5 Things AEW Must Steal From WCW (And 5 It Shouldn’t!)

5. No: Giving Too Much “Creative Control”

AEW Collision Tony Khan
AEW

Too many cooks, and all that.

WCW's "creative control" powers got out of hand towards the end of the 90s. It seemed like early wrestling news sites online and magazines were rammed full of stories like, 'WCW wanted Hulk Hogan to feud with *insert wrestler here*, but the 'Hulkster' vetoed that idea by playing his creative control card'.

AEW offers significantly more individual freedom creatively than WWE in 2023. Workers like Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Saraya and more have hefty input into what their characters do on screen. That's great on paper, but selfishness is a real concern - everybody wants the best for themselves, naturally.

This is presumably why Moxley is allowed to bleed all over the place during random bouts on Rampage, or why Jericho just gets to pick his own feuds. Tony Khan must be wary of handing over too much control, because all those chattering voices could be detrimental to the product.

Some will argue they already are.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.