One of the things I’ve learned over the decades of being a wrestling fan is nothing is built to last forever. Not. A Single. Thing. A proven promotion can go belly up in just a couple of years, while a new promotion can rise to the top like a rocket. Both of those are some of the reasons why the AEW reminds us of WCW, but unlike WCW, I think AEW will survive.
My reasons are pretty simple and go beyond simply ratings or who has what superstar. For me, AEW represents nostalgia but also the future of professional wrestling. The WWE has long had a stranglehold on the industry, eliminating the old territory system where each promotion controlled a specific territory. McMahon did this by buying the smaller promotions and making them developmental promotions under the WWE banner. His goal from early on was the globalization of professional wrestling, meaning globalization of his product: the WWE.
For many, the WWE was the future as Vince McMahon wanted to make his promotion a globally recognized product. Over time, it worked and he built an the Disney of professional wrestling.
The problem with this scenario (that we’re witnessing) is the stagnation of creativity and growth of wrestling characters. It’s what happens when you have one person making all of the decisions.
AEW is a national alternative
While there have been plenty of smaller promotions that hadn’t been purchased by McMahon to be developmental facilities (doing this is how he ended the old territory system), none had grown large enough to demand a national audience. Some of that goes to how those promotions were run, but most I think is due to McMahon. I’ve detailed this theory before, but simply put, it’s reasonable to believe he entices other promotion’s top talent with large contracts, then buries them. Without their stars, those promotions can’t grow and thus be a threat. This is a smart business move, but it helps create stagnation.
Again, that’s just my theory. It makes sense to me given what I’ve seen, but I could be wrong.
Into this stepped Tony Kahn and AEW. Having a new promotion was one thing, but securing a television contract put them on the radar, much like NWA-TNA in the early to mid 2000s.
But it was the signing of Chris Jericho that ignited fans and gave the AEW a sense of legitimacy. With a proven star on their roster to compliment their castoffs and young talent looking for a chance, AEW fielded a hungry roster eager to prove itself.
Differences with WCW
This is where things are going to get interesting.
WCW (World Championship Wrestling) originally started as JCP (Jim Crockett Promotions founded in 1931) run by, you guessed it, Jim Crockett. In the mid to late ‘80s, Ted Turner approached Vince McMahon about purchasing the WWE (World Wrestling Federation at the time) about purchasing the WWE(F) and McMahon refused. So, Turner turned his attention to JCP, that was among the numerous promotion that made up the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance), and purchased JCP, turning it into WCW.
WCW then took the fading NWA’s place as the WWE’s largest rival and the trading and bidding war between the two promotions commenced.
Unlike WCW, AEW came into this with a clean slate. They don’t have the history of WCW, the talent contracts, and hundreds of other things Ted Turner acquired. Instead, they started fresh.
With Chris Jericho being their biggest star, they not only added a solid veteran presence (as his talent only meeting shows), but someone that was in WCW before it folded. He’s seen what WCW did wrong and he can help Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega, and CEO Tony Khan from making similar mistakes.
One thing that really pissed McMahon off and led to the above theory I mentioned, was the way Eric Bischoff lured his talent away. AEW has said they will not target WWE talent, choosing instead to rely on younger talent in the Indie wrestling world. Sure, they may being in the occasional former WWE star, but it’s doubtful it’d be under duplicitous circumstances like with Bischoff and WCW.
One thing that brings this to mind was an interview Jericho did when AEW was coming together where he said they didn’t want a war, but McMahon would wage one because they signed him. Since NXT appeared on USA on Wednesday nights across from AEW Dynamite, there’s little arguing with that.
In the end, AEW is offering a place where talent can go for creative freedom. They have exciting matches and their storylines are starting to really come together as they find their footing.
They may be a young promotion, but it looks like AEW is not going to repeat WCW’s mistakes, at least some of them. That and focusing strictly on what they’re doing instead of basing everything off what the WWE does gives hope that the AEW will survive going forward.
If nothing else, this is an awesome time to be a wrestling fan with all the promotions emerging. Let’s enjoy it while we can. It’s been twenty years since we last had this opportunity, and we never know what the next one will come.
