8 Problems Nobody Wants To Admit About AEW

2. Certain Fans Are A Turn Off

MJF Chris Jericho
AEW/TNT

Anyone who is a wrestling fan is eager to see All Elite Wrestling succeed. For nearly two decades, the wrestling industry has been monopolised and butchered by Vince McMahon and WWE, with Vinny Mac getting complacent and lazy safe in the knowledge that he can serve up whatever slack product he wants due to a lack of an alternative wrestling company that has the reach of WWE.

In All Elite, wrestling enthusiasts finally have a genuine, viable alternative that has the backing of a billionaire and is easily accessible to a global audience.

Unfortunately, much like there are WWE loyalists who refuse to say anything bad about the promotion, likewise AEW has a certain section of fans who go so hard in their blind adoration of All Elite that they serve as a turn off for other wrestling fans.

It’s understandable to want AEW to succeed at every possible turn and to constantly point out the product’s plus points, but there also has to be a willingness to take off the blinkers a little and stop pushing the narrative that AEW is a constantly perfect show and that everything that takes place under an AEW banner is a big deal *cough* Jake Hager's surprise debut *cough*.

As is so often the culture in pro wrestling, there’s a tribalism to AEW’s fan base. The thing is, when that tribalism lashes out to slap down anybody who questions AEW or who dares to suggest that WWE delivered a good segment or match this week, that’s when problems arise and the all-accepting, ‘for everyone’ nature of AEW begins to not be so all-accepting of other opinions.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.