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

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.