5 Things AEW MUST Do In 2021 (And 5 They Must Avoid)

3. Tiered Television

We already know that AEW is working on bringing a second show to TNT. The ongoing global health crisis has complicated matters, slowing progress to a crawl, and it may still be later rather than sooner before it sees the light of day, but rest assured, it's coming. Tony Khan confidently reassures us of this whenever the topic is brought up on media calls.

The AEW chief has also spoken on the possibility of reconfiguring the current setup, saying the following on the pre-Winter is Coming call last month:-

"We've built a really big roster and it's hard to use everybody, but at the same time, we do need to keep developing talent and bring people in. That's where Dark has become valuable and I've extended the length of Dark and I'm seriously considering splitting Dark into multiple developmental shows. And possibly even having "one that is more of a developmental show and one that is more established talent, or maybe a mix of the two."

He's onto something here, Tony. This is a very, very good idea.

Often bothering three hours in runtime, Dark is a bloated show that necessitates cherry-picking. It serves its purpose of padding records, giving out-of-work indie wrestlers a payday, and giving AEW the opportunity to scout potential signings in the flesh, but going down the developmental route would at least help with the bloat and give up-and-comers the opportunity to build a rep on their own, without knowing they're going to get smashed by whatever full-time star they face at the moment.

Dynamite should always be the prestige show. The new one-hour broadcast on TNT can represent a level down, and Dark developmental. A fluid tiering system to bolster AEW's robust rankings system and invisible roster hierarchy.