10 Things WWE Doesn't Want You To Know About AEW
3. Age Is Just A Number
WWE doesn't like to feature "old" people on television, unless, of course, they need a stadium to fill, or they're in for a bollocking from the USA Network, or Mohammad bin Salman wants Mantaur booked for the next propaganda exercise.
Old, to Vince McMahon - and this as rich as he is - repels the 18-49 target demographic. Old is unfashionable, irrelevant, an actual eyesore. This is why he himself only appears onscreen when things are desperate.
AEW is dominating NXT in the target demo with a heavy senior presence because that senior presence lends the broadcast a sense of authority and sentiment. Tony Schiavone is quietly crucial to the presentation; his genuine glee at how far pro wrestling has come is a blessed sound, and his connection with Cody is warming, too: it really builds the idea of his interior life, the reality of which helps character investment.
Jim Ross is inconsistent at the booth - he sold MJF's heel turn like a master, but he needs to accept or at least cover for the in-house style of lenient officiating - but at his best, his seniority puts over the action with an authority that only comes with experience.
The very notion of Schiavone, Ross and Tully Blanchard putting over this youth movement creates the effect that it is for everyone, and bringing in genius old minds from the harsh wilderness furthers AEW's perception as the babyface company.