9 Ups & 9 Downs For AEW In 2022

6. The Overlong And Overbearing JAS Vs. BCC Feud

Chris Jericho
AEW

The idea that spoofing sports entertainment was redundant the second that Vince McMahon resigned in disgrace isn't what spoiled the relentless Jericho Appreciation Society Vs. Blackpool Combat Club feud. Triple H's WWE is hardly 1990s All Japan.

The premise itself, while strong - sports entertainment as a concept is the biggest heel to the hardcore AEW base - wasn't strong enough to carry almost a full year of programming. AEW is far better at and more engaging when simply crafting pro wrestling stories, which is a far better "flex" over the opposition than parodying the Bloodline (a rotten TNA-adjacent development, incidentally).

AEW betrayed the "show, don't tell" storyline maxim in 2022 to its detriment.

The plotting was wonky too. The programme peaked with Anarchy In The Arena, a transcendent professional wrestling experience, and never again reached that frenzy of a high. It yielded several outstanding matches, particularly the Jon Moxley Vs. Chris Jericho classic at Quake By The Lake, but also far too many good if redundant tag team match derivations.

The programme torpedoed Eddie Kingston's momentum, was something of a noble failure in that Daniel Garcia and Wheeler YUTA only got over to a certain level, and seems destined to conclude at an ROH pay-per-view with a buy amount ceiling of 36,000.

Isn't that a waste of vast amounts of resources?

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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!