5/16/2023 0 Comments Aew roster![]() The centerpiece story revolved around the Bloodline, a week-to-week drama anchored by Roman Reigns. WWE for years had coasted on its past popularity, but in 2022 it presented some of its most compelling story lines in a generation, perhaps spurred on in part by the competition. Unfortunately for AEW, 2022 more closely resembled “The Empire Strikes Back.” If AEW is the rebel alliance in the “Star Wars” universe, an underdog crew fighting against the powerful Galactic Empire in WWE, the 2019-2021 period was “A New Hope,” a happy tale of triumph that ended in a medal ceremony. “I don’t write word for word scripts for anybody and we have the best talkers in pro wrestling.” “What’s great about AEW is you hear the wrestlers speaking in their own words and I’m not trying to force the words into their mouths,” Khan said. The other key strength AEW possesses relative to WWE is the sense that more of its performers are speaking in their authentic voices. More than anything else, AEW is defined by the high quality of its matches. As WWE’s signature “Raw” program continued to decline in the key demo, insiders started to predict that “Dynamite” might eventually surpass “Raw” as the top-rated cable wrestling program.Ĭritically, the promotion was celebrated for the high standard of its in ring presentation. Its flagship “Dynamite” show became consistently one of the top-rated cable shows on Wednesday night, with a strong following in the coveted 18-49 demographic. AEW’s quarterly pay-per-view events equaled or increased their year-over-year buys every time for over two years. With a pent-up demand for an alternative to WWE and a supremely talented roster, the first few years of AEW presented one success after another. AEW also benefited greatly from wrestlers’ interest in the project as it was able to sign a host of extremely talented grapplers who had been major WWE stars, such as Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. AEW was able to appeal to WWE fans disillusioned by that company’s product along with fans of smaller wrestling promotions such as Ring of Honor (later purchased by Khan and running its annual Supercard of Honor event this Friday at the Galen Center) and international wrestling promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling. As such, both in front of and behind the camera, WWE was vulnerable to a challenge.Įnter AEW and its founder Tony Khan, a lifelong wrestling fan with a deep understanding of the business and disarming memory for its history. ![]() Pro wrestling historically has used an extemporaneous presentation while WWE turned to scripts telling wrestlers how to act and speak rather than having flexibility to craft individualized characters. Many wrestlers were also put off by the nature of the product and longed to work for a company with a more serious presentation, where they would have more freedom to talk and wrestle the way they wanted. ![]() This was most evident with Roman Reigns, who was presented as the company’s top hero but disliked by a significant portion of the fans. It was not unusual for fans to boo and heckle wrestlers presented as the good guys or the juvenile comedy segments that McMahon loved to present. Its programming was often shaped not by the desires of the fan base but by the personal whims and quirks of its longtime head Vince McMahon. With monopolistic power, WWE’s product quality steadily declined and its fan base eroded. ![]() WWE had not had a real competitor since it purchased WCW in 2001. The foundation of AEW in 2019 transformed the professional wrestling business. As WWE heads toward this weekend’s presentation of its biggest show of the year, WrestleMania, its strongest competitor in over 20 years, All Elite Wrestling, or AEW, has major aspirations of its own. ![]()
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