AEW
When AEW first formed, the promotion made some bold promises in an attempt to compete and differentiate itself from WWE.
This outrageous belief – we will change the world! – it was necessary. AEW couldn’t just say something along the lines of “Well, the rights shows paid to WWE led us to believe that there was an elusive gap in the market and we felt that the success of Being The Elite and All In could allow us to let’s fill it”. It’s wrestling, an industry built on the hard sell, and AEW got big on the hard sell.
In early rallies, various media interviews, and the press release announcing the TV deal with WarnerMedia, AEW pretty much promised a multitude of solutions to the problems experienced by disaffected or unhappy WWE fans. All Elite Wrestling promised less soapy drama. Team wrestling was making a comeback. There will not be one style dictated by one person. Wrestlers would book the product without hack writers. They won’t be running house shows in a schedule that would allow the talent to leave it all in the ring when working live televised matches. Stats will even be used to track the effectiveness of certain moves.
That last one never happened, and the heavily touted “sports-oriented” feel was eventually abandoned when Dynamite premiered. Apparently, a more energetic traditional episodic TV style was thought to be the best approach, and it was. After all, wins and losses should have mattered. This was the key strategic objective in response to the most pressing criticisms of the modern WWE.
Increasingly, AEW is dangerously close to 50/50 with their booking.
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