10 Genius Ways Tony Khan Can Get The AEW Magic Back
5. All Or Nothing Drama
The level of drama in AEW just isn't what it used to be.
Earning a title shot in the first place was a minor triumph in itself before the lazy Eliminator gimmick replaced the committed intricacy of the rankings system. Winning a title used to mean more because there were so few of them. They were elusive, as real achievement should be. Losing a title shot was once a profound, career-altering disaster. Cody Rhodes lost his final opportunity at Full Gear 2019. MJF, upon losing his opportunity at All Out '20, realised that, with no automatic rematch clause in place, he had to slowly form in plain sight a stable just to take a man's spot who wasn't even in the World title picture. That's how elusive and enormous it all used to feel.
Losing an actual title also had profound repercussions; Hangman Page lost his entire support network when he lost the World Tag Team title on the same show, and had to undertake a veritable odyssey to rehabilitate his career.
AEW used to commit to a match result unlike any promotion ever, but that is no longer the case. Now, the chase to a rematch has been cut short and the path to a challenge is nowhere near as arduous. Contrast how agonisingly close the Young Bucks got to the first FTR match before it actually happened with the Acclaimed Vs. Swerve In Our Glory trilogy, and it's clear that something has been lost.
Big AEW matches used to feel so much more earned, elusive and positively unmissable as a result.