10 Bad Habits AEW Must Kick RIGHT NOW
2. Interrupted Backstage Promos
The weird thing about this problem is that Tony Khan must know that it is horrendously contrived.
He prides himself on listening.
New Japan gets this sort of thing absolutely right. The post-match comments, cut by wrestlers drenched in sweat, put over the match that just happened as a war in addition to providing a realistic, sports-oriented means of telling their story. There's only so much time to book in-ring back-and-forth promo exchanges, but the alternative is suboptimal.
In his defence, Khan has listened to an extent; certain backstage promo exchanges are set up in what is a UFC-lite format, in which the scheduled opponents agree to promote their match without one of them sidling up conveniently, as happens the other half of the time. The blocking of those segments, which still happen all too often, is an absurd and unconvincing narrative convenience that makes the show feel like it is written and not something that has unfolded organically. Just how many people are milling about backstage waiting around for a promo to interrupt with a pre-prepared zinger?
Again, in isolation, it's hardly a massive issue - but when these sorts of segments add up, they detract from AEW Dynamite as an all-important immersive experience that feels like the live, energetic wrestling show in contrast to WWE's contrived invisible camera approach.
Isn't AEW meant to be parodying sports entertainment?