WWE is allegedly attempting to hurt AEW by leaking fast national ratings numbers for Rampage

Voices of Wrestling is reporting that WWE has been leaking the AEW Rampage fast national ratings over the last couple of weeks.

The fast nationals for cable measure the top 10 markets but they are never reported because those numbers are hard to get. However, during the last couple of weeks as Rampage numbers have dropped, those numbers have been leaked to media outlets.

VOW states that the leak was confirmed to them by a media outlet and it appears that the intention is to drum up bad press for AEW. The fast nationals have not been leaked when the numbers have been strong for AEW.

This isn’t the first time WWE has been accused of leaking stories in an attempt to hurt AEW. In July, several reporters stated that WWE had pushed a negative story about Domino’s Pizza being unhappy about the Nick Gage pizza cutter spot on AEW Dynamite.

Here are the VOW tweets about the alleged leaked ratings story:

My theory is that their strategy is to present Rampage as AEW being weak. Smackdown airs on the same night, so it's great P.R. to compare the numbers, especially since the general public has no understanding of what a good number is at Friday 10pm (I mean, just look at this app)

— Voices of Wrestling (@voiceswrestling) October 13, 2021

It's also notable that these leaks weren't happening until Rampage began to level off. Find me a fast nationals headline for the Punk return or Rampage being #1 on cable. WWE can only claim AEW isn't competition for so long. P.R. leaks and 2.5 hour Smackdowns were inevitable.

— Voices of Wrestling (@voiceswrestling) October 13, 2021

Sean Ross Sapp responded to VOW’s tweet: “I’ve reported countless stories about WWE and other companies that emerged elsewhere. You have to verify it though. The effort was obvious though.”

I've reported countless stories about WWE and other companies that emerged elsewhere. You have to verify it though. The effort was obvious though.

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) October 13, 2021