AEW's Huge F*** YOU! To WWE (... & Why It Will Win)

Tony Khan took a piledriver on Dynamite - but it's Paul Levesque who needs to brace himself.

by Michael Sidgwick
Dynasty Will Ospreay Bryan Danielson
AEW

(You can probably infer from the title if this is for you or not. If you want something critical of AEW, give this one a read instead. Or this.)

Paul “Me and my friend Mark” Levesque is a very defensive and petulant individual.

When pressed about Jordynne Grace’s cameo at the Royal Rumble in January, Levesque - who told Brodie Lee that he could make a New Japan Pro Wrestling excursion happen but has failed to do so over the subsequent five years - rubbished the term “Forbidden Door”. He never fancied New Japan, anyway. (In 2015, when WWE tried to get in via Jushin Liger, Rocky Romero successfully struck the inter-promotional deal between NJPW and Ring Of Honor).

Over WrestleMania Weekend, Levesque aimed a jab in the direction of Will Ospreay, but was too gutless to name him. Everybody knew to whom Levesque was referring when he said he isn’t interested in signing wrestlers who apparently fear “the grind”. Ospreay wrestled for TNA last year purely because he fancied it and has spent the last several years trying to leave the BritWres scene in a state that didn’t quite resemble utter disrepair - after he’d long since made it as a top star for New Japan. Ospreay did more “grinding” in his Dynasty classic with Bryan Danielson than the average WWE wrestler does on TV in a month.

Levesque was hardly going to say “I wanted him, but here’s the thing: despite this being the Paul Levesque Era, it’s starting to feel as if I’m not in charge of the budget”.

Did he have to be so nasty and spiteful about it? Was there subtext to that...?

Levesque cannot handle the idea that he isn’t the sharpest mind in wrestling or the coolest guy on the scene. He will have to get used to the idea by the end of 2024, if current trends continue. Or if he’s not reckoning with that idea already.

Levesque is currently enjoying himself, and greatly. He has reached his final form. He presides over WWE, just as everybody knew he wanted to do in late 1999 - but is that truly the extent of what he wanted?

CONT'D...(1 of 5)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!