10 Secrets Behind AEW's Booking Magic

2. The Clean Finish Only Policy

Darby Allin Jon Moxley
Twitter/@AEWrestling

The gravity of this outstanding slow-burner of a Hangman Page arc isn't there if he isn't beaten clean in the middle at the inaugural All Out. If he's protected with a distraction, then so what?

He was protected with a distraction.

Wrestling companies, even the best ones historically, tend not to linger on the consequences of defeat because rehabilitating a talent is a steep challenge. Quick transition into another rivalry via beatdown; consolation midcard title run; another mechanism to "protect" the talent from the loser stigma: rarely, in a west in which the disqualification has endured where the fanbase has not, will a wrestler lay their soul bare and accept what has happened to them.

AEW does this.

In addition to really building the winner - just how dominant did Jon Moxley appear on the post-Full Gear Dynamite, where a black-eyed Kenny Omega couldn't even get cleared? - by positively ruminating in the loss and its ramifications, the grand heft of the comeback story is informed.

Page and Omega had to look inwardly - and subsequently, to one another - to get back to the pay window after Full Gear. Cody's shock squash loss to Brodie Lee, an incredibly emphatic result, has manifested the monster on the drawing board and vanished the former TNT Champion into retreat, his own battle being fought for him.

This sh*t matters, one way and the other, to inform the next chapters with real purpose.

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!