The momentum AEW has generated over the past few months has caused shockwaves in the wrestling industry and changed All Elite Wrestling’s status to alternate indie show to genuine WWE competitor. This article explores the reasons for this status change and if AEW can really compete with the industry giant known as World Wrestling Entertainment.
AEW All Out 2021
This month saw AEW produce one of their most important PPV’s to date. All out was critically acclaimed by fans and critics a like for its atmosphere, in ring action and debuts. The event generated 200,000 PPV buys which is unheard of for a non WWE PPV, a feat that has not been done since WCW days. A main reason for such a high rate has to be contributed to the return match of CM Punk, a rebellious icon of the past decade who finally answered the chant of “CM Punk” by returning a few weeks prior. More on CM punk later.
The show produced a crazy steel cage match between the young bucks and Pentagon Jr & Fenix. Yes the lack of selling and over reliance of near falls can be rather annoying but this match was very entertaining and had a great payoff with the cocky Young Bucks finally being defeated by their long term rivals. This match saw some excellent tag team wrestling and is a must watch.
Chris Jericho continued to show why he is in the G.O.A.T conversation as he still produces high quality matches at the age of 50. Christian Cage one of the most underrated performers of all time put on another good match with Kenny Omega, not as good as their one for the TNA title but nonetheless still deserves a watch. It can be argued that the main talking point came after the main event with the double debut of Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson A.K.A Daniel Bryan. The arrival of these two has added even more star power to an already stacked roster. AEW more violent and edgier wrestling show provides an alternative to the many fans who have become bored of WWE child friendly programming.
Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson & CM Punk
The AEW roster just seems to be getting better each month. It can be said that the majority of signings are Ex-WWE but most these signings are smart because these talents improve AEW programming whilst at the same time hindering the oppositions. The likes of Andrade, Punk, Miro(Rusev),FTR (Revival),Christian and now Adam Cole and Daniel Bryan have given the roster a much needed boost in terms of familiarity with the WWE fans. Adam Cole was to me one of the last few wrestlers in the WWE that I cared about. Now in AEW being reunited with the Elite, you just cant not be excited. The Young Bucks and Cole produced classics in Ring of Honor and PWG. One assumes these classics can be replicated in AEW.
Bryan Danielson can be a catalyst in something special. He plays the underdog impeccably and so he is the perfect candidate to stand up against the Elite in his quest to win the big one. The feud can hold similarities to the excellent Bryan vs Authority feud 2013-14 which rocketed Bryan to new levels of stardom. Bryan does not even have to be the main star but maybe support a new younger star on their journey maybe even leading to a heel turn?
CM Punk got one of the loudest pops in wrestling history when he returned on August 20th showing that he is still as popular as ever despite his absence since 2014. In my opinion he is the biggest star in AEW at the moment or maybe on par with Kenny Omega. CM Punk’s return has generated huge publicity and was the talk of the wrestling world similar to the New World Order’s creation back in 1996. I can’t think what AEW will do with Punk as I can’t see him working weekly but that can make Punk more special and less likely to become over saturated bur rather add to his star power. Punk, Bryan and Cole’s arrivals adds more firepower to AEW weaponry in the war with WWE.
Now with reports of Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens contracts expiring soon you just can’t help but feel those two will follow in the footsteps of Cole and Bryan considering their current position in WWE. Owens retuning to the barbaric and villainous Kevin Steen is something I desperately want to see. All these debuts generate shockwaves which is exactly what AEW needs as its gets people tuning in and getting a taste of the AEW product. The more buzz the more people will watch and become accustomed to AEW style in comparison to WWE. It will then come to a point where fans will likely choose between AEW or WWE as each company will provide hours of weekly content, only true hardcore wrestling fans could sit through weekly.
On the other hand, AEW do not want to end up like TNA by relying on older ex WWE stars instead of developing their own home grown talent. I did question the signings of mark henry and Big Show but to see them used in more of a backseat role is good to see. AEW future relies on balancing the established big names whilst developing their home grown talent in order to secure their future as one of the biggest brands in the world. This will be by no means an easy task especially with their ever expanding roster its inevitable some talent will become frustrated and may not be used to their full potential. It will take years for AEW wrestlers to become established household names but with the right decisions and exposure they can do this.
WWE Getting Desperate?
For a time you got a feeling WWE didnt see AEW as much of a threat to their empire until now. In the past month, WWE have brought back John Cena, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar and most likely The Rock will come back for Mania season. These big names have returned not really for storyline purposes but rather for viewing numbers to make up for their lack of stars. In my opinion the biggest full time stars they have are Reigns, Styles, Jeff Hardy, Edge, Orton and Rey Mysterio. This is in terms of familiarity of their names, obviously the likes of Rollins, Lashley, Balor, Big E, Owens etc are huge but none of them in my eyes could be the main star for the company at this present time due to them not being built as main event players on the level of Steve Austin, John Cena or The Rock in the past. This is because WWE have gotten complacent over the years due to lack of competition and so haven’t found the need to pull out all the stops to create stars like they did in the attitude and ruthless aggression era.
Back onto the part timer returns. You know WWE had to fork out over the odds to secure the return of Brock who seemed like he was done with wrestling for the foreseeable future just so they could bring back someone with instant must watch status. I for one must give credit to WWE for how they have booked Lesnar, you feel he’s a huge star whenever he steps into the ring. Cena gave his time to put on a entertaining programme with Roman and Goldberg was just Goldberg. I feel his presence has put a lot of people off WWE with the booking decisions surrounded him. He came in and ruined Kevin Owens and The Fiend’s title reigns. Kevin Owens has never been the same since for me, I loved his universal title reign especially with Jericho by his side. Yes these returns have boosted vieweship numbers but it does not address the problem of WWE lack of stars to takeover from the likes of Brock, Cena, Orton when they retire.
The most recent example of WWE attempting to rating grab is announcing Big E is cashing in his money in the bank contract prior to the raw episode in order for viewers to most likely see one of their favourite superstars winning the big one. The move screams of impulse reaction to All Out in an attempt to show that they can still produce big moments like their competitor.
Conclusion
Its an exiting time to be a wrestling fan. Its looking like WWE are looking to please the fans more instead of giving them the product they think you should want. Partner that will AEW ever improving quality, we should be in for a chaotic future where both sides look to one up each other with fresh new ideas reminiscent of the Monday night wars.
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