10 Ways AEW Is Dangerously Close To Following In WCW's Footsteps

4. The WWE Digs

Tony Khan WCW
AEW

Eric Bischoff famously threw plentiful shade towards the then-World Wrestling Federation on live television during the Monday Night Wars. The thing is, while Bischoff was doing that, WCW was pummelling Vince McMahon's promotion in a ratings war that saw World Championship Wrestling embark on a dominant 83-week run of besting their industry rival.

Constantly chatting sh*t on TV about your competitor can be nauseating at times, but at least Eazy E was doing it from the comfort of the mountain top. Likewise, if it came across as unsufferable prick behaviour to certain sections of the audience, that worked just fine due to how Bischoff's TV persona at that time was that of a, well, unsufferable prick.

While many will agree that AEW is (usually) the more enjoyable watch on a weekly basis, the WWE mentions, digs or knowing sports entertainment winks make the company come off as bush league when such references are done on a regular basis. Particularly when WWE is the clear market leader, is a vastly more profitable organisation, brings in far superior TV ratings, and is a company who the majority of non-wrestling fans are well aware of.

Of course, one has to remember AEW is an organisation that's only been in existence for less than four years. As such, it obviously would not be matching WWE on the aforementioned metrics. We all love to see the plucky underdog take jibes at the all-powerful big dog of the yard, but AEW has to tread a fine line when it comes to what it and its talents say about a company that, quite frankly, it is not in competition with at this stage in All Elite's lifespan.

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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.