AEW's Huge F*** YOU! To WWE (... & Why It Will Win)

by Michael Sidgwick
Tony Khan
AEW

AEW wins by proving that you don’t need to stuff an international legend into a Performance Center locker for several years so that they can learn the dark arts of locating a camera with a glowing red light on it. One day, a reckoning will come for that facility. The presentational difference between WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura and AEW’s Kazuchika Okada is staggering, and the PC has produced, from scratch, less than a handful of names that are given priority when the plans for WrestleMania are first drawn up.

AEW wins by outclassing the TakeOver brand with its string of seminal, all-time great pay-per-views. Levesque was, as he should have been, proud of that 2015-2019 run. With it, he earned what had eluded him throughout his career: your admiration. It has dated badly in a lot of respects, and the highs of AEW’s big shows are virtually unprecedented.

AEW isn’t at its strongest - yet - but if its form on pay-per-view continues throughout 2024, Tony Khan will be gifted the fruit basket.

WWE is red hot, AEW is cold - but Tony Khan beat Paul Levesque at the game Levesque originally tried to play. Perhaps Levesque wants to play a different game now. Perhaps he’s happy being on top as the booker and mascot of a more broad main roster product, but here’s the thing: despite what he says, Triple H wants you and your friend Mark to think he’s neat.

Ask yourself why he is so rattled.

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Contributor
Contributor

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!