10 Things AEW Stopped Doing That We Really Want To See Again

WhatCulture

AEW is still Elite - but is it still All Elite?

Transcript

00:00 You know how this goes, as a wrestling fan we can never be happy.

00:04 We give ourselves a few weeks here and there, but otherwise we are looking for things to

00:08 make us mad.

00:09 We're all very, very strange.

00:11 There are some things that do come and go from the world of predetermined grappling,

00:15 however, that can be quite sad, which is exactly what we're going to talk about today.

00:20 So I am Simon from WhatCulture, please do subscribe, and these are 9 things AEW stopped

00:25 doing that we really want to see again.

00:28 9.

00:29 Unorganised Chaos

00:30 Given what we do know about wrestling, why wouldn't you go out of your way to ensure

00:33 some individuals have your back?

00:35 Because if you don't, you're going to get your ass whooped.

00:37 Because of this though, all elite wrestling has fallen into a habit of post-match beatdowns.

00:42 Unless you are a loner, which few are, you will be saved by those you've associated

00:46 yourself with, as that's the whole point.

00:47 There's nothing wrong with this either, but it's like anything, if you do it too

00:51 much you cross the line.

00:52 This wasn't always the way though, as way back in 2019, Tony Khan would measure it a

00:57 bit differently.

00:58 When Hangman Adam Page defeated Sammy Guevara on Dynamite, the cowboy just won to establish

01:03 himself as a threat to the main event scene, leaving the inner circle to enhance their

01:07 feud with the elite later on during a contract signing.

01:09 So they still got their revenge, it just wasn't directly after the match.

01:14 Which also ties into…

01:15 8.

01:16 Realistic Run-ins

01:17 In all walks of wrestling, you are going to get run-ins, be it due to a pal coming

01:20 out to help a buddy, or a super good guy arriving to try and smack a villain in the face.

01:25 If they just leg it out there it does make sense, but that's not what we do is it?

01:30 Instead we hit their entrance music and make sure to milk it for all it's worth.

01:34 Now again, I do love this, but is it realistic?

01:36 Of course not.

01:37 It didn't last long in AEW, but in those early days it did seem to be something they

01:41 were fighting against.

01:42 Again, though, it's important to be realistic, but you know what's better?

01:46 Having a whale of a time.

01:48 7.

01:49 Ending a Program

01:50 Do you remember when Cody Rhodes challenged Chris Jericho for the AEW World title and

01:53 didn't win?

01:54 Well, we drew a line under that story and we moved on.

01:57 It was the same when The Young Bucks defeated FTR or when Hangman Adam Page and Kenny Omega

02:01 broke up.

02:02 We had a very distinct arc that had a start, a middle and an end.

02:05 Lately, however, this has been a bit more wishy-washy.

02:08 It likely comes down to the fact that all elite wrestling is trying to balance so much,

02:11 but the likes of Shida vs. Deeb, Dante Martin vs. Team Taz and pretty much everyone who

02:15 was tangled with Andrade hasn't got much finality at all.

02:19 In fact, a lot of these feuds just stopped and nobody knows why.

02:22 Well, I Guy Black has kind of fallen into this hole too, and while it hasn't stopped

02:25 anyone I've mentioned from growing as a performer, sometimes you just want a full stop so the

02:30 tale can be wrapped up in a nice little package.

02:32 And that doesn't mean you have to go the other way either and run things into the ground,

02:35 but an ending is important, otherwise you're just left wondering.

02:39 Like Shaq, for example.

02:40 And if you know where he went, please let me know.

02:43 6.

02:44 They'll Pop For Anything

02:45 Apparently, it doesn't matter that all elite wrestling has crazy hot crowds, because yes,

02:50 they'll react to anything, and just to summarise, isn't that the whole point?

02:54 No matter what three initials are above the door, you should be aiming to cultivate an

02:57 atmosphere where every single person in attendance wants to make a lot of noise.

03:01 It makes any event ten times more fun.

03:04 If we are being honest though, this run of white hot love may be over.

03:07 It is just the nature of the beast, but as AEW grows, fans are becoming less likely to

03:12 just cheer because it's cool to cheer with a few Dynamites quite noticeably having more

03:15 subdued audiences than we're used to.

03:17 A big reason for this could be the fact the tabling schedule is far more intense as we

03:21 try and record our flagship Wednesday show, as well as dark Elevation and Rampage.

03:26 Given that the main event for the latter can sometimes be happening after almost three

03:29 hours of grappling, it's no wonder some folk may be tired as a long ass day.

03:33 I'm not really sure what the solution would be, because this is done to cut costs, and

03:37 always has to come first.

03:39 5.

03:40 The Opening Match

03:41 I'm starting to sound like a broken record now, but yet again I do see the upside.

03:45 While having a banger of a fight to start every Dynamite is always really cool, you

03:48 do need to spice the format up here and there, otherwise you run the risk of falling into

03:53 a pattern.

03:54 This is why the likes of CM Punk and Adam Cole have gone full on sports entertainment

03:57 here and there and kicked things off with an opening promo, and look, with Punk it tied

04:01 into the MGF feud and that thing was gold.

04:04 With that said, we have seen that for the last 20 years.

04:07 So when AEW began putting wrestling at the front of its wrestling show, fans obviously

04:11 ate it up, because why wouldn't we?

04:13 No matter what, this is what we tune in for.

04:15 It also gives you a proper adrenaline rush that gets you pumped up for the rest of the

04:19 show, and is definitely something All Elite Wrestling should keep more often than not.

04:22 The credits roll, the entrance music hits, away we go.

04:25 And you're always going to get raw comparisons when you do do somebody grabbing a microphone,

04:29 and no that's not fair, but nobody said it would be.

04:32 4.

04:33 All Star Matches

04:34 I'm pretty sure if Tony Khan had kept doing this it would have blown up in his face, but

04:38 man, did AEW like giving PPV worthy matches away on TV?

04:42 But it did plant the seeds for the inevitable.

04:44 Expectation levels went through the roof and then wobbled when it wavered.

04:48 The replacement to this was taking a proper star and putting them against a young up-and-comer

04:52 or a veteran that could withstand a loss, and that simply was never going to be as fun

04:56 how could it be?

04:57 It does serve a purpose though, and really when we were doing this AEW was desperate

05:01 to get their name out there.

05:02 What better way to do that than with dream fights people had always wanted to see?

05:06 It is another case of the promotion coming into its own then and getting ready for the

05:09 long haul, or basically, we'd been spoiled.

05:13 There could be struggles here too, mind.

05:14 There are so many top tier talents that you can't beat right now, eventually a lot of

05:18 questions may be asked.

05:20 3.

05:21 Making Rampage distinct from Dynamite

05:23 I'm not entirely sure we can judge this just yet as it's too early, but there's definitely

05:27 been a shift in the thought process.

05:29 When Rampage kicked off initially it did feel like a very match heavy production, before

05:33 finding its feet where it would often go fight, angle, fight, angle, fight, angle, the end.

05:37 For one reason or another, and I would guess that big roster comes into play again, it

05:41 is now just a barrage of content or as much as we can squeeze into that one hour.

05:45 It is an absolute blast as you're never bored and never know what's coming, but on occasion

05:49 it can be a little bit too much.

05:51 I still don't get how they fit in as much as they do within 60 minutes, but sometimes

05:54 it can feel like we're sacrificing certain stories just to get to the next beat.

05:58 I still believe Rampage is going to come into its own at some point, especially if Ricky

06:02 Starks, Keith Lee, Swerve, Strickland and Powerhouse continue to make it their own.

06:06 Those guys are smashing it.

06:08 2.

06:09 Listening

06:10 On the one hand, you have to listen to your audience.

06:12 If you don't you will create unrest and a disconnect will begin to form.

06:16 We have seen that time and time again.

06:18 On the other side to this though is that there are some individuals who definitely should

06:21 not be listened to.

06:23 If we did that the whole format would be scrapped, and never forget why AEW definitely does want

06:27 to keep that hardcore base, extending it to welcoming the more casual supporter is equally

06:31 as important, without both you can't grow.

06:34 Herein lies the reason though that not every single thing is being switched just because

06:38 the audience was vocal, as that mentioned audience has changed.

06:41 Far more newcomers have found their way along for the ride, and whether you like it or not,

06:45 their voice also counts too.

06:46 It's why any TV time or elite wrestling can get as vital as they try out new ideas,

06:51 but it cannot be like it was in 2019.

06:54 The company is so much bigger.

06:56 If you want to compare it to your favourite band playing the local bar before finding

06:59 their way to huge arenas, that would be fair.

07:01 We're just at another level now, and with that comes great responsibility.

07:06 1.

07:07 Brightening up the audience

07:08 And no, I don't mean reading them books or teaching them math, I am talking about

07:11 the physical act of lighting the crowd up in areas so we can see their beaming faces.

07:15 It's a ploy AEW utilised so much in the early days, to the point it got noticed all

07:20 the time.

07:21 It made the whole visual feel fresh too, and actually seeing fans lose their minds was

07:24 very entertaining.

07:25 To be fair, Mr Khan believes that trying to recreate that sporting, combat atmosphere

07:30 is the way to go, and he wouldn't be wrong.

07:32 I mean, ratings are up at the moment, so it's not like this is proving to be a huge

07:35 flop and maybe even Warner requested it, and if they do that, nobody has a choice anyway.

07:40 It was a nice friendly touch though, that hopefully one day could rear its head again

07:44 once more.

07:45 [Music]

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