7 Times AEW Dynamite Made WWE Mistakes

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Chris Jericho
AEW / Lee South

"All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite is on the air" was the rather iconic introduction dished out by Jim Ross as the inaugural edition of AEW's television kicked off on TNT.

It was genuinely stirring - Ross' voice was the main reason the company have gone with him as the lead announcer despite middling performances for New Japan Pro Wrestling that presented him as an announcer out of time. WWE's loss has in this case been their new competition's gain - a voice with authority and familiarity for wrestling fans in equal measure, he was all the good from the old guard that was worthy gleaming value from.

This has been the misconception regarding AEW and may yet become something they're undone by. In an effort to do everything different to the establishment, they're going to be investigated for the times they fall into the traps and tropes. Traps and tropes that exist in some cases because they have to.

Nonetheless, Cody, Tony Khan and the rest of the crew allowed themselves to be held to scrutiny on such matter the day they issued their overblown mission statement. They desperately don't want to be WWE, yet sometimes succumbed to the whims of the "Universe" rather than managing to change it.

7. Handshake?

A frustrating lack of care and attention to a relatively important detail here, but the sort of thing that positions the characters as brainless if the audience chooses to think for more than a split second about their actions.

Cody and Sammy Guevara shook hands in order to facilitate Chris Jericho's run-in assault, but why would 'The American Nightmare' extend this show of respect in the first instance after the key spots in the match?

An honest, hard-fought even-handed babyface match would have justified it, but Guevara had pulled Cody's wife Brandi in the way of a dive (and then taken a high heel to the head in response) just minutes earlier. A d*ck move, and not one worthy of the AEW gaffer's acceptance after the fact.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett