10 Ways AEW Has Revolutionised Pro Wrestling
6. The Old Guard
Vince McMahon doesn't like to present old people on television.
He has to, at times, because he struggles to create new stars under 40, but their age isn't emphasised. The opposite is true; the Undertaker dyes his hair, Goldberg is presented as invulnerable, and the stars of the retro reunion shows are eerily preserved in amber, grotesquely reduced to their old aesthetic and often, a single catchphrase. The amusing irony, given WWE's woes in attracting young fans, is that Vince does this under the belief that it would age his product and render it unfashionable.
AEW has no such concerns, welcoming a horde of ageing, legendary figures to further draw its personality as a pro wrestling company. Jim Ross, warts and all, is an authoritative, wise presence; Arn Anderson likewise is a beloved, he-talks-you-f*cking-listen figure; Tony Schiavone is wholesome, avuncular nostalgia; Dustin Rhodes is so respected and sympathetic that he is the perfect, grizzled babyface with which to get heels over; Jake Roberts, as sinister as all hell, exudes badass vibes just by surviving his experience.
It's effective and quite touching, on a per-individual basis, and it's also very savvy; AEW has a vibrant atmosphere around it, because the product is less than a year old, but the old guard collectively lend it a certain, rooted gravitas.