10 Moves Tony Khan Must Make To Save AEW
6. Differentiate The Product From WWE
Impromptu matches are the ultimate, subjective pet peeve, but even if the wider audience doesn't care too much about the inherent lack of logic - what was meant to happen in the slot, and isn't it all too convenient that a skirmish broke out to set the scene? - it's still a signature WWE device.
Now more than ever, AEW must distinguish itself from the competition.
Merely being better by default is nowhere near enough; even if you personally think that the success of the 'Papa H' era is overstated, the narrative has taken hold. A better than usual Raw is more remarkable than a worse than usual Dynamite, even if Dynamite remains the better show. It's stupid, frankly, but that's what appears to have happened in the online sphere.
AEW should relish the challenge and set about being the true alternative again. Never again book an impromptu match. If Paige can't go, and Tony Khan has an onscreen authority figure role in mind for her, abandon it. Immediately. It has already reduced the women's division and made the TV feel fake and contrived. Calm down with the interference-laden finishes; did John Silver really need to be protected against Rush?
That Rampage finish just telegraphed the result of Rush Vs. Hangman Page and put the heat on the booker, as is too often the case with U.S. wrestling in its modern era.