10 Things AEW Stopped Doing That We Really Want To See Again
1. Lighting Up The Audience
Look at how bright, vibrant and immersive that scene is above.
AEW is managed by a crew of old WCW Nitro aficionados. The lighting; the diverse ring styles; the faction-based narrative; the sheer sense of energy; the wonderful vibe that is Tony f*cking Schiavone: Dynamite is a thrilling spiritual echo of what was a fantastic time.
So what happened to the lighting, and moreover, why is it happening now?
The decline of Nitro was illustrated visually by the year 2000. The outdoor stadium shows evolved into dark, tarped-off tapings, reflecting the viewership haemorrhage. Why does AEW look more like the latter than the former despite performing better, largely, in return markets?
There's nowt to hide! The only thing there is to hide are happy faces, the enthusiasm beaming from which is or was infectious to those at home.
What's going on?
As a reasonable counter-argument, say Khan has taken inspiration from the legendary run of arena-sized NXT TakeOver shows and decided to emulate its combat sport aesthetic. Why do that now, when the dead brand is still warm and there's little nostalgia for it?
Is this a Warner directive? To make the show look indistinguishable to the WWE "big-time" for casual viewers flicking through the channels?
Why does AEW look more like WWE than AEW in 2022?