For the first time in 15 years, there’s a weekly pro wrestling show that I can’t wait to watch.
Not since the emergence of John Cena and Batista in 2005 have I been counting down the days to a wrestling show. AEW Dynamite debuted last October and, after a bumpy end to 2019, has hit on all cylinders in 2020. Despite a pandemic, the show has truly hit its stride this summer and I could not be happier.
When I finally gave up on WWE about seven years ago, it was depressing. I grew up in Connecticut. I passed Titan Tower frequently. That was the company that introduced me to pro wrestling, which I have been obsessed with going on three decades now. It gave me Macho Man Randy Savage, and the Rock. I’ve been to Raw, to SmackDown, and to Backlash 2000 when the Rock won the World Title and I’ve never heard the arena in DC louder.
But years of forcing “entertainment” and booking against fan’s wishes pushed me away. While I still watched wrestling on YouTube, I wandered aimlessly without a connection to the current product. Then Dave Meltzer gave Omega vs Okada six stars in January 2017 and I fell in love with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Like many other American wrestling fans, I started following the Elite, with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and Cody (Rhodes) becoming stars outside of the WWE machine. When AEW launched with those four as the cornerstones, along with Chris Jericho, I was cautiously optimistic. I wanted it to work. But I knew that Vince McMahon’s had a monopoly on big-time pro wrestling in this country for 20 years for a reason.
When I went to Capital One Arena last year for the first edition of AEW Dynamite, I had no idea what to expect. Nearly a year later, it’s blown past any and all of my expectations for a multitude of reasons.
1) Letting New Stars Shine
If AEW had only relied on their Elite cornerstones and Jericho, I don’t know if it would’ve worked. Instead, the company has introduced a plethora of new, young stars and, most importantly, let them shine. WWE has been constantly teasing fans with new wrestlers who never get that moment to shine, seemingly always pushed aside for tired acts.
That hasn’t been the case in AEW. From MJF to Darby Allin, from Jungle Boy to Sammy Guevara, AEW has put its young stars in positions to star and succeed. MJF has been given ample promo time to showcase his generational mic skills. Darby got over to the extreme back in 2019 with one epic skateboard spot vs Chris Jericho and they used that to springboard him into a neat relationship/feud with Jon Moxley. They aren’t just introducing new talent. They are making new stars.
2) Listening to the Fans
Not everything in pro wrestling is going to work immediately. But a good wrestling promotion responds to the fan’s feedback and switches things up. When the Dark Order tag team was first pushed in 2019, the fans hated it and the calendar year ended with a brutal Dark Order attack that went over like a fart in church. It wasn’t working.
So as 2020 started, they changed the gimmick entirely, gave it a neat social media hook, and the group is now a solid and improving mid-card act.
3) The Emergence of Hangman Adam Page
Page is the most extreme example of #2, but he deserves his own bullet point.
At All Out in 2019 over Labor Day weekend, Page main evented vs Chris Jericho for the AEW World Title and he just wasn’t ready for the spot. During the debut episode of Dynamite, I booed him when he came out, much to the chagrin of my buddy who wanted me to play along. I couldn’t. I thought Page sucked.
Fast forward to nearly a year later, and Page has grown into one of pro wrestling’s rising stars and absolutely dripping with potential. Listening to the fans after a failed singles push, they decide to pair Page up with Kenny Omega to form a tag team. The team has quickly become one of the best ever in terms of ring work, no hyperbole, putting on 4-star matches every week. Their match vs the Young Bucks at Revolution, the February pay-per-view, is almost certainly the Match of the Year.
His gimmick has become more established, and there is nothing funnier in pro wrestling than Hangman Page wandering out from backstage with a drink in his hand. Leave the man alone, he’s enjoying his whiskey!
4) Booking Shows in Advance
During the height of the Monday Night Wars, WCW and WWF used to book each show on the fly each week. It was part of their battle to win ratings. You had to tune in to even know what the matches were, when they’d announce huge matches to get you to stay around. It was a fun gimmick for the late 90s. But WWF, now WWE, never stopped doing that. For 20 years, it’s been a bunch of shows where things get announced right before the show.
AEW has taken a completely different tact. They usually announce the totality of next week’s episode during Dynamite, and sometimes book matches week in advance. It leads to moments like Jon Moxley vs Darby Allin two weeks ago and Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy last week, where each big match feels special. It adds to the feeling that you have to watch every week.
5) Four Big Shows a Year
There are only four PPV shows a year with AEW. It’s perfect. The weekly show is the main focus, but those four big shows take on an added importance. In an era when Vince McMahon thought the PPV concept had died, AEW proved that it was still very much alive and kicking. It’s just that fans didn’t want 12 of them a year, they wanted a reasonable number.
I have gladly purchased every AEW PPV so far and I plan on doing so again with All Out on Labor Day weekend. In fact, one of the best Saturday nights during this awful summer of coronavirus was watching Double or Nothing. Yeah, I paid $50 to watch wrestling, and it was worth every penny.
6) Reinventing WWE Stars
The biggest complaint fans levy against WWE is how scripted and boring the shows have become, as Vince’s push to make it entertainment made it feel stale and generic. In the past six months, AEW has added several former WWE stars but let them shine in their own unique way.
While Jon Moxley set the template last year as he broke free from Dean Ambrose, Mr. Brodie Lee has done the same to make people forget he was ever Luke Harper. Matt Hardy may have the same name, but he’s been given an opportunity to play with his previous personas and is now locked into a pretty intriguing feud with up-and-comer Sammy Guevara.
7) Something For Everyone
The biggest drag on WWE’s matches over the past decade is the reliance on the so-called “WWE Style” where you work a match for the camera, instead of the live audience. It’s led to a cookie-cutter promotion where every match feels essentially the same, with only the wrestlers changing. It gets boring.
In AEW, the uniqueness of pro wrestling is on display each week. You have the Young Bucks and other tag teams working a very new-age style of big moves and flips, while FTR stands out by being a very traditional tag team. Kenny Omega is still doing his super strong style NJPW act like it’s a video game, while Cody wrestles like it’s still 1985. Jon Moxley is working a hardcore style, while MJF is perfecting his “1970s Memphis heel” act. It works because it’s different. You may not like all the styles, but you’re getting something different and variety in the spice of life.
8) The Camera Doesn’t Cut 1000 Times
I literally can’t watch WWE anymore because it gives me a headache. Seriously. Yes, I know I’m old, but the number of camera cuts in a given WWE match is nauseating. Just show me the wrestling. Don’t shake the camera. Don’t do 5 cuts a minute. Let me see what’s going on. Every match isn’t a fight scene in Avengers.
9) It’s Pro Wrestling, Not Entertainment
I loved WWE because I love pro wrestling. If I want to watch entertainment, I’ll watch something else. And that’s eventually what I did.
AEW doesn’t try to do anything except give me a pro wrestling show to watch. I don’t ask for a lot, but I do ask for that.
10) I’m Not Embarrassed To Be A Fan
I tweet about #AEWDynamite every week and I’m glad I do. I want people to know I watch it. And I want people to know they should watch it.
Dave Meltzer pointed out that AEW’s strong ratings are due to multiple people in home watching the show together. He gave the example of someone getting their girlfriend or wife to watch it. I wouldn’t say my wife is an AEW fan, but she did watch wrestling in 2000 like everyone else. She doesn’t always leave the room when AEW is on. She even wears a Jungle Boy shirt from time to time now.
For too long, WWE made me embarrassed to be a fan. Even during the heyday of The Rock and Stone Cold, there’d be a few things that made me hang my head in shame. From 2005 on, those became more and more frequent. It was embarrassing to say I still liked it. I’m a grown man. I should like better stuff
Well I do like better stuff. And that better stuff is AEW. I’m proud to be a fan. I can only hope they continue to deliver.
When I finally gave up on WWE about seven years ago, it was depressing. I grew up in Connecticut. I passed Titan Tower frequently. That was the company that introduced me to pro wrestling, which I have been obsessed with going on three decades now. It gave me Macho Man Randy Savage, and the Rock. I’ve been to Raw, to SmackDown, and to Backlash 2000 when the Rock won the World Title and I’ve never heard the arena in DC louder.
But years of forcing “entertainment” and booking against fan’s wishes pushed me away. While I still watched wrestling on YouTube, I wandered aimlessly without a connection to the current product. Then Dave Meltzer gave Omega vs Okada six stars in January 2017 and I fell in love with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Like many other American wrestling fans, I started following the Elite, with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and Cody (Rhodes) becoming stars outside of the WWE machine. When AEW launched with those four as the cornerstones, along with Chris Jericho, I was cautiously optimistic. I wanted it to work. But I knew that Vince McMahon’s had a monopoly on big-time pro wrestling in this country for 20 years for a reason.
When I went to Capital One Arena last year for the first edition of AEW Dynamite, I had no idea what to expect. Nearly a year later, it’s blown past any and all of my expectations for a multitude of reasons.
1) Letting New Stars Shine
If AEW had only relied on their Elite cornerstones and Jericho, I don’t know if it would’ve worked. Instead, the company has introduced a plethora of new, young stars and, most importantly, let them shine. WWE has been constantly teasing fans with new wrestlers who never get that moment to shine, seemingly always pushed aside for tired acts.
2) Listening to the Fans
Not everything in pro wrestling is going to work immediately. But a good wrestling promotion responds to the fan’s feedback and switches things up. When the Dark Order tag team was first pushed in 2019, the fans hated it and the calendar year ended with a brutal Dark Order attack that went over like a fart in church. It wasn’t working.
So as 2020 started, they changed the gimmick entirely, gave it a neat social media hook, and the group is now a solid and improving mid-card act.
3) The Emergence of Hangman Adam Page
Page is the most extreme example of #2, but he deserves his own bullet point.
At All Out in 2019 over Labor Day weekend, Page main evented vs Chris Jericho for the AEW World Title and he just wasn’t ready for the spot. During the debut episode of Dynamite, I booed him when he came out, much to the chagrin of my buddy who wanted me to play along. I couldn’t. I thought Page sucked.
His gimmick has become more established, and there is nothing funnier in pro wrestling than Hangman Page wandering out from backstage with a drink in his hand. Leave the man alone, he’s enjoying his whiskey!
4) Booking Shows in Advance
During the height of the Monday Night Wars, WCW and WWF used to book each show on the fly each week. It was part of their battle to win ratings. You had to tune in to even know what the matches were, when they’d announce huge matches to get you to stay around. It was a fun gimmick for the late 90s. But WWF, now WWE, never stopped doing that. For 20 years, it’s been a bunch of shows where things get announced right before the show.
AEW has taken a completely different tact. They usually announce the totality of next week’s episode during Dynamite, and sometimes book matches week in advance. It leads to moments like Jon Moxley vs Darby Allin two weeks ago and Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy last week, where each big match feels special. It adds to the feeling that you have to watch every week.
5) Four Big Shows a Year
There are only four PPV shows a year with AEW. It’s perfect. The weekly show is the main focus, but those four big shows take on an added importance. In an era when Vince McMahon thought the PPV concept had died, AEW proved that it was still very much alive and kicking. It’s just that fans didn’t want 12 of them a year, they wanted a reasonable number.
I have gladly purchased every AEW PPV so far and I plan on doing so again with All Out on Labor Day weekend. In fact, one of the best Saturday nights during this awful summer of coronavirus was watching Double or Nothing. Yeah, I paid $50 to watch wrestling, and it was worth every penny.
6) Reinventing WWE Stars
The biggest complaint fans levy against WWE is how scripted and boring the shows have become, as Vince’s push to make it entertainment made it feel stale and generic. In the past six months, AEW has added several former WWE stars but let them shine in their own unique way.
While Jon Moxley set the template last year as he broke free from Dean Ambrose, Mr. Brodie Lee has done the same to make people forget he was ever Luke Harper. Matt Hardy may have the same name, but he’s been given an opportunity to play with his previous personas and is now locked into a pretty intriguing feud with up-and-comer Sammy Guevara.
7) Something For Everyone
The biggest drag on WWE’s matches over the past decade is the reliance on the so-called “WWE Style” where you work a match for the camera, instead of the live audience. It’s led to a cookie-cutter promotion where every match feels essentially the same, with only the wrestlers changing. It gets boring.
In AEW, the uniqueness of pro wrestling is on display each week. You have the Young Bucks and other tag teams working a very new-age style of big moves and flips, while FTR stands out by being a very traditional tag team. Kenny Omega is still doing his super strong style NJPW act like it’s a video game, while Cody wrestles like it’s still 1985. Jon Moxley is working a hardcore style, while MJF is perfecting his “1970s Memphis heel” act. It works because it’s different. You may not like all the styles, but you’re getting something different and variety in the spice of life.
8) The Camera Doesn’t Cut 1000 Times
I literally can’t watch WWE anymore because it gives me a headache. Seriously. Yes, I know I’m old, but the number of camera cuts in a given WWE match is nauseating. Just show me the wrestling. Don’t shake the camera. Don’t do 5 cuts a minute. Let me see what’s going on. Every match isn’t a fight scene in Avengers.
9) It’s Pro Wrestling, Not Entertainment
I loved WWE because I love pro wrestling. If I want to watch entertainment, I’ll watch something else. And that’s eventually what I did.
AEW doesn’t try to do anything except give me a pro wrestling show to watch. I don’t ask for a lot, but I do ask for that.
10) I’m Not Embarrassed To Be A Fan
I tweet about #AEWDynamite every week and I’m glad I do. I want people to know I watch it. And I want people to know they should watch it.
Dave Meltzer pointed out that AEW’s strong ratings are due to multiple people in home watching the show together. He gave the example of someone getting their girlfriend or wife to watch it. I wouldn’t say my wife is an AEW fan, but she did watch wrestling in 2000 like everyone else. She doesn’t always leave the room when AEW is on. She even wears a Jungle Boy shirt from time to time now.
For too long, WWE made me embarrassed to be a fan. Even during the heyday of The Rock and Stone Cold, there’d be a few things that made me hang my head in shame. From 2005 on, those became more and more frequent. It was embarrassing to say I still liked it. I’m a grown man. I should like better stuff
Well I do like better stuff. And that better stuff is AEW. I’m proud to be a fan. I can only hope they continue to deliver.
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