5 Key Focus Areas For AEW Dynamite Year 2

Inflated win/loss records aside, AEW has done a phenomenal job in booking the vast majority of their roster very strongly. Losses are rarely cheap and defeats in fantastic matches have done little to derail the momentum of their recipients.

That being said, not everybody can be at the top of the card, a point utilised in a promo by FTR against Best Friends this last week that whilst meant as an insult in storyline, rings true. As it stands, the company has a few clear headliners – Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and Cody chief amongst them, but the surrounding picture is less transparent, as many individuals and teams have fluttered from high profile roles to more passive ones from event to event, with many of these suffering from stop/start booking.

Chief amongst these have been new signings that immediately debuted into title feuds, such as Lance Archer and Brian Cage. After coming up short in these programmes, they’re now stuck in holding patterns of sorts. The company is continuing to try and present them as top-tier talents but without anybody meaningful to face, they’ve only fought jobbers since, which doesn't elevate them.

An inevitability for AEW will be accepting that establishing new headliners necessitates them having to go through midcard gatekeepers on the way there. The cream inevitably rises to the top in any business and by having talents ascend from the ground up, their future successes will be so much more meaningful to fans.