10 Ways AEW Has Listened To Its Audience

3. Finally Letting Miro Off The Leesh?

Kenny Omega Don Callis Impact
AEW

One of the biggest WWE disappointments of recent years, is that they never properly pulled the trigger on Rusev.

Regardless of how many times the Bulgarian Brute would get himself over, and regardless of how boisterous the crowd response was towards him, Vince McMahon clearly never saw Rusev as ever becoming a true main event player. Fortunately, Rusev was given his WWE release this past April - and hope was high over AEW being a destination for the former United States Champion.

AEW did indeed becoming Rusev's landing place, with him debuting in September under his real first name of Miro. With fans eager to see just how big of a star Miro could be away from the shackles of WWE, it's safe to say that we were all a tad disappointed to see the Best Man be, well, a jacked version of the Angry Video Game Nerd.

Most people were aware that Miro is a huge gamer, but to see him turn up as the video game-obsessed best pal of Kip Sabian was nothing if not underwhelming.

With fans keen to see Miro positioned as a monster, it appears as if we may finally be getting that from the powerhouse performer. Last week's Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale saw him brutalise a bunch of bodies, while this week's Dynamite had Miro completely decimate a bunch of security guards.

It's maybe a little too early to be completely certain, but it does look like AEW has listened to its audience and made the relevant changes to Miro's character.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.