10 Ways AEW Is Better Than WWE
5. Angles
WWE does the odd angle, contract signings mostly, but otherwise, storyline beats are advanced with lots and lots of scripted conversation, which is divided into two halves: convoluted wordplay that nobody would say in real life and a faithful oration of the Championships and accomplishments section of their Wikipedia page.
Mid-South Wrestling acolyte Tony Khan is a capable storyteller who does not rely on exposition to build his conflicts.
On Dynamite this week, the reformed Death Triangle subverted the House of Black's threat to attack from the shadows by orchestrating a ruse in which Fénix cosplayed as Alex Abrahantes (who, regrettably, cosplays as a child who's still really into Halloween, it's November, but his parents are too exhausted to fight it). This at least led to a killer three-man dive spot which should lead to an electrifying trios banger.
Ahead of Revolution, MJF baited CM Punk into believing that he wasn't a sociopathic piece of sh*t but a hurt person who hurts people. As he revealed - via hanging a blood-soaked Punk on the ropes in a brutal heat angle that Jim Ross sold with an exceptional, understated tone of disgust - he was a snake.
These angles aren't always sold perfectly, even if the execution is great.
An entire episode of Dynamite could have been built around Eddie Kingston taking a fireball to the face, with medical updates sought by a panicked broadcast team throughout the night, but Khan's in-depth knowledge of wrestling history and the ambitious storytelling vision of the Elite converge to not beat you over your dumb f*cking head with the point.