10 Ways AEW Has Made Other Wrestling Unwatchable

8. Range Of In-Ring Styles

Chris Jericho
AEW

Virtually every wrestling fan is catered for, and the wrestling fan with eclectic taste is catered for too. If anything, AEW boasts too much range for those unable to reconcile its loving embrace of tones.

Often informed by the stylistic differences the company offers as a USP, The Young Bucks Vs. FTR was a story-driven clash between the southern style and modern hybrid. The Lucha Brothers offer an undiluted, mind-blowing adaptation of lucha libre. Jon Moxley is an electric brawler and grappling master. Cody Rhodes uses sporting tropes to create a big fight vibe and works in the timeless rhythm of U.S. TV wrestling. Kenny Omega is the best wrestler on the planet, working a demented, in-depth style that explodes across the ring in a new, more pulsating rhythm. Orange Cassidy integrates irony into endearing matches that ascend into the banger realm by the finish. The big men work like big men. There's a lightness to the comedy and a shocking violence to the brutality. AEW doesn't really promote grapplef*ck, but that's not an especially TV-friendly genre.

Mustafa Ali Vs. Ricochet stood in awesome contrast to the other fare on this week's RAW. It was a state-of-the-art banger when it got rolling.

But it was an outlier on a drab show that mostly promotes homogenised mid-gear action almost reluctant to accept itself as an evolution.

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!