are a lot more accepting of things that are more out of the normal parameters of pro wrestling. They enjoy that stuff a lot more,” Hardy said. “WWE fans even are a little more into more supernatural stuff. But AEW Dynamite fans, really like the realistic in-ring product of old-school pro wrestling where it stays within the boundaries of reality. I decided to work towards that.”
Hardy admitted he realized the difference after the program with current AEW TNT Champion Sammy Guevara, noting that the fans demand the wrestlers work like they’re 25-30 years old.
“I realized after we did the thing with Sammy, I had stubbed my toe a couple of times in the program. The audience is being very hard on me,” Hardy said. “I see a thing here too, the demographic here in AEW is very different from a WWE. The demographic and the feedback I get from performing on AEW compared to WWE is very different. It’s much younger, it’s much more trendy, cool pro wrestling fans. As opposed to WWE, you can tell the audience is older and they are almost more welcoming of legends and veterans who have been around in the past. With AEW, it’s very tough. You have to go out and bust your ass like you’re 25 to 30 every night. They demand that they demand the best.”
Stay tuned for more.
(H/T to WrestlingInc for the quotes)
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