10 Things That Will NEVER Happen In AEW
6. Sh*tty Non-Finishes
Much of this list is conjecture based on objective past precedent, but on a statistical level it seems impossible, much less improbable, that AEW will ever go the way of WWE's wildly counterproductive f*ck finish philosophy.
Of some several hundred matches AEW has promoted, just two have ended via disqualification. Technically, only one match has. A fall in the awesome Kenny Omega Vs. PAC match ended via DQ; the match itself ended via pinfall. A Brandon Cutler Vs. Peter Avalon Dark match also ended via DQ, but this finish wasn't designed, with massive, how-do-they-not-f*cking-get-this irony, to "protect" a talent. AEW opted for the finish to deepen the parity in the dork wooden spoon feud almost as a gag.
A lot of pro wrestling fans don't seem to grasp how carny and passé the f*ck finish is. It's redundant as a trope - in this modern era, it never works to generate heat - and is used almost exclusively by WWE as pretext to do the exact same match. It's a creatively bankrupt storyline driver, the effect of which is a muddied tier in which traceable investment is very difficult. Because wins and losses don't matter, the huge matches never feel huge. There's no sense that it's the last shot. There's always another pay-per-view.
The clean finish policy created a platform on which for NJPW to grow. AEW has taken inspiration from it.
The gravity, when it is sold, informs everything. Kenny Omega could not be further apart from Peter Avalon. There's no such gulf in WWE because nothing matters.