AEW (All Elite Wrestling) is an amazing, fun new alternative to the WWE that’s taken the wrestling world by storm. They have fun matches and their storylines are beginning to solidify. Their talent is young and hungry to prove themselves. All of those are good things, but when sluggishness and botches become the norm, it’s apparent that AEW is resting on their laurels, and maybe a critical response to AEW from fans is needed.
It’s not surprising and is something that happens a lot in all avenues of life. Once we achieve a goal in our personal or professional lives, we tend to ease up and take our foot off the gas. It’s a natural reaction after busting our butts so much. But that’s when we need to work harder, and that’s what usually separates the good from the great.
We’re handed accolades or awards or even a raise, and he think we have it made. This place can’t run without us, we’ve proven ourselves, we deserve to relax, and more are things we often say to ourselves or others that question when he slow down.
It’s good to receive compliments and laurels, but we need to be proactive. It takes the truly special and driven to work even harder after they gain recognition. But when we don’t try to improve and expect things to be handed to us, our work quickly suffers, and that’s what appears to be happening to AEW.
What laurels have they won?
This is a fair question, and one any fan will ask at this point. AEW has only been around a few months, so there isn’t really enough time for them to gain laurels, is there?
Not so fast. While achievements are often measured by awards or production, in entertainment like professional wrestling it often comes in the form of television deals or contract extensions.
In AEW’s case, their television show, Dynamite, was recently given a three year extension by TNT. This means the coffers are opening up and they will probably have more funding to go with their new home for the next three years. As long as they continue putting a viable product in the ring and we continue tuning in or buying their merchandise.
In many ways, this is a sign that they’ve made it. They’ve gotten that “big deal” so many are after and the security that goes with it.
While this is an early goal, it’s one to celebrate. It also marks when the real work has to start.
The inexperience of youth – botches and sloppiness abound
By all accounts, AEW is still a baby that’s just starting to walk and is about to enter into a marathon.
The fact the leadership is young is a benefit to them, but with youth also comes the inexperience to demand better from others. This isn’t always the case, but the more experienced someone is, the better they can navigate these waters.
Since their new deal was announced, the quality of their matches have been going down. It’s not that they’ve become horrible or unwatchable, though a few have pushed into that category, but that they’re heading that way and we can see it.
Take this past Dynamite (January 29, 2020) for example.
The first match is supposed to set the tone, yet the Young Bucks and the Butcher and the Blade had its fair share of botches and flow problems. To their credit, the four men were able to cover for some of the miscues, but it felt like the match was over-choreographed. There were hesitations as if they forgot what move to do. An example of this was the Butcher had to duck by the ropes, telegraphing a kick was coming, which it did after he’d been ducking for a couple of seconds.
Even the Young Bucks’ finisher wasn’t immune as they set up too far from the corner to hit it effectively, but they managed to cover it up for the most part. Later during SCU and The Hybrid 2 tag team match, Jim Ross gave a critical response to AEW talent when he said, “Those tag ropes you see them hanging over the top rope there, folks; they’re allegedly to be used to make a tag,” referring to the white ropes a tag member must hold onto to be able to tag in. He said that after a Hybrid 2 tag in the referee allowed when the rope wasn’t being held. Until then, both teams had done a good job of holding those ropes.
The botches continued throughout the night like a disease running rampant. While it’s something that often effects sports teams, does AEW have someone to reign everyone in and tell them to get their heads out of their a—es? Or do they just tell each other “Don’t worry, we’ll do it better next time.”
They seem to be proving their critics like Jim Cornette right about it just being a bunch of friends getting together to goof around.
(About a minute in)
Chris Jericho has taken the leadership reigns and spoken out when needed, including a talent only meeting where he confronted the Lucha Brothers and others about tag team rules and how it can’t be nonsensical in the ring. Anyone else notice the Lucha Brothers signed an exclusive 2020 contract with the Mexico based promotion AAA shortly afterwards?
This isn’t meant to call them out, but it’s funny how Jericho had said they tried to defend what they were doing as it was how it’s done in Mexico, and Jericho said he worked there for a couple of years and that’s not how it was done.
Could he have touched a nerve, or was it a case of some friends having a disagreement and leaving for better things?
What really happened is anyone’s guess, but it leaves plenty for us to wonder about.
Cody Rhodes recently brought the legendary enforcer of the Four Horsemen, Arn Anderson, in as his personal coach. At the time, it wasn’t known if Anderson would be taking on more of a role backstage or not, but maybe he should be? He has booking experience and can be a huge asset in that additional role.
Friends hiring friends
This is something that Jim Cornette brought up as a possibility as seeing people he knows know the business are shifting it into a silliness that hurts the business, in his opinion.
While he makes it sound like a country club or frat house type of atmosphere, is he really wrong? He’s been around a while and has seen a lot. The fact he has no compunctions about being honest with his thoughts gives it a certain weight, but is he right about this?
It’s easy to say no and move on, but lately, it’s looking more and more like he has a point.
He once said AEW was started because the owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaquars, Shahid Khan, backed his son, Tony Kahn, in his desire to start a professional wrestling promotion allegedly because he likes wrestling.
And then Tony brought in his friends (Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks – Matt and Nick Jackson, and Kenny Omega) from the business and put them in spots to oversee the creative direction of the company. It makes sense since they know what’s going on and having five people means they have to agree on what’s done instead of letting one person run things, but is that really the best way to do it?
All four of them are in-ring talent, with Cody Rhodes being the most experienced of the group due to his time in the business and growing up with his father (Dusty Rhodes) and brother (Dustin Rhodes) being two of the all time greats.
But when some of the botches come from that group, who corrects them? It’s reasonable to think they correct one another, and hopefully that’s the case.
Someone needs to step up and tighten things up or they’ll start to lose fans, and the fact the WWE is the main alternative means the NWA and Impact and others may get a boost to their fanbase.
As we hear coaches often say (paraphrasing), “Once you do the basics flawlessly, the rest takes care of itself.”
More pay-per-views or house shows needed?
Having a pay-per-view every three to four months isn’t a bad idea, but considering the market for them has been in place for twenty years, it may be time to increase that number.
Let’s be honest, when gearing up for a pay-per-view, wrestlers really have to work hard to sell their angles and rivalries, otherwise people won’t buy or go to the show.
Having to be on their games more may correct a lot of the problems we’re seeing in their matches and microphone performances. They’ll have to improve in a short amount of time or limp along for a couple of months before a mad dash the couple of weeks before the event. Think of it like waiting to the last minute to do our taxes. How frantic is that?
Another thing could be house shows. AEW has said they don’t do house shows or keep them limited to save on the wear and tear from traveling and performing. That makes perfect sense, but house shows are meant as a grassroots type of outreach to fans where people can go and see their favorites instead of traveling huge distances. They are also practicing grounds for wrestlers to work on their different moves and to fine-tune their upcoming televised or pay-per-view matches.
We’re not saying up the ante to WWE levels where they’re never home, but would a few more shows hurt?
At the end of the day, we all want the product to be better, and right now it’s being carried by Chris Jericho, with MJF a close second. If something happens to either of them, a critical response to AEW will be the last thing we have to worry about.
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