What Things Do You Like and Dislike About AEW

[Mr Mario Mario]

Like: Dynamite is usually really good. Most matches in AEW are good. Most PPVs are top quality matches. The roster is great

Dislikes: Collision being a seemingly wasted opportunity week after week. I also feel like the storytelling at times could be improved in general. Like they have some good stories but it’s inconsistent. Also Chris Jericho

[HMARK Center]

Like: Emphasis on in-ring storytelling and character development. Can't say it's on the same level as NJPW in that regard, but it's ultimately what the show revolves around.

Dislike: Nearly every backstage promo getting quickly interrupted by someone walking in from just off-camera. They've done it a bit less lately, which is nice, but damn, what a worn out trope after awhile.

[mo]

Like: A viable, successful alternative to WWE that isn’t mind numbingly embarrassing like Russo and Dixie’s TNA.

It’s nice to be able to see wrestling styles that you otherwise wouldn’t see in mainstream North American wrestling.

Dislike: The habit of guys being pushed to the moon as a big deal only to be forgotten about once their big angle ends. Was disappointing a few years back especially when Wardlow and the Lucha Bros were pushed aside while MJF and the Young Bucks were still heavily featured after their big feuds were over.

[Peeetah]

Like: The actual roster and the commentary whichich is great

Dislike: The booking they have 5 hours of TV a week and there are ZERO interesting feuds, all three shows are boring right now i legit can't get through a full dynamite or collision and I don't even bother with Rampage. Tony needs to get some fresh blood on the booking team.

[kingoftheindies]

LIke-Presentation, commentary, in match storytelling

Dislike-Still work to do when a pivot is needed creatively (see Undisputed Kingdom currently)

[Denny Zen is Cooking™]

Like: Honestly, it restored my professional wrestling fandom in many ways. Since about 2008 WWE has been an overpolished, overproduced, buzzword-laden to the point of being cringe slog for me. For almost 11 years during the worst of WWE’s monopoly I watched almost no wrestling at all save for the occasional NJPW shows I was able to figure out how to download from mediafire (remember those days?). AEW is not perfect by any means, but it at least is a WRESTLING company to me. I think that’s why I come across as so hyper defensive about the merits of AEW sometimes…it’s so bizarre to me that so many of AEW’s biggest detractors purport to be fans of “old school” wrestling. AEW, for all its flaws, is far closer to a territorial promotion or even pre-1996 WCW than modern WWE which is 100% spectacle and showmanship first, wrestling second, to an extent that WWE goes out of its way to try and disassociate itself from being known as a wrestling company. I appreciate AEW so much for being an alternative that is at least some semblance of the wrestling that I used to bond with my dad watching growing up in North Carolina in the early 90s.

Dislike: There’s a lot. Most prominently the “new toy” syndrome others have already noted. Where the f*** is Ethan Page, for example. I think AEW has maybe tried to grow a little too quickly, rather than just focusing on the awesome product it has already built. Doing business with CM Punk, which was the ultimate monkey’s paw, is the biggest example of that. I vehemently disagree that AEW is any worse at storytelling than WWE, but I do think that Tony Khan is a creature of habit and AEW can become formulaic at times. Way too many shows will have multiple very similar angles/segments.

Overall though, I’m glad AEW exists and I probably wouldn’t watch wrestling if it didn’t. And wrestling has been a part of my life for more than 30 years.

[Johnny Flamingo]

Likes: The in ring product., the approach to storytelling TK uses, Young Bucks. I just dig the overall feel of the show.

Dislikes: the people who make a living off of trashing the show. Was a fan of the original ECW and there was a charm to ECW totally not having a care in the world. Was the luxury of them not having a tv deal during the Raven/Dreamer era and Austin trashing WCW/Hogan and Cactus playing a perfect trolling heel.

["American Cream" Dusty Loads]

Likes: The amount of bangers they put on. I never thought I’d see this kind of match quality in tv wrestling. The ppvs are generally worth the money and more often than not just pure wrestling, no ads, no boring promos. Commentary that doesn’t make me wanna rip my ears off. Bringing in wrestlers from other promotions, I’ve gotten out on to some dope shit from them. Eddie Kingston

Dislikes: wrestlers disappear after losing a feud. Feels like they lose all momentum after a loss.
Their lack of direction at times. I’ve never subscribed to the “wrestling is a variety show” school of thought.
MJF

[BigPoppaNasty]

Likes: The in-ring action is typically fantastic, feuds tend to feel very personal and merited, PPVs do a great job of presenting great in-ring action and conclusive finishes to feuds.

AEW does a fabulous job of making its titles and title matches feel important and being sure they typically always have a clean finish.

Dislikes: Spamming moves that look and are typically booked to be devastating into transition spots and then spamming transitions, the announce team, Chris Jericho, too many titles.

AEW also has a tendency to not continue an upward push for guys after they get huge wins or performances that the announcers and company put over as career-defining moments. They also do a dreadful job of bringing in a talent and establishing where that talent will be on the card going forward. They get a talent that presumably would be a clear main-event level guy and maybe start him there followed by months of whatever-the-f***ery before he's just another guy on the roster.

AEW almost always has a very entertaining wrestling program. I wish they had a bit more of the "sports entertainment" sometimes rather than just old guys who used to work that style.

I also found it funny reading the comments (primarily on Page 1) when most of the dislike comments were about people having negative comments about the company rather than ANYTHING they didn't enjoy about it.

[wankah]

I like about averything else, but that bald referee who isn't Knox really grinds my gears.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Okay, serious response:

What I like: The range in the types of wrestlers showcased (even though I do agree with Meltzer that *all* the major companies are developing more of a homogenized style). The typically fast pace of the ring work. They’re also good on letting talent develop the characters they started with. Better-than-average inclusivity and open mindedness. The roster puts in insane effort for their PPVs.

Dislike: Some of the interview material and presentation leans way too much into the “WE ARE THE PUREST RASSLIN” mentality and to me it just comes off more pretentious than anything. The way in which talent will have a hot performance streak and then not get used for weeks or perhaps months. And how Tony Khan can’t stop worrying about critics and formerly signed wrestlers he has beef with, when it’d be a better tactic for him to just ignore them and try to put on great shows in response.

[Hurbster]

Likes. I get to see wrestlers I would never normally see. Good wrestling.

Dislikes. Can't write a decent fued, it's all a bit dull sometimes. And you can't really criticise it without people jumping down your throat so I just don't bother anymore.

[A Platypus Rave]

Apr 7, 2024 20:30:53 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

LIke-Presentation, commentary, in match storytelling

Dislike-Still work to do when a pivot is needed creatively (see Undisputed Kingdom currently)

This has always been my biggest pet peeve with AEW... they'll write a story and if anything gets in it's way they'll go into a holding pattern that helps no one until they can go back to the original plan.

It ends up having people on the show spinning their wheels because who they are going to feud with aren't back yet... the most egregious example of this I can think of off the bat is Undisputed Era vs. The Elite, which ultimately didn't even happen they stretched it out so long that Bobby Fish's contract expired, and we got like one half hearted segment when Omega was around because Kyle was also injured.

[lucas_lee]

Likes: The matches, the diverse set of characters, and organic pushes of people into a higher card position.

Dislikes: TKs inability to pivot and him being so bullish in getting the original ending he wrote, even extending a feud longer than it should. The formula of an AEW show with tons of overbooking gets old after a while, they're doing a better job of spreading it out more. The random pushes then complete stop of pushes of people completely killing their momentum and wasting TV time with the push.

[CeilingFan]

I like Julia Hart. 

I dislike ROH Champions appearing on Dynamite or Collision.

[kingoftheindies]

Apr 8, 2024 5:41:39 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

Apr 7, 2024 20:30:53 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

LIke-Presentation, commentary, in match storytelling

Dislike-Still work to do when a pivot is needed creatively (see Undisputed Kingdom currently)

This has always been my biggest pet peeve with AEW... they'll write a story and if anything gets in it's way they'll go into a holding pattern that helps no one until they can go back to the original plan.

It ends up having people on the show spinning their wheels because who they are going to feud with aren't back yet... the most egregious example of this I can think of off the bat is Undisputed Era vs. The Elite, which ultimately didn't even happen they stretched it out so long that Bobby Fish's contract expired, and we got like one half hearted segment when Omega was around because Kyle was also injured.

Yeah the UE vs Elite is one. One of the reasons AEW's momentum came to a dead halt in 2022 was the holding pattern when everybody was hurt. I reference the Undisputed Kingdom because they spent months hyping the reveal but with Cole and MJF both still being months away from being able to compete they basically stopped all momentum for the UK because you cannot build a top faction around Roddy as the main wrestler

[thecrusherwi]

Likes:
It's a true big budget alternative to WWE that hasn't existed since WCW.
I've been exposed to many great talents I likely wouldn't have seen otherwise.
Their shows are short and easy to watch.

Dislikes:
The booking can be meandering at times.
When bringing in talents from international promotions, I wish they would do a little more to establish them at the outset for those of us who don't watch much non-US wrestling.
And honestly the thing I dislike the most is that their PPVs are $50 and growing in frequency. The WWE Network/Peacock era has made that price point basically unacceptable to me and I have to pick and choose which shows to buy. And with no streaming deal to host their archive and no timely and/or discounted home media releases, I have to choose between not seeing important events (I still haven't seen the MJF/Joe Title Change) or resorting to nefarious methods to see some of the shows.

[Ecks Ecks Ringout Ecks Ecks]

Like: the insanely good match quality, roster depth, commentary that's a joy to listen to, angles with great continuity and little details that are allowed to be subtle, rather than holding my hand and bludgeoning me over the head with explanation.

Dislike: worked shooty things, dangerous head/neck bumps (I trust the talent, they just scare me every time), and not having as much silly/wacky content as the company's earlier days.

[Lupin the Third]

Like: Hangman
Dislike: The lack of Hangman

[The Ichi]

Apr 8, 2024 15:12:08 GMT -5 Lupin the Third said:

Like: Hangman
Dislike: The lack of Hangman

Me but also with MJF.