10 Things AEW Wants You To Forget About 2023

10. The Slow Decay Of Three Brands

AEW produces four different television programmes - and only one is truly "elite". Dynamite was uneven throughout 2023, but AEW still effectively positioned it as important.

Rampage is all but pinished as something worth caring about, outside of the odd, out-of-nowhere thrill, like the sequel to the Parking Lot Fight and Mistico's shock debut. Remember when you'd hear reports of fans absolutely gushing that they'd just watched some taped Match of the Year Candidate, like Bryan Danielson Vs. Eddie Kingston? Remember settling in to watch Rampage knowing that greatness awaited?

Those days are dead. Rampage is glorified Elevation: a dumping ground for barely used undercard acts and those who are under contract because they are close with management figures.

Collision launched and was mostly different, very, very good and actually worthwhile, although one match was always unreasonably long. When CM Punk departed, the show became the one night a week you'd get to see Bryan Danielson. That's good - great for 20 minutes - but the multiple In Action graphics and the unnecessary five-to-ten minutes tacked onto every main event underscored that AEW simply does not have enough ideas for five hours of TV every week. Contrast what happens at the top of the hour between Dynamite and Collision. Saturdays are fine, but unimportant.

Sometimes there are six hours, and Battle Of The Belts is not merely an obligation: AEW treats it like an imposition. Unlike Collision and even Rampage for a few months there, it never once developed an iota of prestige. Nobody, and this includes Tony Khan, gives a damn.

The effect is not great: AEW used to feel premium and elusive, and was the epicentre of conversation. Now, it's closer to a content farm than the original vision.