It's been 3 years. Thoughts on AEW?

[EZ: Brainy Bae]

Enough time has passed that the product is no longer finding itself and certain judgments can be made.

What I like:

- Big matches/shows deliver (for the most part)

- The acknowledgement of wrestling history/legends across different promotions. It's a great way to add continuity despite being a young promotion. Seen a lot of comments throughout the years that AEW feels like WCW 2.0 and it's not without merit

- The involvement of Impact/NJPW/other talent. It's a healthier model than WWE and good for the business overall, even if it may not be to the extent others want

- A willingness to course correct when something is not working. While this can also be bad, in that sometimes you have to be stubborn or go against the grain, generally it's resulted for the better

What I don't:

- The "tone" of the shows. Too much lightheartedness/insider terms/bad comedy that make it hard for me to buy Serious moments, especially at the top of the card. Doesn't help that from Bryan to Hangman to almost every program their idea of being serious is to add the word "Bitch" or joke about someone's balls. The substance of promos is poor and where too much leeway for talent can drag things. Punk and Kingston could really hold a seminar on why what you say is more important than how you say it

- Critical mismatch between the element of sports (tournaments, rankings, wins and losses "mattering") and Old-School Heat tactics (constant interference, beatdowns, ring usage etc). The blending of these is what makes pro wrestling work but AEW hasn't figured out that rules have to exist and be enforced for heat to matter. If there's no consequences (disqualifications, suspensions, fines etc) then faces are stupid for following the rules. It's how you end up with the Blind Ref trope. You don't have to use those consequences often, but by not using certain tools at your disposal you make yourself predictable. These things worked easily back in the day because a) you weren't producing new TV every week, and not every audience had seen every show and B) occasionally a committee/figurehead would lay down the law. Not saying I want Tony to be on TV but there has to be a better way than Schiavone saying Tony decided so-and-so for some things and not others. 

- Too many big/cool spots not leading to finishes. For as much creative freedom as wrestlers are given they sure box themselves too often into "this match has to end in a finisher" when certain spots already have the right oomph to them

- Less an issue than a personal preference but the World title scene feels too predictable for the high caliber of talent.  No one bought Kenny losing to anyone but Hangman because that story had to be told, and I'll have hard time thinking Hangman will lose to Bryan because Hangman Has To Be Established (despite being over and already having the title). To me being World champ means you have to face a murderer's row and it should be totally fine to lose without a defense when you have guys like Penta/PAC/Punk/etc around

- There's already been huge threads about the lack of spotlight on POC/women so I'll only mention that's still a concern, but one I think they're trying to address more 

[Cyno]

It reignited my love for American wrestling at a time when WWE had nearly murdered it and pissed on the corpse, Impact was still in its transition period between "LOLTNA" and the much more respectable product it is now, and ROH threw away the good will it had earned over the decades to a Matt Taven championship reign and the infamous MSG show. Outside of how poorly it does when it comes to giving women screentime relative to the men and the need for more prominent Black wrestlers, I really don't have any major real complaints. The contrivances they go through to let people get away with outside interference can make the refs look real stupid, but that's a minor annoyance at most.

Like, it's a real compliment to the company that the worst show I can remember them putting on made me react "that was alright, I guess." Meanwhile, that would be my reaction to an above-the-median Raw or Smackdown.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

I think it helped save the pro wrestling industry as a whole at a time where it was really needed. I don't even know how much worse off the alternative scene would be in the pandemic era if they hadn't established themselves right before it. Like all the people WWE cut in droves alone, the partnerships they were able to make with other companies we're still seeing grow, among other things.

For all the complaints or nitpicks some may have, I really like what they're doing right now, and I feel like there's nowhere to go but up. Glad they exist in my life.

[smokinvokoun86]

It saved my fandom and is probably my favorite wrestling promotion ever. It’s not perfect, no wrestling show is, but they hit about 90-95 percent of the time.

[Big BosskMan]

What I like:

- concerted effort to bring in known stars. Addition of Punk and Danielson, as well as secondary big players like Black and three fourths of UE. People who generally treat the business seriously and present it as such.
- forbidden door matches. Reminds me of the territory days.
- opportunities for good, young talent to get exposure, like Darby and MJF.
- an alternative to WWE.


What I don't like:

- overly staged high spots especially those involving dives to the floor.
- inconsistent booking. Garcia and 2.0 are all over TV for several weeks then disappear.
- too much ga-ga.
- Brandon Cutler.
- opportunities for bad young talent to get exposed by putting them in front of people too soon.
- the Codyverse.
- QT.
-

[Celgress]

If not for AEW I would have given up on Mainstream Pro Wrestling with the possible expectation of New Japan. I love AEW with every fiber of my being.

[CeilingFan]

I love AEW!

Not just for being a great alternative to WWE, but for also burning down the Forbidden Door.

[Chiral]

It's pretty much* everything I want in wrestling, and the growing roster has pretty much picked up a good chunk of my all time favorites. I was fortunate enough to go to All Out and Full Gear this year, and they were two of the best live wrestling shows I've ever seen. There are times when it feels like it's literally just catering to my specific wrestling tastes.

The weaker stuff for me is more just dull than actively crappy. Like Mark Henry's sleepy Elevation commentary during a match with people I don't care about is my bottom tier AEW, just boring stuff is the worst it gets most of the time.

*that pretty much being the more absurd wrestling stuff which doesn't fit with AEW's aesthetic a lot of the time but I would like a company that fills the Sports Entertainment Fun Dumbness™ void that WWE stopped doing a while ago regularly.

[Natural Born Farmer]

I really enjoy the more down to Earth, sports-style approach.

I can trust AEW not to run any storylines where two wrestlers were involved in supernatural hi-jinx together years before being on screen and now have to settle their differences in this very ring.

Even with the cartoonier characters like Luchasaurus they're leaning into the joke. I don't anticipate we'll be seeing any crappy AEW studios produced horror films featuring him in the future.

Basically it's nice to watch a program that doesn't treat me like an idiot for enjoying it.

[Kalmia]

Not perfect and has room for improvement, but the highs are so high that I find myself not really caring about the bad stuff.

I could do without the constant interruptions during backstage interviews or how telegraphed some of the high spots are, but I'll take a few pro-wrestling contrivances when the rest of the show is so much fun.

[warden]

It's a wrestling company

[markymark]

They gotta improve with the lighting and the camera work still missing spots, and also audio issues.

TBS move should also mean to stop holding back and put more competitive matches.

[ghost]

Made me a wrestling fan again after a LONG break. They are not perfect but still great.

[eJm]

First thing I’ll instantly say is that they’re still a work in progress. Some things they can afford to keep improving because of the fact they’re still a new company and some things less so.

But I feel this is the year where it sort of cemented they’re not going away unless something horrific happens with Turner during the likely-to-happen Warner/Discovery merger and there’s not really a reason to think that right now. They’re a destination and an alternative. Not only in talent but things like Martha Hart deciding to let AEW promote Owen’s legacy which is a big, big deal.

Overall, though, I look forward to AEW shows for the most part. Finding myself not watching some shows right away because of work/social arrangements/schedule (seriously, Rampage is on at, like, 3am here which…no) but when I watch a Dynamite, at worst, I feel that there was enough on one episode for me to take as a story moving forward and such.

If I were to say one big thing is that I do hope the TBS title allows the women a more prominent spot on the show. Ruby Soho should be on most shows facing people for the belt but also, there’s no reason at this point for more Shida/Deeb style feuds. They have been happening with Bunny/Ford vs. TayJay but you can flex a bit more and the nice thing about the reshuffling of wins/losses is that you can give different people those slots like Leyla Hirsh. Hell, with all the women who will be free agents by February, you have so many opportunities to have some really fun matches and feuds.

I’ll also add that All Out 2021 was one of the best experiences watching a show I had with my brother in years. Just the best from top to bottom (well, kinda top, the linkup from the phone to TV wasn’t working so we missed Miro/Kingston but after that, all smooth sailing).

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Dec 26, 2021 19:51:27 GMT -5 Big BosskMan said:

- inconsistent booking. Garcia and 2.0 are all over TV for several weeks then disappear

When was this? Because it feels like Garcia and 2.0 have barely taken a break between Dynamite and Rampage, and since the Kingston confrontations haven't really missed one week of television since Full Gear ended.

[Deleted]

It’s not a perfect company, but my lifelong wrestling fandom would have died without it. I appreciate that it tells a coherent story, and I really enjoy the product.

For my personal tastes AEW is absolute miles more enjoyable than WWE, and I’m just glad that we finally got the realistic choice to completely tune out of the overproduced dumpster fire that is WWE and still have a truly viable alternative as fans who don’t speak Japanese.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

Objectively it has good wrestling and booking.

For some reason, however, I can’t get as emotionally invested in it as others have. There’s some kind of block that still makes me go “eh….I guess.” to most of the product.”

[Sam Punk]

It's amazing that no matter how good the show is, they somehow keep getting better! It will be interesting to see if they can keep it going into 2022!

[Deleted]

The good:

-Angles are given time to breathe and play out, and only once did I feel utterly fatigued by the length of a storyline. Even then, real life caused that, so I can't be mad.

-Legends are neither jobbed out nor put over at the expense of future talent

-Talent are given time to grow and make mistakes

-While I'm sure there are guidelines, talent are definitely given more creative freedom than they'd get in the 'E.


Now for the bad:

-The women's division needs a bit more spotlight. So many stars to be made, and more minutes need to be given to them on Dynmaite/Rampage

-... Cody in general. Sorry, Cody. You seem like a cool guy, but you need SOMETHING.

-Some production elements could stand to be tweaked. They're not awful, but there are still some gaffes still and there that need to be addressed.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

In a nutshell, it’s great, I’m appreciative of it, I’m always looking forward to more.

Three years back, my hope was it’d somewhat mature and compared to where it was, it has. There’s been a lot of highs and minuscule lows.

My hope going forward is they continue to walk that line between characters/storytelling and wrassling and that they’re able to attract more viewers.

Edit: oh and come to Cali, Cowards.