15 Misconceptions About AEW You Probably Believe

4. “The Feeling Is Coming Back”

Bryan Danielson
AEW

All Elite Wrestling has rediscovered something close to peak form in the summer of 2025. There will be another lull. There will be another comeback. The cycle will persist. The fabled “feeling” is not coming back, and nor will it ever.

In 2021, AEW was nothing less than the answer to your prayers.

The factors that converged to create this feeling can never be emulated. AEW was a unicorn of a pro wrestling outfit. Its mere existence was so special that in 2021, you could forgive the constant interrupted backstage promos, the odd lame angle, Matt Hardy.

AEW was validation for every complaint you levelled at WWE on a major arena scale; for one white-hot summer, you were right and they were wrong. Impossible magic was cast towards you on a weekly basis. Sting is back as an ageless hardcore icon. Bryan Danielson is here, and he’s doing career-best work. CM Punk has been coaxed back after seven years. Nick Gage is smashing light tubes over Chris Jericho’s head. You’re getting everything you ever wanted WWE to do again - blood, great TV matches, unscripted promos - and you’re getting it in front of molten crowds desperate to make noise after a year locked down. What you got, with AEW in 2021, was the best possible version of something that felt impossible.

It’s best to enjoy AEW now for what it is and what it can only ever realistically be: a settled, mostly well-booked promotion that offers best-in-class in-ring action. It’s no longer a novelty so awesome that it was genuinely surreal. The fabled “feeling” is impossible, and that’s OK.

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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!