Andrew Grevas
For two decades, the wrestling community longed for an alternative to Vince McMahon’s WWE. When the Monday Night Wars ended and WCW and ECW went under, Vince sat alone at the top of a mountain he never should have been alone at. Monopolies, to paraphrase Triple H, are bad for business. It wasn’t until AEW launched that the monopoly was shook & competition seemed like a reality once again.
A lifelong wrestling fan and son of a billionaire, Tony Khan was an unlikely choice for chief foe to mogul Vince McMahon but from Day 1, Tony Khan spoke to the frustrations of disenchanted wrestling fans on Twitter and at independent shows across the country. Tony himself spent years at non-WWE shows. He went to the ECW arena back in the day. Family wealth aside, Tony, at heart, was the same as those fans who wanted more than Vince offered them.
The birth of AEW is a romantic story. Popular independent wrestlers mixed with legitimate stars who wanted nothing to do with WWE anymore, who mixed with the son of a billionaire. All of a sudden, there was talent, star power and money. An alternative was born and for a few years it was successful. When the pandemic hit and WWE ruthlessly released an absurd amount of talent, Tony Khan hired many of them. Stars left on their own accord and joined AEW. Then, in August of 2021, they pulled off the biggest coup of all and signed CM Punk.
Long-time wresting fans understand that there aren’t many true surprises left in this business. Everything—for the most part—has already happened at least once. There are also very few names that can move the needle, a by-product of the business moving more towards a TV model and becoming “brand first” rather than relying on marquee names the way they once did. CM Punk was one of the few names left in wrestling that could move the needle. Punk brought mainstream attention and new eyes to AEW and in one night, he gave AEW credibility in the eyes of many who had brushed them off as being an inferior product. If AEW could land CM Punk after his 7 years outside of the business, they must be for real.
Identity Crisis
While we don’t need to relive the CM Punk drama that unfolded while he was with AEW (I’ve written about it here), we do have to look at the company wide identity crisis that unfolded during his tenure there. Punk, although once an indie darling, did not appeal to the modern day independent wrestling audience. Punk is a wrestling purist, even if he won’t admit it. A student of Bret Hart and Harley Race, Punk’s wrestling ethos is one of safety and psychology-based work. You aren’t getting daredevil moves and high spots filled with weapons. You are getting professional wrestling basics—an athletic competition with character-driven storytelling designed to grab your attention. A tried and true method that works.
During Punk’s time in AEW, the company as a whole moved away from everything being focused on the matches. There were more promos and angles to build to matches. Again, pro wrestling 101-type stuff. Which if you watch the shows today, is the polar opposite of AEW’s current product, where storytelling is secondary to the in-ring action. The rift started during Punk’s run there, where talent with stroke made their case for getting away from “traditional pro wrestling”. They wanted their own style, calling it a revolution, which is what we see on TV today. These talents with backstage stroke have said this much on live TV.
Which brings us to the present day. The company is signing every major free agent out there (Mercedes Monet, Okada, Will Osprey etc) to reportedly large and expensive contracts. With AEW being a privately owned company, they don’t have to reveal the details of contracts but rumors run rampant in this business. They are assuming that buzz on social media will translate to ratings. It doesn’t. They are assuming that “dream matches” equate to long-term success and fan loyalty. It only does so on a small scale. Which means AEW has choices to make.
A Tale of Two Companies
AEW, by virtue of trying to be everything, in many ways is nothing. You can’t be the modern-day WCW and try to rival WWE and also operate like an independent wrestling company at the same time. Pick a lane. Work in that lane. Build a brand and succeed. Independent wrestling sells tickets for marquee matches because they don’t run 5 hours of TV a week. People come to see the “dream match” and are fulfilled for a few months until you run another show. AEW is not that. They are operating on a much larger scale and need to act accordingly for the sake of their business.
There are a lot of worrying signs right now. The episode of Dynamite after their major Revolution pay-per-view lost 5% of the audience from the week before. This was all while the company touted this episode as their season premiere, including a new look and a major debuting star. Warner Brothers Discovery exercised the option on the TV deal rather than signing a new long-term deal, which indicates hesitation. Crowd sizes are lower than ever, and even the accomplishment they hang their hat on—selling out Wembley Stadium—comes with the asterisk that they had to pay to run the venue, instead of the venue paying them to run there.
The company has attempted to combat these issues by throwing money at the problem, signing top-name free agents to bigger money deals than WWE offered them. Sounds a lot like WCW, doesn’t it? History shows that creative wins in the modern era, not names (with a few exceptions such as CM Punk). If AEW is going to turn this around, it has to be done with stories.
The Time Is Now
AEW is bringing in some of the best talent in the world right now. Don’t throw them into meaningless “dream matches”. Build suspense. Build out angles. Tell pro wrestling stories. Instead of popping Twitter by announcing some huge match in 4 weeks, slow down. Make these major matches mean more. Look at Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. Fans waited years to see them wrestle again prior to their WrestleMania 25 match, which is now regarded as one of the best matches of all time. Part of the reason why that match is so revered is because it was teased for years. Fans drooled at the idea of it happening. That’s how you make magic.
AEW has gained nothing through its many big-name signings. These stars are now just regular fixtures of their shows instead of the draws they should be. They can’t afford to do that with Okada, Monet and Ospreay. They have to begin caring about more than just the same IWC that Tony Khan came from. They have to tell the people who want to watch wrestling but aren’t in the bubble anymore that there is a product for them now. They have an opportunity to build a company that can last forever. The alternative is being this generation’s Herb Abraham’s UWF, another company with tons of money, that signed tons of big names and wasted a huge opportunity to succeed with bad business decisions.
The crossroads AEW finds themselves at circles back to the beginning of this story. The change Tony Khan and his EVPs longed for at the beginning is now what’s holding them back. They can’t be a PWG show on cable TV. They have to evolve. They have to tell stories that make people want to come back next week. They have to appeal to the masses in ways that are authentic to them, or they will move backwards. Do they want to be a global leader in the industry that’s financially sustainable or do they want to make themselves pop? They’re standing at the crossroads now and the choice is Tony’s.
