I think there's two lines of thought. Do you
A) Just book a regular show and take the L quietly or
B) Go out guns blazing, still lose but at least you tried...
The bigger issue is the regular shows haven't really been that good so option A hasn't been working anyway. I think NXT would have beaten AEW even without bringing in all these hall of famers.
Nah you got to go out guns blazing, maybe without the TK spicy tweets though.
If you don’t go out guns blazing, you look like a quitter. And with the ticket situation the way it is, last thing they need is the perception that they quit. Not like this is sports with draft picks and intentionally losing can be beneficial for draft positioning.
But I agree. If NXT had just booked the show like they had been recently they still win. Like I said when it was announced Cena would be on the show, AEW is losing the battle tonight in the ratings. Hangman/Switch and Danielson/Swerve probably going to be the two best matches of the night between the two shows but the only people that can really compete with the draw of Cena are like the Rock, Stone Cold, and Undertaker.