Last Saturday Night, All Elite Wrestling (aka AEW) had what will go down to me personally as not only one of the best wrestling events of 2019, but one of the best wrestling events of all time because the event had wrestling quality that’s much better than what fans see on the current WWE main shows despite what some of these ignorant & self-absorbed anti-AEW, pro-WWE superfans on social media who condescendingly called it a “glorified three match spectacle” which clearly shows their complete ignorance and disdain towards the current AEW product.
The event had plenty of wrestling styles that varied from the old school technical grappling brawler, to the Japanese female style known as “Joshi” to the very popular athletic style of wrestling amongst casual fans known as “flippy style”.
I am writing this article just know that this article isn’t me “bashing WWE” because this article basically explains the actual differences between AEW and the current WWE main shows.
Here are top 5 advantages that AEW has over the current WWE main shows.
TV-14 - One of the biggest things in my personal view that makes AEW better than the current WWE main shows is its TV-14 rating that allows the company to cater to both kids and adults whereas the ratings for the current WWE main shows only pander to kids with its TV-PG rating. Unlike TV-PG, with a TV-14 rating, it allows the wrestlers to be who they really are without being watered down to fit the PG image. TV-14 also allows AEW to put out crazy edgy content without the raunchiness to be successful.
Nonscripted Promos - Another thing that makes AEW better than the current WWE main roster is that the promos in AEW aren’t scripted like Cody Rhodes said in an interview a while back because unlike the current WWE main roster performers, the wrestlers in AEW are allowed to come up with their own promos and interject their character to get over with the crowd as either a face or as a heel. On the current WWE main shows, the performers are given robotic cookie cutter scripts that leads to the promos sounding so atrocious. MJF to me cut the best promo at Double where he called the fans idiots and poked fun at wrestling legend Bret Hart that a fan would jump him again. That promo MJF cut was absolutely fire instantly won me over as a fan of his now.
2 Hour Quality Weekly Show - Another thing that will make AEW better than the current WWE main shows is that the current WWE main shows are mostly filled with overscripted and intelligence insulting promos and segments as clearly evidenced with a recent episode of Raw that only had 57 minutes of wrestling which included the atrocious first hour which went 50 minutes without a wrestling match. When AEW’s two hour weekly show debuts in TNT in four months, they will definitely do their best to have quality matches along with quality storylines which are clearly nonexistent on the current WWE main shows.
Women’s Wrestling - Another thing about AEW that’s better than the current WWE main shows is that the women’s wrestling matches that I saw at “Double Or Nothing” recently and especially “All In” last year are much better than the women’s matches on the current WWE main shows that are clearly rushed which leads to female performers not given enough time to showcase their talents in the ring because they’re only given an average of 2-5 minutes whereas the women’s matches at “All In” & “Double Or Nothing” give the female wrestlers more time to showcase their amazing athleticism and talent in the ring”. One other thing that makes AEW better than the current WWE main shows is that AEW has female wrestlers while the current WWE main shows have mostly divas (not wrestlers) who can’t even wrestle worth a damn like Alexa Bliss, Mandy Rose, Carmella, Liv Morgan, Lana, Dana Brooke, & Nia Jax.
No Filler - One of the biggest problems when it comes to the current WWE main shows is the overwhelming amount of filler that’s seen on the main shows from start to the end which is also one of the main reasons why the ratings and attendance numbers have been dropping rapidly over the past decade. Too much filler leads to rushed/lackluster builds and feuds and intelligence insulting promos and segments. Once AEW starts their weekly shows in four months, the matches, promos, and segments will be meaningful that will also add to the storylines which will definitely produce good solid builds and feuds. And AEW’s weekly shows will not be polluted with all the filler garbage that’s currently on the WWE main shows.
Notable Mentions: If you watch the current WWE main shows nowadays, you’ll notice that they feel very unauthentic because the promos, matches, and even the arenas are so overscripted to not only please Vince McMahon and his garbage ideas nowadays, but is also one of the main reasons as to why the current WWE product is very stale. When I watched Double Or Nothing, it was the complete opposite because the matches, promos, and arena felt so authentic that made me enjoy the overall experience of watching Double Or Nothing. Another advantage that AEW has over the current WWE main shows is that AEW allows their wrestlers to go out and showcase their full abilities in the ring that will make the wrestling quality a very good one whereas on the current WWE main shows, the performers are severely shackled from being able to showcase their full abilities in the ring to put on good matches and one notorious example of this was the AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura feud from last year and those matches were downright atrocious with the worst one being the double groin kick at Backlash 2018 which pales in comparison to them easily having one of the best matches of 2016 at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom X which is my personal favorite AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura match.
The Conclusion - AEW is actually good for the wrestling business and real wrestling fans as a whole given the current landscape where too many WWE superfans talk down on AEW and see them as “a t-shirt company”. The wrestling scene will benefit from AEW’s success.
By Kwame Shakir
