AEW’s Identity Issue
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- Опубликовано: 3 ноя 2023
- A deep dive into AEW’s identity issue.
#aew #aewdynamite #wrestling
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There’s a lot of bad faith criticism out there as of late with AEW (including in this comment section already).
Recognize the grifters vs the people who actually wanna support the product.
I know who the Grifters there is a few podcasts like that, hence why their numbers show
Damn spot on bro! SOme of these folks are the same people that orgasm over WrestleTix pics of the HardCam side of AEW shows.
Some get too personal with the criticism you can tell it a mile away!!!
@@tranquiloclub50 This is why wrestling promotions going national (and international) in the 1980's instead of staying in a territorial system was kind of a bad idea, because once one promotion became successful nationwide (WWF/WWE) then some fans started to think that every other national promotions need to be like them. Yes, on the surface going national brought in huge bucks, but one thing you did not have to worry about in the territorial days is the WWF style of wrestling that was only shown in the Northeast taking over the minds of other wrestling fans across the country like they do today. WWE, AEW/ROH, TNA, NWA, MLW, New Japan and others should all have different styles of wrestling from one another.
As an avid follower of alternative wrestling promotions and your incredible commentary on this one in particular; i gotta give you a "hell yeah!" on this piece.
A lack of identity is exactly the conundrum they have been facing; and it is hard to give honest commentary on a product without talking about its shortcomings. To do so would actually be hypocritical of what you have set out to do with your channel. Thank you as always for publishing your voice.
As someone who primarily watches WWE and occasionally AEW one of the things I have noticed is there is a difference in how HHH's booking compared to Vince. For example, Gunther it was awhile ago but if you remember there were reports that Vince wanted to bury him on TV shortly before he was originally ousted, and HHH meanwhile has let Gunther become one of the must see attractions of RAW.
There's up and coming talent to look for be it the Creed Brothers, or Wes Lee or Carmelo Hayes. Of course the obvious weak point on AEW booking the women's division I think can be simplified in one statement: WWE had more women's matches at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia then AEW had at Wembley. I know people have tried to handwave it away but I think it can't be dismissed even by diehard AEW fans, HHH taking over has rattled Tony Khan. The multi day rant on Twitter after the Tuesday head to head didn't help disprove that notion either.
What I think gives H an advantage is he isn't trying to do everything alone. HBK for example is in charge of NXT. I think Tony needs to delegate. He has countless brilliant wrestling minds backstage like Christopher Daniels. Let them take over booking the tag team division or the women's division or Ring of Honor There's too much going on for everything to be handled by one guy.
I want AEW to succeed because more alternatives means more jobs and that means wrestlers and the countless other people backstage responsible for making Dynamite & Collision happen every week have jobs & can provide for their families.
I think the issue is actually is to many cooks in the kitchen. It's touched on in the video but a lot of people brought in don't see the vision of AEW. Tony wants to delegate and let people have a voice. But I think that has led to things to be all over the place.
There is no proof that Vince hated Gunther, under Vince Gunther began his undefeated streak and IC title reign, when Vince returned to the helm briefly earlier this year he was booked like a monster.
@@user-uz2jo5hw1b There was reports Vince wanted to bury him, after the R-Truth independence day segment, and that Vince wasn’t happy with how the segment went down and the reaction or lack thereof from the crowd.
@@kingvampstan There's a lot of "reports" of things, there was never any evidence of that since not once did the Gunther push show any signs of slowing down.
@@kingvampstan Reports from people who werent there and just throw stuff at a wall for clicks.
TNA sticking around this long gives me hope AEW isn't going anywhere. But man TK needs to step back and let some pros handle it.
TK Definitely needs a creative team
FACTS dude.
Things were better when he was actually running things. "The pros" are the ones making everything look and sound like WWE Main Event. If anything, what he should do going forward - and his dad is part of this - is concentrate on running AEW and finding other people who can do his jobs at Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars.
@@michaelfarrow5817aew always sucked you mark.
TNA doesn’t have a roaster of over a 100 superstars so they can still make there money and pay there 10 superstars
Like I said before, as soon as Vince McMahon retired from being part of creative and Triple H took over. Aew no longer was the alternative because of that. I want this company to succeed but they really need to get their act together and it all starts with Tony khan.
I actually enjoyed RAW this week because its structured pretty well.
I believe aew will bounce back I know it's cold right now but aew is still young at Tony Khan is still new to the wrestling business he has a good knowledge and vision of what aew needs to be and I'm going to support them no matter what a let's be honest WWE it's not lighting the world on fire Triple H is not even that good of a Booker and he got his problems too I don't think Triple H is all that great as people claim he is he got a long way to go as well
I dunno I peek into wwe occasionally n it's still the same old . There good at what they do n there audience lov it but it's all about the music catchphrase n the finish move . All there roster is a copy of cena n ortan.
@@johnbeal6114I'm sorry but no more excuses for Tony Khan because it's getting annoying. WWE may not be Lighting on fire but they're still doing good.
@@thecharmcityplayerbrandona8827 judging by the ratings and how to stock market is right now WWE is not good and Monday night Raw did 1.3 what's their excuse
Tranquilo has an important announcement.
As a day one fan myself, I love when you speak for us Tranquilo. Thank you, you’ve hit the nail on the head every single time
FACTS
Same
Exactamundo!!
This post needs to be his description of the video. Facts.
thats wat you think it doesnt need to grow call me a typical fanboy if you want wont argue @@Tommaso-nf5my
I am enjoying face MJF, he is combining humor and drama in an effective way.
I think Kahn is just in a slump after the Punk heartbreak. Also, all the injuries.
I think my biggest issue with AEW today is the lack of roster cohesion, specially in the women’s roster. I wish they have more stables and relationships with interesting dynamics.
My other issue is Dynamite’s crappy red and blue graphics! I really miss the colorful style from early years:(
AEW’s first two years was absolutely awesome, outstanding matches and incredible moments like : Omega vs Moxley, Lucha Brothers vs Young Bucks, Hangman vs Danielson. CM Punk returning to wrestling after 7 years, Adam Cole debuting and Bryan Danielson returning as the “ American Dragon “, Hangman and Kenny Omega story. But now we have Paul Wight teaming with Omega, Ric Flair most likely gonna wrestle at his age when he shouldn’t and Tony Khan having announcements every two weeks and saying stuff that he could’ve announced on twitter etc
I get your point, especially the "TK has an announcement", but for the rest I don't think the picture is that bleak: Paul Wight is likely (hopefully) just put over Hobbs by taking an impressive power-move, and Flair's presence seems to be exclusively linked to Sting's retirement.
The spotlight at the moment is still mostly on younger guys like MJF, BC Gold, Darby, the Acclaimed, young girls like Julia, Willow and Skye, so I'm not too concerned yet.
@@ROMANTIKILLER2Stop it man Paul Wight can barely walk he has no reason to be in a ring.
@ROMANTIKILLER2 why would it be a multi-year deal if it's just for Sting's retirement?
and your point is
Tranquilo Club and Simon Miller are the only people on RUclips I can hear AEW criticism from without getting even remotely mad about it thanks to the lack of bad faith or tocixity. Videos like this one, even if I disagree with some stuff (goofy wrestling for life ✊), make me go "hmm interesting" instead of "lol this guy's just a hater"
I feel the same way. He ran down the issues thoroughly without having to shout and yell like certain podcasters or those who just simply jump on the latest anti-AEW discourse they got on Reddit and Twitter, esp the ones who want it to become more like WWE. That’s constructive criticism I can get behind. And those are all very valid issues that should be addressed and hopefully this gets heard more from TK and AEW upper management.
Well that's just because they understand the difference of critiquing vs just complaining
That's true :) Even when i disagree in a good percentage with tranquilo (in this video).
And by the way "tranquilo" means something like "relaxed" in portuguese 🇵🇹, spanish and italian. Good name for the channel.
Most of Wrestling youtubers are failed influencer wannabes trying to get that algorithm push by shilling to WWE. They are just like political grifters but for wrestling. Simon and Tranq are just guys who really like wrestling.
I love good-faith critiques of AEW like this.
Keep up the good work.
There's only one problem I have with AEW: its biggest star is its promoter. TK gets more screen time, appearances, and overall attention than everyone else. MJF tried to promote himself more often and gets shutdown by Tony. His talent should be all over the place. You have people like Darby who should be appearing at the X Games. Danhausen should definitely be in an ambassador role. TK should help fund the projects Mox wants to get into. Cultivate and grow your talent. Ingrain them into the culture and you'll reap its rewards
The greatest asset Tony Khan ever had was a burnt out, out of touch booker in charge of WWE creative. Now the burnt out, out of touch booker is Tony Khan.
Mistakes happen. A lull in booking happens (it will happen to Triple H a year or so from now too). That’s fine. As a fan, you can accept that. What I can’t accept is going away from the macro-strategy that made you successful in the first place: I cannot believe how many old guys are on AEW TV right now. It is the absolute opposite of what AEW was supposed to be. Tony said he was going to be too smart to repeat the mistakes of WCW and TNA, yet that’s exactly what he’s done.
Sure the honeymoon period is over but TK has time to improve on the areas he’s lacking in
Let's be honest, the only reason Tony Khan was doing good was because Vince McMahon was in charge of creative at the time.
I still believe aew will bounce back right now they in this cold period but I still believe aew will be back being awesome
I believe AEW lost that excuse when they made the all in 23 PPV. They’re major leagues now, not minor leagues anymore.
@@thecharmcityplayerbrandona8827 That’s hyperbolic and you know it.
@@memuno6281 this is kind of my thoughts too. They aren't the plucky upstart anymore, they are the established number 2 brand in the US if not the world and are now having some MAJOR growing pains. I do think AEW will bounce back, they just have to find their new identity because they have outgrown their old one.
Prime video. I’m a WWE guy, but I love what AEW was at the start. It’s what brought me back into wrestling after a 10 year hiatus. AEW has something special, but I’m afraid they may soon lose it if they keep going down this same path.
AEW's initial success has more to do with the state of the WWE at that time. Fans would actively get behind a wrestler to watch them get buried or their gimmick changed inexplicably. The WWE spent years abusing the fans trust so as soon as rival product that seemed to have more than a promise of funding and was supported by fan favorites like Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho. Indy fans were always gonna watch but those WWE fans where who helped push the companies success. They did have missteps with early concepts. The nightmare collective was just poorly thought out for example. The Early Dark Order could of worked but they never gave them a motivation to share with the audience. A group with goals and tangible agenda can be followed, cheered, and booed. It needed a strong leader figure and a clear motivation. This issues pops up with a huge number of AEWs "Stables". They throw guys together into groups but without a reason other than we were bros in NJPW or Mexico, or RoH, or Indies....its pointless. The Records were pretty much the same. They didn't create tension with the records or clearly define brackets. Why does a lose matter outside of a number underneath my name during my entrance. Show winners using their record to push for matches and maintain that a good record grants influence. Plus it doesn't matter if your going for a more competitive image when you have Matt Hardy teleporting and a guy whose whole gimmick is sloth style.
In what you consider the golden era all AEW really had going for it was the "5 Star Matches". Those were something fans couldn't see on WWE TV and it drew them in for awhile in amazement. Of course the problem with those matches is overexposure. You see your first young bucks match and its like holy shit these guys are incredible....then the second is wow that was great....third is like ok pretty good....and by the fourth it's like oh the bucks are wrestling. Sure there is a division of wrestling fans that love that style and will watch, but the average fan loses interest in it pretty quick. It's the same pattern with hardcore matches. Casual fans are how you grow and those fans will buy a match that you sell them not a match that should be great because it has Meltzer's 6 star people. The worse match in the world will be remembered if you sell it to fans. Until Tony starts selling his product and creates a reason for fans to care about AEW and its wrestlers its not going to move past the hardcore audience it has. If thats where they want to be then they are doing a good job.
I don't watch AEW (isn't broadcasted in my country) but I watch all of your videos and love how you talk about this product so passionately, much appreciated!
There's piracy, you know
Eurosport pe aata hai bro
What are u even saying? AEW is broadcasted in Eurosports in India.
Eurosports
@@sarfarazhussain5411 I am not from India
Hey Tranquilo! Always love your videos. One thing I'd like you to think about and possibly do a video on with AEW. You talk about 2021 as the "golden era" of AEW which I tend to agree with. However, I think there might be a factor you've overlooked since 2021. I think that 2021 might be the ONLY year AEW had their full core roster healthy. You had the Elite all there with Omega on top as the true heel stable. Hangman was your top face chasing him. MJF and Punk got in their feud. After Hangman won he had to face the likes of a new Danielson and Cole. Then what happened?
Omega leaves for a year
Punk wins and is injured
Danielson injured and can't face ZSJ
Cole injured at Forbidden Door
MJF leaves over contact
Mox replaces Punk
Punk returns and gets hurt again and we have Brawl Out
MJF returns but has no Punk feud
We lose Punk and the Elite for months
Hangman gets injured
We finally get MJF as champ without Punk match
Finally get a healthy roster and Danielson hurt again before All In
Punks comes back and is fired after 2 months with still no MJF feud
MJF and Cole have great story most likely building to Cole turn.
Cole hurt again.
I think AEW has just had their legs cuts out from underneath them repeatedly after 2021 and no pun intended just couldn't start running again. They NEED a full and healthy roster and haven't had one since 2021. But I agree with most of your points. Just something to think about.
Catering to Casuals doesn't mean make it more like WWE. It means to make it so new people who don't know much about wrestling outside the WWE to be interested. Highlighting MJF as much as they are now is a big example of making it good for Casuals.
But yet their numbers are free falling, so not only are they not getting casuals, but they're losing the diehards...
@@N8_Dogg Because they have him on too early with no incentive to stay for the rest of the show.
Like I know what the House of Black is, and you probably do, but do the casuals know?
The reason bloodline story worked so well is because you had someone on top who has the look, the charisma and now the mic skills.
Put Sami Zayn alone in a big storyline and see how it goes. People don't want to see average Joes no matter how many moves they can do.
I keep saying this, but it kind of amazes me that every time I chat with people watching AEW live, the general vibe especially since All Out is pretty positive: lots of matches people like, some good character/gimmick developments, overall strong stuff. Wait a day or so, and the discourse surrounding the show suddenly turns sour for reasons that feel hard to keep track of; one person says "there are no stories", another says "too many stories", one says "too much like WWE" while another says "not enough like the pro wrestling I know", etc.
I've got my own complaints, of course (Shida not getting stronger storylines as champion, the tag division losing some focus for various reasons, etc.), but I don't know, I think we're just at a point where many are going to put everything this company does under a microscope in a way they likely won't for WWE; this isn't inherently bad, strong analysis is healthy, but it just seems like AEW's got people from all angles wanting it to be all kinds of different things, meantime I'm just sitting here enjoying the weekly shows and PPVs. Some episodes are better than others, but I don't feel like I've wasted my time on it, and that's all I ask.
I used to love AEW so much but after some time, I stopped caring. I wondered why. There were so many reasons. One, they signed so many people and then tried to jam everyone to get TV time that everything just feels the same. It was always about factions all out brawl. Two, there is a significant lack of character arcs or depths. Most of the wrestlers' characters are "I am good at wrestling". That's it. I remembered first watching Santana's promo and his passion, he won me over with just one video. I totally understood where he was coming from and his motivations. I wanted to see more of him. It is just that easy. Three, Jeff Jarrett and Ric Flair. I used to defend AEW a lot by saying that Chris Jericho, Sting, and other ex WWE legends were there to put over young talents. I used to say that we need some veterans to establish the legitimacy of the product by bringing in more viewers first as it was still a new company and to help the younger talents. However, the moment AEW signed Jeff Jarrett and throw him into so many Tag Team title matches. I lost so much interest. There were so many tag teams that can be given the spotlight with good storytelling but no. Why Jeff Jarrett? He is 56 for crying out loud. And now Ric Flair. I am done. Don't even get me started on the plethora number of titles which made all the titles except for the AEW World Championship feels absolutely worthless. MJF and Starks are the two remaining people I really care about and I am glad that MJF is still the world champion. I am glad that there were still some good stories left and some great promos. But the biggest problem with AEW is how 90% of it feels like filler and I don't see this changing anytime soon because Tony has proven himself to be a crybaby that whines at every criticisms he receives.
I appreciate your criticism of AEW you generally say what I feel beautifully and concise. I have personally found myself still excited to watch AEW but have also been finding more reasons to be frustrated with the company and their decisions.
These are all very good critiques. AEW while still very fun at points today, it definitely does feel all over the place. I remember those promises they made back in 2019, and as time went on, it definitely feels like another standard wrestling promotion with sports entertainment and that, rather than being that true alternative to WWE like they were at first. Hearing you state all these criticisms in the most tranquilo way, makes me respect you all the more. You are a huge fan, but you also don’t fanboy into the company, and actually judge them properly as you should. Everything has flaws, even the most perfect things in this world have flaws, so you are not a hypocrite. You are simply stating facts, and here’s hoping AEW can hear this out, and actually change things for the better as we head into 2024 and above.🤞🙏
FACTS dude.
It was the beginning of the end when Cody walked. That meant it became a sinking ship or failure in the eyes of the man who made it happen.
The ROH thing really hit me. I can’t stress how annoying it is that a guy like Eddie Kingston doesn’t get any AEW tv time cause he’s got the ROH world title
I am really convinced that Vince McMahon removal paired with the Brawl Out debacle killed AEW momentum, because without the Boogeyman on one side and their top free agent acquisition on theirs, they lost all of the appeal to lapsed wrestling fans and in the last year they basically went from being the WWE alternative to becoming WWE lite
Thank you for this, I pray Tony gets his act together, and leave the Twitter drama alone.
You are the kind of fan AEW needs. I do a lot of bashing AEW, but deep down I watn them to succeed.
Not sure why you criticised the current MJF face run, its arguably the best thing aew has doen in years, and has that human element just like hangman page did during the elite storyline
Really hope someone in aew watches this and listens thank god theres tranquilo club to get the message out there
Totally
I was a fan from day 1 and was at several shows in the NY area - including the first two Grand Slams. But I haven't been into AEW lately and a lot of it is because their identity had flaws from the start - that are growing and getting worse.
(1) That "fresh" superstar roster wasn't sustainable or genuine --- Very few wrestling fans in the 2010s followed ROH, NJPW, AAA, etc....weekly because it was too much content and some of these shows were difficult to view regularly without serious effort. So when WWE was declining in quality, there was buzz about people like the Lucha Bros or the Bullet Club/Elite. And it was an absurdly positive buzz because most people only knew them from a few big matches or highlight reels/compilations. You didn't see the week-to-week. So-So promos. The not-so-good matches. So having the "best wrestlers in the world" in one company for one show was a HUGE draw that couldn't sustain itself.
After a couple years, we see their flaws. Kenny was a great performer, but he had a lot of injuries. He wasn't that guy from the highlight reels and the others lost their shine in other ways. So how do you renew that? Who do you hire? Your options are "big names" from WWE who were "wasted" and could be "used better" in AEW. These guys have name recognition, tv experience, polish, etc... they make sense on paper as the 'perfect' hire. But having been on TV for so long, they also come to you as a partially expired good. Their goodwill and hype is already 2/3 used up and you run the risk of looking like a second-rate company by hiring too many late in career "castaways." So do you hire from the indies or NJPW and repeat what worked before? Hire who? With AEW around, American fans stopped paying close attention to NJPW, AAA, etc... So nobody there is a big draw - like the Elite were. Look at all of the signings that should have been a big deal. Jay White led Bullet Club and nobody seems to care when he had AEW appearances. Same with RUSH and Will Osperey. You could build your own talent. But look at how much viewership dipped when the main title feud was the four pillars feuding with each other. They're not there yet, despite lots of pushing and effort. Tony hired all three of these types of wrestlers in great quantities because he'd get a pop in ratings and a big moment on the show..... until he wound up with more people than he could manage.
The roster was a draw in 2019 in ways that are impossible to repeat in 2023/2024.
(2) AEW was the fan's alternative to WWE. It's the "Anti-WWE." That works when WWE was in decline and people wanted different. But when WWE is thriving and WWE-like ideas are hitting, that concept doesn't work so well. What's the Anti/Opposite of popular??? Look at the ratings, AEW and WWE have overlapping fanbases. AEW couldn't hit a million consistently until NXT moved to a different night and AEW's ratings slumped around the same time WWE's picked up.
When you say people are disingenuous or working against AEW's best interests when they suggest changes that would make the show more like WWE - you're looking at the suggestion as an attack because you're thinking of it as WWE at its worst execution. They're thinking of when WWE nailed those concepts and did them well. It's a catch-22. No win scenario. If you become too much like WWE and disregard what you were before - you turn into TNA and people ignore you. Who wants Great Value WWE when you can get actual WWE? It's a recipe for failure. At the same time, when WWE is popular, the sliver of people who want something different gets smaller. It's absolute smallest, since some AEW fans jump ship. If you "stay true" you get a consistent rating of only the most avid fans. It's a recipe for mediocrity. A 700-800k Wednesday and 500k Saturday indefinitely.
TNA went through this and did it all wrong. AEW is following that failed playbook. Hiring every major WWE release. Bringing back guys like Flair. Might as well hire Russo while they're at it.
I really liked AEW but don't see how they can improve their situation without breaking ground on something new. Some sort of idea or draw that hasn't had a chance to fail yet. Because all of the traditional options for the #2 company look grim.
Thank you SO MUCH! I've been frustrated with AEW's descent into sports entertainment for a couple of years now, all your criticisms were on point.
The most needed video we all needed. Thank you bro, this felt like an Aspirin for the headache AEW is nowadays
AEW nowadays to me is like post endgame mcu
It’s not the hiring of WWE guys that hurt the company. Tony never had a long term vision. It’s really that simple.
If your entire vision is “we aren’t wwe”, it has a expiration date. Being anti something is not being pro something.
I am a casual wrestling fan, I watch a little of all promotions but nothing religiously. This year, I've completely stopped watching AEW, other than the occasional analysis video on YT. They've got nothing to keep me interested. If I see something i like, it's gone or undone in the next show. There's random stables of people going in and out. I genuinely wish them well and I dont want to see people lose their jobs, but until something fundamentally changes, AEW has given me no reason to care any more.
Based af video. I went to see Title Tuesday last month and was so incredibly hyped. Now, tonight I'm gonna see Collision, and while I'm still excited, it's not quite the same feeling. This has been such an up and down year for AEW. At least tonights card is mainly focused on newer stars.
I still enjoy AEW week to week. But yeah, I think a lot has changed in the landscape and you addressed most of it. It shouldn't be TNA or WCW, it needs to be AEW and get back to its roots. I do have something that might revamp how we feel. AEW needs their own Americanized-version of the G1, with the winner headlining All-In.
Dude, saying exactly what I’ve been feeling as of late! Great video
Day 1 AEW fan here and a follower of mainly your tweets.
I'm liking this before watching. I know you get it
Bravo! Thanks for saying what a lot of the "Day One Fans" are thinking.
I 100% agree with this assessment. I miss what AEW used to be. It was cool to be surprised week to week too. Now it just feels more like WCW/WWE. The long reign of MJF is just like Roman (I know it hasn't been as long). But when you have such a loaded roster, long reigns are a bad idea imo.
For the record, I still enjoy AEW as someone who's primarily been a WWE watcher. But I think the main issue here is that AEW and its fanbase are WAY too concerned about WWE and whatever it's doing. Literally the entirety of AEW's identity was trying to be what WWE wasn't. At the time, that worked for them due to the collective frustration with how WWE was running things, as people had something else to watch if they were tired of WWE. The problem however is that is ultimately a conditional aspect. Its not the first time WWE was experiencing a nosedive in popularity and they always bounce back no matter how low they fall. No matter how you feel about WWE personally, its an objective fact that its gotten far more popular ever since Triple H took over; viewership has been higher, shows have been selling out, WWE inevitably found their footing once Vince McMahon was gone.
So where does that leave AEW? If its meant to be everything WWE isn't, what happens when WWE starts getting its shit together? The people who left for AEW cuz WWE was bad are inevitably going to return to WWE. AEW became redundant basically, which is the worst thing a promotion can be.
Now its fine for AEW to be its own thing, but that means accepting the fact that its going to be less popular and less profitable than WWE, and obviously that's not good for TV execs; if the show isn't bringing in money, they're inevitably going to cut their television deal. So TK is kind of between a rock and a hard place of appealing to AEW fans who want a "true alternative" versus doing things to pop a rating to please the executives.
The main issue at hand is that WWE, for better or worse, is THE wrestling promotion. Everyone knows WWE, which makes it incredibly difficult for a company to stand out. This wasn't a problem in the 90's when Wrestling as a whole was pretty niche, so WWE and WCW were roughly on equal footing. But the Attitude era catapulted WWE into the mainstream and they haven't left since, no matter how shitty their booking became.
I came from work today and just casually walking I saw someone watching John Cena on their phone and another person was asking me about Crown Jewel today as he overheard me watching Cena and Solo.
Personally I think AEW should just stick to their guns and accept their place. They're not gonna beat WWE in revenue or ratings, that's never gonna happen. Focus on being the best version of yourself instead of trying to compete with the mega corporation.
This is why I love your essays. While I haven't and won't always agree with you, I really appreciate your objectivity, open-mindedness, and sincerity.
As someone who's been supporting AEW from Day 1, I do recognize that AEW seem to have lost its way. From booking decision to overall presentation. Unfortunately, I think the "honeymoon phase" is long gone...
found your channel a couple weeks back. Saw some things on twitter that are bs you make great point especially at 12:11 with Takeshita. I didn't know who he was but beating omega twice like he did deserves more from his story line
Thank you for this video. It's everything that I've been thinking for the past weeks.
Aew has always been a quimera of wrestling styles, that is one of the reasons that it has such a divided fan base, and why is so interesting to watch, because it has tecnical, lucha, storng style, indy "kiling the buuuusssness" styles all in the same show.
And that kinda aplies to booking as well, some people think a way of how wrestling should be handle some think other, JR for ex, complains everytime a big guy or girl goes to the tope rope, because that is not what he likes to have as old School guy, but that concept is totally ok for any of the evps and problaby for TK himself.
I think aew be that quimera is a identity, but is natural that some parts get more power over the body from time to time, in that case, the parts is the wrestling television style, because what did work prior on the busness model, that is not to mean that aew will become wwe, just that aew will find what works and what not.
I really think ideias like brand slip or GM are invetable to be aplied, and if it works great! If not, who knows, maybe the other parts of chimera might gain power again, and so goes on that interesting quimera that is AEW.
I remember watching the first episode in DC. It felt like a pivotal moment in this current wrestling generation. I feel like most of your points were spot on. I'm sure most won't agree but I always felt that the punk signing was a double edge sword. One of AEWs biggest signings and also it's costliest at the same time. Is it me or does the unbelievable moments at Wembley seem like an afterthought? I hope the company survives in the next few years.
I agree wholeheartedly
This was a well balanced and honest video. I thank you for it.
Great video. Would love to see your take on what to do with the women's division because I'm seriously stumped.
V mature conversation on your part tbh. Most people won't be able to sit down and have this conversation but you hit it right on the head. Like Cody said himself, Once you lose that Magic of Aall In, then we get the product we have now, I miss the idea of AEW but the truth of it all is what kills it.
I absolutely agree with nearly everything here. Storylines used to be fun. There used to be cliffhangers and intrigue.
There are still storylines with cliffhangers and intrigue, but I'm seeing a lot of complaints that they aren't tying them up quick enough... or didn't give them exactly what they expected ie: Skye Blue not turning heel when they expected her to.
Also... who's the devil? Whats's Adam Cole gonna do? What's happening with Bucks and Omega? How many people are gunning for the world title now? The intrigue is all still there.
Excellent job on this. I hope that the feedback will force them to course correct
Except don't lump Jeff Jarrett in with the other olds. He rocks.
Aew talk so much shit about VKM but ignore tony khans idiocy
Preach
Agree with so much in this video and thank you for your consistency
It’s wild to think of ROH as a hinderance to AEW now when 5 or so years ago it was ROH that helped the Elite do All In in the first place.
I'm thankful you tell it like it is. I'm still tuning into AEW, but that's killing it the most for me is the IWC. We can be critical of what they are doing like this without the negativity. I'm thankful you aren't being hyperbolic and in bed with the dirt sheets narratives. It's all coming from a place of love.
No one hates wrestling more than wrestling fans, and it is so easy to get bogged down in all the negativity (especially when its being fed by so many bots and trolls)
I'm a hardcore fan. Ive never missed a single Dynamite, Rampage, Collision, BOTB, or PPV. I used to watch every Dark back in the early years. Never missed a BTE.
Whats wild is I would be willing to give AEW all my monies. I went to Revolution in SF and the Dynamite and Live Rampage at the Cow Palace.
But I totally missed out on the Stockton show because there was NO promotion of it.
And then weve got an Oakland Rampage and Collision coming up in less than a week....which me, the hardcore fan, had NO clue about a week ago. Thats bad bad bad promotion.
And Collision should be an equal to Dynamite....but its already being lowered by the booking. One Collision recently had 3+ enhancement matches on it! Thats unnaceptable for a live 2 hour weekly show.
I love AEW with a passion, but now that they are moving to so many PPVs and have 5+ hours of weekly tv, with Rampage and Collision not FEELING like must see TV....
....keeping up with AEW is starting to feel like a chore and I HATE that. I really do.
We used to regularly get Dynamites that felt like free PPVs....now we getting weekly shows that feel like they should be back on RUclips.
It's depressing. AEW has definitely lost it's identity. The Swerve home break in really made it feel like AEW had jumped the shark...
You can see the difference in energy from the live crowds too. That used to he such a huge strength for AEW - thr atmosphere was electric in comparison to WWE shows where fans were sitting on their hands.
Now they look almost the same.
The fact that Daniel Garcia, someone who embodied the spirit of what AEW was all about, hasnt had a singles match on AEW TV in SIX MONTHS is the perfect example of AEW no knowing what their identity is anymore.
RIP.
I was stoked about the RoH purchase due to the catalog and hopeful streaming service.
But I wish they'd keep the brands and titles separate.
Hope someone in aew sees this , amazing work as always ❤
The thing about sports is that there's a volitility to it. Sometimes you get a competitive fight, but sometimes you get a tomato can, or they get an underdog, some people can go on a hot streak, some could go cold. Because of that, the card has a fluidity to it. You can look at a lot of wrestlers and go, they might main event if they go on a winning streak. It felt like parts were moving more.
Excellent video! Thank you for making this and saying what I’ve been thinking more and more over 18 months. I cancelled my Fite subscription two weeks ago after being a day 1 guy.
2 things I’d like to comment on.
1st, despite being a fan of the same company I’ve found AEW fans one of the issues here. They have allowed Tony to just listen to people who don’t critique things when criticising something you loved is better as you want it to succeed. I really think there’s a chance AEW goes away if things don’t get better.
2nd. Wade Keller is my absolute go-to for wrestling opinions. He’s excellent and nuanced and his point about an on screen manager was the weakest of his ten for me but his other 8 or 9 points were all very strong so I don’t want those to be discredited. That one of if I remember was more about Tony not being on air and as for the casual fans, Wade is usually coming at things from a business point of view. So how do you get a casual fan to watch doesn’t mean you have to dumb down the product and be stupid (see Bloodline height storyline for getting casuals with quality tv).
Anyway, great video. Thanks for speaking out. I haven’t felt I could say things on social media because I didn’t want people to moan when I just want things to get better. Keep it up.
I'm a Day One AEW fan. I never watched WWE so i wasn't looking for an alternative, but i'm not happy to learn that TK has hired so many WWE behind-the-scenes people who are influencing creative, and i'm not happy with the influx of even more old WWE guys. We don't need Copeland and we sure as HELL don't need Flair or Wight. I see that they're trying to give their originals new storylines and give the women's roster and the luchadores more time, which are good things, but they're wasting too much of their time on, as you say, comedy and excess. Thanks for voicing your frustration. You're not alone.
Great vid! Everything that you presented in this video is completely valid. Also,that Jim Cornette tweet that JJ did truly pissed me off. That is one person who doesn't need to step foot on AEW soil. Someone in the back should've checked JJ for that!
Good points. I think Cody's departure affected aew in more ways than one.
"We wanted AEW to be the true alternative to WWE."
This is a rather transparent lie that has been repeated with increasing intensity over the last year. The formula that WWE follows is - for the most part - the tried and true blueprint that makes professional wrestling successful. The PROBLEM, however, is that ever since the Summer of 2010 (when Cena overpowered the Nexus), the trajectory of WWE's booking, their development of new stars, their presentation, their vibe, and the treatment toward their fans... all of that collectively turned into ass water. But the core formula of mixing entertainment with wrestling, stories with ring-work, heroes and villains, matches with logical psychology... all of that was still the heartbeat of good wrestling. It's just everything *else* that WWE was doing, which infuriated and drove off a lot of the fans.
When AEW came around, it was at the zenith of WWE's creative and optical gutterdwelling. Fans praised the longterm booking with fresh talent like Hangman, MJF, and Wardlow. They loved that matches were a higher proportion of the show. They took heart in AEW's management actually caring about how they felt about the industry. All of those things were not "alternatives." It's just how a company does good business. There were still heels and faces, sports entertainment, and all of the other things in WWE. But the proportions and presentation of those pro wrestling attributes were simply in different quantities, and delivered with more authenticity.
What fans have always craved is a good option, not an alternative. Another company that they can enjoy if the other is crap. But when the bigger company starts getting good again - and the smaller company stays stagnant - the smaller company is going to lose those refugee viewers. It's like if Coca Cola started diluting their drink with more water. People who like cola aren't looking to drink pineapple soda. They want a good cola. They'll likely shift to Pepsi, until Coke gets their shit together again. That's how professional wrestling is. There are some people who want a wacky, video game style, surrealist experience with pro wrestling, sure. But most of us just want the core formula to be done well, with small twists and innovations to keep it fresh and new.
So in summary, we want good wrestling, not alternative wrestling. Now that Triple H is the head booker, you see 200-300k fans that got shaved off from AEW. They were just waiting until the core formula was treated with some dignity and seriousness.
Great video
In the six or so years leading up to the birth of AEW, I, like a lot of wrestling fans in the English-speaking world, starting watching less and less WWE and more and more New Japan. And in those early years of AEW's existence, I thought that once it grew up a little and shooed out all the Joey Janelas and Marco Stunts, it'd settle into something most closely resembling that 2010s New Japan we all fell in love with -- only, more geographically and financially viable for top-level non-Japanese talent. That, to me, with my tastes, sounds like the type of wrestling promotion I most want to exist, so you can imagine how excited I was at the time.
Jump forward to 2023, and AEW feels a lot more like the WWE I was searching for alternatives to than the alternatives I found back then in Japan. Oversimplified, you could say it's going in the opposite direction that I was hoping for. If I wanted to watch WWE, I'd watch WWE.
AEW 2019-2021 was amazing
I think my biggest beef right now is ROH. It needs to be more separated from AEW. When wrestlers cross over, it should be a big deal. Like if any other wrestler from any other company showed up. It should be unexpected just so we can hear that pop when the crowd hears their music hit.
and don't forget, WWE did it back in Attitude Era with WCW and ECW too, though i personally don't have a problem with it. i actually like a lot of the talent from RoH, so i don't mind their inclusion, nor the extra belts, even if i don't care for most of the RoH titles aside from maybe the "Pure" belt. i personally like the comedy, as goofy as it is.
Great video! You’re the true voice of the voiceless. While i still enjoy aew’s product more than wwe’s (the wrestling aspect to me is so much better) there are more and more holes in aew as the months go by. Since hhh took over, wwe has their identity solidified. It’s time for aew to do that. Over the past couple years i noticed the things that drew me to aew in the first place started to fall to the way side. The ranking system was great. It made it so there were not as many title matches. And if someone wanted to face a certain wrestler (like Bryan and Kenny) they could have the match, but the belt wasn’t on the line. It made things feel a lot more real. How about more than one womens match on the show? Like I’m not saying every show needs to have 2,3,4 womens matches. Heck some weeks can just have 1. But having a single womens match on each show, usually at the same time slot feels more like they are checking a box, rather than actually caring about the womens division. Aew has done a lot of good things over the past 6 months that I have enjoyed. They have doubled down on storylines. Which has been great. I do wish they told more long form story’s again, but at least there feels like there is some purpose. I know tranquilo mentioned the influx of sports entertainment stuff personally i don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. Tony Storm is absolutely killing it right now. The fans have connected with her presentation so much. Same with the acclaimed, same with cole and mjf. Sports entertainment (or characters and stories) stuff is fine, but balancing it with a lot of what was said in this video can go a long way.
I love aew, but i hope they read these comments, and watch this video and make changes to make aew even better.
Ric has a lot to offer especially helping the younger talent. Especially the talent at AEW who chokes on the mic.
😔2019-2021 were the best years
i heard tony khan hit you up asking you for booking advice, is that true?
I’m not a day one fan, as I just got back into wrestling late 2022. With that said, I’m all for what you said. Why shouldn’t AEW be different from WWE. Why strive to be a WWE clone when there is so much more. I also watch Impact/TNA and the reason why I like that is because it’s such a different vibe. Idk, all pro wrestling can be even good or dumb or dumb fun. But if the promotion doesn’t lose its vibe for me, then I’ll stick around
They need two major switches Jericho needs to take a break so that fans miss him and then we need more stories like MJF vs everyone (which is a cool dynamic), Everything Christian does and Swerve vs Hangman. The Tag division needs some real stories to make the belts feel like a deal (which they should since the aew tag division is loaded). Groups like the Callis family and BCC need some proper stories beyond just being angry and beating up people. I still love AEW and watch dynamite every week (would watch collision and maybe multitask with rampage if they had a tv deal in Canada) but AEW has one of the best rosters ever and they waste these guys in weak stories and pointless angles that kill the good stuff on the show. Anyway I’m still going to watch because the matches are great but would love to watch AEW every week and not cringe at half the content.
Well said, especially the jericho part. Jericho while he was certainly instrumental to help put aew on the map. He is really just outstaying his welcome at this point.
@@mrnicemam8523 I don’t want to say he’s outstayed his welcome because Chris is one of my favourite performers of all time it’s more that during his fed days he constantly took breaks to reinvent/get the audience excited for him and he’s yet to really do that in AEW. I think they put him against Takeshita and have Takeshita absolutely outclass him. Not overpower like Hobbs did more out wrestle him and make him feel foolish. Have that lead to a title opportunity for Takeshita eventually (since Jericho is a former champion) and then when Takeshita is champion you can have an easy comeback story for Jericho to target him. Have Jericho look good in defeat and now you have a reinvented Jericho that looks upper Mid-card and a solo act
Another issue with AEW issue the audience, 3/4 of the fannase is in the arena. One half everyone is packed and the left side somewhat packed, but the 4th wall behind the camera, nobody is there.
The criticism in this video is valid and informed. However, i feel like a lot of the criticism for AEW recently has been coming from people that don't really watch the product, at least not consistently. the amount of stupid shit i see people complaining about is absurd, and sometimes just false. all that uninformed criticism overshadows the criticism from people who watch and want to enjoy the product.
examples of "uninformed criticism" would be stuff like "AEW has no homegrown/new stars" or "there are no stories". even people saying that TK's tweets or announcements are driving them away from the product is kind of ridiculous. if an announcement post is enough to get you to stop watching, did you even want to watch in the first place?
Can’t lie , ROH would have been better off as a completely separate brand owned by someone else . Even from a wrestlers having jobs perspective , it would have been great for their to be more options .
With the exception of the snarky "you're welcome" thing, I agree with this video. In 2019, I looked at AEW coming from a hopeful place.
Cody Rhodes said it best when he left. “I want to do Crockett and old school, they want to do PWG and west coast.” Even though Cody put that over it’s indicative that there’s way too many cooks in the kitchen.
I enjoy comedy in my wrestling show, but I agree the water is particularly muddy when it comes to the company's identity.
Well said. Fantastic video.
I definitely miss Joey Janela and Spears on TV :(
I've been so with you from day 1 on everything aew I love your videos and agree 1000%.
I pray to god tony sits down with every wrestler in the company and watch this video shit i hope AEW hires you as a consultant and direct link to us fans of the product. Per usual you're spot on with diagnosing what ails them. ALSO TONY WE ARE SICK OF THE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF ANNOUNCEMENTS STOP IT.
Good video.
All that's left is for Tony to hire that goddamn Russo
love aew and haven't watched wwe since like i was 10 but i feel u in a way, good video
Been a day one fan of Aew and you are 100 percent right. This Wednesday was the first time I didn’t bother watching the show. Once I saw the card i basically knew who was winning each match
It's hard to admit, but everything you've nailed it
Tony Khan needs to add this phrase to his vocabulary, because clearly it isn't in there. "I don't need you."
Phil has ridiculous demands and wants his own show and his own world title? No. Stay Home. I don't need you.
Jericho wants Big show in a match? No. Tough shit. I don't need you.
People who wouldn't sign in 2019 because they wanted to "see how things play out" first? No. That was a one time offer and you refused. I don't need you.
Tony bends over backwards to please everyone and he's destroying his own promotion in the process.
I'm not a Hangman Page fan in any sense of the word, but his (understandable) absence right before the climax of the biggest moment of his career hurt the company alot more than people give attention to.. Also Toni Storm should've never lost the belt.
The same problems in 2020 are just worse today. The Adam Page and his friends angle has been recycled 50 times by now; everyone is always fighting over who is friends with who. The MJF/Jericho song and dance angle was just a warning of things to come when they turned him face. They use ROH, adding titles, and copromoted shows to try and make up for the lack of long term story telling the same way most of the talent tries to make up for the lack of in ring storytelling by dropping each other on their heads and making every match a 2 day long Smackdown Here Comes The Pain paced match.
Besides the Nightmare Collective and 1st gen Dark Order, I remember them singing a guy named Sunny Daze then after Double or Nothing 2019 the guy completely disappeared from TV then reappeared years later in dark elevation with a new name of Steel City Brawler making his "AEW debut"... TF happened there lol
I was flabbergasted when they announced "Barely Standing" Paul aa the 4th partner. Stupid decisions like this should be stopped. I just want the company to do better.
Hey. I agree with everything that you just said. It's all on point. But you need to understand something. Aew is on a contract war with the discovery group. The ownership has changed of the distribution end and so I think aew has to pander to their needs so that they can stay on tnt or tbs
Hey TK. If you ever read this. I'm the guy who was sending aew pitches into that podcast you know well. People loved me and hated me, but they always had something to say about my work.