When I was a kid I was a wrestling fanatic. I would relish the televised events on TBS that were normally 30 minutes or an hour long and thy were clearly built around not letting us see the results of the major events due to the fact that they wanted you to buy magazines or pay to go to live events. Since I lived in a smaller area this wasn't often an opportunity for me. It was a couple of times and I absolutely loved it as did most everyone else in attendance.
I haven't really had much to do with WWE in recent years because I can't really get on board with the new talent. I would look forward to the guys who are getting up there in years and didn't really know much about the younger guys. Other than Bray Wyatt I didn't really even care about most of the new talent and as the superstars I grew up with got older, I found myself not having much of an attachment to the sport anymore. I would watching it every now and then but I certainly didn't follow it anymore.
WWE has remained far at the top of the food chain in professional wrestling in the USA due at least in part because of the fact that they didn't have any real competition. TNA tried their best and even lured over some big names to their side but the fact of the matter was that TNA kinda sucked. The 6 sided ring was a decent idea I guess but the lowered production value was something that we just couldn't get past.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has got a good thing going or them right now, they have plenty of backing, and they seem to be moving up in popularity. Here are a few things that they have done right.
They aren't governed by the McMahons
The McMahons are in complete control of their company and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything wrong with that financially speaking in the past 20 years. They have faced and overcome a ton of competitors in the past and when WCW vs WWE was happening, there was a time where it looked like WCW was actually going to win that battle. WCW defeated WCW though, not the other way around. It was through WWE's ability to hang on that they emerged successful in the end.
However, when people leave the WWE it seems as though very few people have pleasant things to say about the McMahons and also HHH, who married into the family. There are apparently a ton of "office politics" over at WWE and if you are not on the inside, you are going to get left out and unceremoniously let go if you don't do EXACTLY what you are told. A number of people have left behind a ton of money and lucrative contracts just because they can't work with Vince and Co. anymore. The one that sticks out in my mind the most is when CM Punk went off script on a live show to say terrible things about the McMahons and WWE in general until they finally cut him mic
There had been stories involving feuds between Vince and CM Punk but this was not part of a script, CM Punk really hated the WWE and as time went by we have come to see that many of the other superstars also feel the same way. Currently, we are seeing a bunch of those people, including CM Punk, move over to AEW.
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at AEW, CM Punk received a hero's welcome
A ton of big names moving over to AEW on reduced salaries
There are a ton of big names moving to AEW and unlike when WWE was competing with WCW it isn't a money thing because AEW cannot compete with WWE as far as multi-million dollar contracts are concerned. The thing is, a lot of these guys genuinely love the sport, already have a ton of money, and would basically do it for free.
I think a lot of the following guys would love to see WWE have some real competition just to get back at Vince for the way they have been treated over the years.
- Chris Jericho
- Dean Ambrose (known and Jon Moxley because WWE owns the rights to the Ambrose persona)
- Sting
- Christian
- The Big Show (Paul Wight bc WWE owns "the Big Show")
- Dustin and Cody Rhodes (Golddust and Stardust)
- Daniel Bryan
These are all huge names and even though some of them had to change their names and have to be very careful how they market themselves or face legal action, the fans are really excited to see them. There are rumors of more and more people jumping ship and coming over to AEW as well and when you start talking about the connections that people like Jericho have, well, they can pull just about anyone over.
This is very good news for people at WWE because now they have a bit of a bargaining chip and the McMahons can't just treat everyone like dirt and expect them to stick around. Previously, if Vince and Co told you to do something you friggin DID IT or you didn't have a job.
I haven't watched a ton of AEW yet, but so far when i see it I actually prefer it to WWE but a lot of this has to do with my age. I wonder if it has the same appeal on the younger audience out there because that is what is really important. While I am sure they are quite happy to have people my age as fans, what they really want is teenagers and young adults involved.
Will they be able to pull it off? I think they are headed in the right direction but there are some things I believe they are doing wrong as well. I'll talk about that another time though.