"Nobody else is walking into this tent" - Jim Cornette gives a brutally honest assessment of AEW's lackluster ratings amidst recent backstage turmoil

AEW has seemingly begun to fall off in terms of viewership after the CM Punk/The Elite controversy. Wrestling veteran Jim Cornette recently assessed the issue and revealed where he believes Tony Khan is failing.

The promotion enjoyed a spike in viewership after the post-All Out backstage brawl as fans tuned in to see how the situation would be handled. Unfortunately for many viewers, Tony Khan opted to simply vacate all the titles and make no mention of the stars or the controversy.

On the most recent edition of the Jim Cornette Experience, the former wrestling manager broke down how he feels AEW is failing to stand up to WWE.

"Nobody else is walking into this tent, it’s the same group. And it’s about 30 percent of the group that WWE has. So we’re fighting for a smaller piece of the pie! How long are these people gonna be able to be able to fund this thing to get even with the billionaire [Vince McMahon] now that [he] is already out of the picture?" (09:35 onward).

WWE Smackdown, Friday on Fox (8-10pm):
2,207,000 viewers
P18-49 rating: 0.54
#2 in P18-49 among broadcast primetime and cable originals

AEW Rampage, Friday on TNT (10-11pm):
472,000 viewers
P18-49 rating: 0.16
#9 cable original in P18-49
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Cornette continued, stating that Khan is now no different from WWE. The former manager stated that the AEW President's inaction/actions during the post-All Out backstage brawl have defined fans' current reaction to him.

"Instead of being the alternative to the evil billionaire, [Tony Khan] is now the one that’s running the company [where] they’re either mad at him because he f**ked CM Punk around or they are mad at him because he f**ked around [Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks]. Instead of the lavish praise that he gets, Tony pops his head out of his buildings now and he gets booed!" (10:36 onward).

A WWE Hall of Famer notably pointed out that the total viewership spike was only temporary, foreshadowing their drop in ratings this past week.

Missed out on AEW Rampage? Catch up on the show's results here.

Jim Cornette believes that AEW is only catering to wrestling 'marks' with their current production

Jim Cornette has often criticized Tony Khan for his booking decisions. The AEW President solely decides which matches and storylines play out on screen. Because of this, Cornette often directly blames Khan when things don't pan out.

During the same podcast, the former manager went on to blast AEW and Tony Khan for the promotion losing the fans' interest over time.

"They’ve had three years to make a broader audience, not run off their original fans. They’re all looking at wrestling like it’s not supposed to make sense, they’re all looking at it like it’s a video game of a car wreck. And that’s where he’s lost all the people he was supposed to get." (11:24 onward).

No build up. No angle. No storyline. No interest. twitter.com/TonyKhan/statu…

Can Tony Khan turn around the state of his company and regain the fanbase they once had in droves or will the promotion end up going the same way that both WCW and ECW eventually went? Give your thoughts in the comments below!