Okay I'm going to use a real life experience.
My friend is talking to me about how he's been watching WWE lately and I mention I've been watching TNA. He asks me 'What's TNA??', I say 'Its a different wrestling company ,they've got some amazing wrestlers who do crazy shit like MCMG, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles' He says 'I don't know any of these people, are there any people I know??'. I say 'Yeah, they've got Kurt Angle, RVD, Hulk Hogan and Jeff Hardy's their world champion'. He goes, 'That sounds cool, I loved the Hardys and RVD, I'll probably check that out'
He told me after watching it he thought it was pretty good and he'd try and catch it a bit more.
So as I said before even if the number is small, Hardy is bringing in viewers that AJ probably wouldn't have brought in on his own.
On the subject on AJ being professional, wasn't it being reported he was having a massive strop at the way he was being used a few years ago (can't quite remember the details)