If there’s one knock on the WWE going back the last twenty years is they can not build up young talent consistently.
It’s been a bain for them as the only ones that really make their mark do so because they are supremely talented, but even then talent isn’t enough.
Steve Austin was a mid carder until they let him be himself. The Rock was hated by fans as Rocky Miavia (full disclaimer: I was one of his few fans) until the WWE started listening to fans and turned him heel and the Rock was born.
The same thing happened with Roman Reigns. Vince McMahon loves the good guys and thinks they should win, but he tends to force them into being faces and the fans rebel.
Now, Reigns is at the peak of his popularity due to turning full heel and being allowed to be more himself.
But it’s hit or miss with many of the WWE’s younger talent, and it could be simply because they’re brought into the company due to their character and talent.
They may then be shoe horned into what the WWE thinks will work.
But there’s no simple answer
Words of wisdom
AEW has the opposite effect. They allow the wrestlers to be themselves as Tony Kahn will listen to everyone’s ideas before making a decision.
This also gives the wrestlers more creative freedom as they can help mold and grow their character over the course of time.
Chris Jericho talked about this on Wrestling with Freddie podcast and he explained when he came to AEW and was the only recognizable face and had to build other stars quickly.
He also made sure to note that he wasn’t attacking the WWE as he left on good terms and loved his time there.
“This is not a WWE bash, I worked there for almost 20 years and I loved working for WWE, but one thing they still have an issue with, and you can see it if you watch the show is building new stars. They really have a problem with that and I don’t know why.”
“I realized early on kind of being the face of the company and the one guy the national audience knew besides Jim Ross, but the one guy that’s in the ring, and they knew Cody maybe but not really. Kenny and The Bucks were more independent or popular in other countries. I needed to make new stars as quickly as I could, Cody being one of them. Kenny Omega being another one.
“You look at my first few programs. Match three in AEW was against Darby Allin. Jungle Boy was right around that time. Then Jon Moxley who had to be rehabbed when he came from WWE because Mox was not Mox when he first showed up. He was still Dean Ambrose, the goofy guy who wasn’t funny doing all the stupid sh*t they made him do. We had to make him into a star right off that bat.
“All of those guys, if you look at the first six months pre-lockdown in AEW, I worked with all of them. So very quickly, we had 6, 8, or 10 guys shouldering the load. Four months after our first date, October 2nd, or three months, we went from an ad rev share to a contract I believe $160 million for 4 years because of the demos and ratings we got right out of the gate.”
It’s a tried and true method of having the big names work with others whether it’s in tag matches or one on one without making it a main event match.
Organically grown
Fans will tune in to see their favorite and get to see someone they may not have noticed or heard of before and that’s the start or a beautiful run.
It doesn’t always work as some just can’t connect with fans no matter how good they are, but they should at least be given a chance before revamping them.
In most cases, fans are attracted to someone that’s genuine and we can buy into and relate to. In AEW it comes across as organic because it is. We’re seeing the wrestler’s being their characters while the WWE refines their scripts and characters down to the tiniest detail.
Why do you think WWE has so many problems building young talent?
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