10 Wrestling Worst Nightmares Right Now
7. The Risks Of AEW's Third Hour
Almost every Wednesday night, an extra hour of All Elite Wrestling seems beneficial for every stakeholder.
The product is exceptionally well-received by its core audience and embraced by much of the wider fanbase as a welcome contrast to the content production era that has dogged WWE's main roster output for years. AEW's two televised hours (plus the odd breakout moments from YouTube show Dark) never really feels enough. Not enough to profile a loaded roster, not enough to apportion more time to the women's roster, not enough time to dole out promo time with a bit more equality.
But it's also not a cast-iron guarantee of yet more success.
The first month of 2021 wasn't a banner one for the company creatively. Certainly not in comparison with a tremendous 2020 that blew away expectations reframed by the pandemic. Dynamite gained a deserved reputation as the details show, but some of that hasn't been as evident lately. AEW have earned years of trust in their process, but "more of the same" rarely solves endemic issues in wrestling.
Eric Bischoff hated having to produce Thunder. Nobody likes Raw's third hour. Hopefully Tony Khan and the EVPs make the best of this richly-deserved reward.