10 Ways AEW Has Revolutionised Pro Wrestling

7. The Youth Movement

OMEGA PAC
Scott Lesh

MJF is 23 years old. Jungle Boy is 22. Marq Quen is 25. Isiah Kassidy is 22. Darby Allin is 27. Marko Stunt is 23. Warts and all, each have brought a fresh, totally motivated energy badly lacking in mainstream pro wrestling.

AEW's youth movement is a risk that has manifested in as much failure as success - the prodigious Jungle Boy improves weekly, while Private Party are in their awkward adolescent phase - and the lighter schedule is not conducive to talent development. But AEW talents are encouraged to supplement their experience on the independent circuit - which, incidentally, is an honourable mention because AEW are not actively destroying it - and it's far preferable to the WWE way.

WWE typically signs talent near or in their prime years, benches or actually uses them in NXT, and then, when they're ready to make real money, they are overexposed to the most attentive audience and, through the rotting mechanisms of the main roster, are not effectively promoted to more casual fans. There's no real arc to experience, no journey to reward fan investment. It is a bloated roster of prime, name acts bleeding into itself to chronically normal effect.

In the perfect outcome, AEW fans will watch Jungle Boy mature into his next form, in the years to come, intensely, emotionally bonded to his journey.

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!