14 Ups & 5 Downs For AEW In 2021

7. The Dream Factory

Nick Gage Chris Jericho AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest
AEW.com

Nothing is impossible in AEW.

If there's a cool match you want to see - or, better yet, something you didn't know you wanted to see - AEW has spent much of 2021 generally providing euphoric doses of hardcore nerd fan service. It never veers into dreaded, overdone novelty territory, either. Unexpectedly cool matches simply happen, infrequently, as a result of Tony Khan's passion and imagination. Jon Moxley Vs. Yuji Nagata; Chris Jericho Vs. Nick Gage; Tomohiro Ishii walking out to Pixies: AEW made a concerted, loving attempt to promote matches of random beauty simply because they themselves are as into it as we are. The joy was infectious, and encouraged the base to dream up bizarrely fantastic match graphics of their own.

The only thing preventing AEW from booking dream matches is the ravages of age - but even that was no barrier to total wrestling euphoria in the case of Sting. His unfathomably great throwback performances were received by millennial fans who re-entered the headspace of their childhoods, acting as living, ageless proof that pro wrestling at its best is magical.

But when are the pops going to run out?

We haven't even seen a tippy-top NJPW star yet - but we can now dream of their eventual appearance...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!