AEW has a lot going for it. A large bankroll? Check. Talented roster? Check. Few big stars at the top? Check. What’s this I see? A television deal without a good amount shows to even cement the product and sell it? Check. Buzz going into its debut TV show? Check.
The company’s style is a concern. I love the athletic approach of some of the matches and the storyline approach of other. It’s the full-throttle ring approach every week that makes me wary.
All Out Might Not Be The Best In-Ring Approach For A 2-Hour Show
AEW is made of wrestlers who really go all out in matches. There’s almost no concept of a B-match with these guys, just the A-game. It’s an extremely…dangerous approach in some ways. While it’s 100-percent possible to give fans 100-percent every show and in every match, it’s just not wise. The current wave of wrestlers—most of which will make up AEW’s roster—take that All Out approach in-ring.
That might be fine if the wrestler is on a schedule where they wrestle every weekend and have something to hold them down the rest of the week. Hell, it was ideal for when Impact Wrestling was based out of Orlando and ran all its shows from TV to PPV out of that studio. It works for Lucha Underground.
The oldest wrestling company in the world, CMLL in Mexico, has a couple of arenas that it owns and runs its weekly shows out of those builds. It’s done that for decades.
These are—or in Impact’s case, were—companies based out of one location or at least out of one city with multiple locations. It’s possible to do the hyper-athletic, high energy style of the current wave in a sizable promotion week if the company doesn’t have to travel as much or tapes multiple times a week.
This was actually one of the reasons some of the guys in WWE now stayed with TNA so long. AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, etc. could chill in Florida or even a state over, do the Impact! tapings, do the monthly PPV, get paid decently. I mean…if you don’t include the issue where some wrestlers weren’t getting paid or had to go on assistance back in 2011.
Outlook for AEW
It will be interesting to see how AEW handles this over time with PPVs and going live for two hours. It looks to be the future of wrestling and has a young roster. However, there are tons of lessons to be learned from promotions of the past.
Still, AEW has definitely put in months towards finding out how certain wrestlers can be used. As well as who can be pushed and who should have programs. We’ll how not just the debut show but the rest of the year pans out of them.
Personally, I believe they’ve got this but that drive to outdo the competition can lead to talent being rode hard.
