10 Times AEW Made The Critics Look Like IDIOTS

2. "Why Are They Doing This WWE Thing?"

CM Punk
Lee South/AEW

Right, so AEW has ventured into deeply ill-advised WWE-lite territory of late - promo trains! Invisible walls! Can they co-exist tag teams! - but it took them four years and, as with many other widely criticised developments, it will probably he abandoned now that the lesson has been learned.

This is a general talking point, but it occurs most often when AEW does something that WWE tends to do, and the phenomenon known as "WWE brain" kicks into gear. Everybody has this fear; the idea of a major cable product f*cking everything up all of the time and doing the same sh*t over and over again has been branded into our collective psyche.

A contract signing? Oh no: somebody is getting power-bombed through a table!

(This has never happened)

Hangman Page is going off on paternity leave? Oh no: that's the match with Kenny Omega cancelled then!

(This didn't happen; AEW in a novel approach to fan service actually finished the story)

A casket match? But casket matches are boring!

(Enter Christian Cage putting on the heel performance of his career)

AEW is not WWE and four years into it, with a few invariably retconned exceptions, it isn't going to be.

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!