10 Times Wrestling Fans Got What They Wanted (But Didn’t Realise)
4. "We Want Wins And Losses To Mean More"
WWE Monday Night RAW has quietly, stunningly, developed into a consistently good television show under the pen of Triple H.
It's still a WWE show with inherent flaws in the cut-happy production and the lack of internal logic that spawns impromptu matches. There are fewer disqualifications - Triple H is down to around one per show - but there's no sense that they are punished or lose money or anything with consequence.
Still, the core issue with WWE is that nothing meant anything - except it did, at least in the lesser-remembered Paul Heyman period. His gauntlet match cheat code was transparent and drab, but before Vince edited Heyman's ideas, Aleister Black was getting over, and Buddy Murphy actually developed his character in reaction to the series of defeats.
AEW meanwhile has premised the entire narrative thrust of the promotion around it.
It can get drab, the top star versus upstart rookie/beloved veteran/solid midcard hand formula, but it exists to mitigate the longstanding complaint: wins matter in AEW, they always have, and not one single act has gone on a tear only for it to mean absolutely f*ck all in the end.