10 Things AEW Needs To Stop Doing IMMEDIATELY
1. Referees Are Idiots
Like any new wrestling promotion looking to make a substantial mark on the industry, AEW had plentiful teething issues in its first few months and beyond. And while many of those problems have been resolved, one glaring issue the promotion continues to have is that its referees look like complete and utter idiots.
One of the elements that helps to make professional wrestling great, is that the sport has rules in place. By having clear markers in the sand of what can and cannot be done in any match, that creates anticipation, angst and most importantly can be a base to draw emotion from.
In AEW, one of the biggest criticisms of the product is that rules are rarely adhered to - to the point it would be better to just scrap certain rules rather than continue to sh*t all over them.
If wrestlers are only allowed to be outside of the ring for no longer than nine seconds lest they lose a match by countout, how limp and useless does a referee look when talents regularly brawl outside for anywhere between 30 seconds and two minutes? There are only so many times one of the commentary team can note how Official A is being lenient with their count before it just becomes lazy from all involved.
Likewise, the traditional five-second allowance for double-team manoeuvres when a wrestler has tagged into a bout is another rule forever flaunted. It's unfortunately commonplace that a tag will lead to 20 seconds of double-team offense, with the referee simply standing there and admiring the action.
And not to sound like the ultimate 'angry old man shouts at clouds', but AEW similarly has a worrying habit of any illegal interference taking place directly in front of a referee, only for that official to bafflingly have not seen that action nor chastised the person responsible for it.