AEW has had issues in the recent past with unwarranted information leaks regarding their backstage goings-on. However, former WWE writer Vince Russo claims that this might not be the worst thing in the world for the Jacksonville-based promotion.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo podcast, the WWE veteran revealed he had heard that Tony Khan is seemingly refusing to hold production meetings ahead of televised events to mitigate the risk of leaks.
According to Russo, this strategy is illogical, as information leaks can actually draw in more viewers instead of driving them away:
“If information leaks, what does that mean? They’re not watching the show? If we hear Cody Rhodes is in the building, there’s more of a chance of us watching it than not... Stuff leaks – I’m not gonna watch the show now? It makes no sense, bro.” [From 05:26 to 05:54]
More so, Russo claimed that the decision to not have production meetings is illogical as information can still leak in other ways:
“So, he’s canceling entire production meetings for every television show. Bro, you could have a dude putting up the ring seeing Cody Rhodes walking. That has nothing to do – the guy’s getting paid by the hour, ‘I got nothing to do with the production meeting, but I’m gonna tell somebody.’” [From 09:16 to 09:38]
Check out the entire video below:
AEW's ongoing problem with backstage leaks
Like every major wrestling promotion, AEW also had to contend with the issues of surprise appearances or backstage information being prematurely revealed to the public. The recent incident between CM Punk and Jack Perry is a prime example of this.
Reports of the backstage altercation came to light almost as soon as it had occurred. This put Tony Khan in a tough position. He had to confirm on TV that an incident did take place instead of keeping the matter quiet and holding subsequent investigation behind closed doors.
The entire situation virtually played out in front of fans' eyes, although there were numerous conflicting reports along the way. The debacle ultimately saw CM Punk be fired from the AEW.
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