AEW's Secret Weapon (You Won't Want To Watch)
A winning streak on Dark doesn't mean anything, and yet Khan frequently builds title challengers on the YouTube shows that aren't watched in the same number as Dynamite or Rampage - or even acknowledged to any meaningful extent within the televised universe. On last Friday's Rampage, Jurassic Express defeated Private Party, the supposed #1 ranked team. Yes, the records were reset at the end of the year, enabling something that isn't quite an epic streak, but it still came out of nowhere as an unconvincing narrative development. The team hadn't worked a Dynamite match as a unit since June 4, 2021, nor a Rampage match as a team since August 20, 2021. They lost on each occasion. They did however defeat Chase Emory and Patrick Scott and then Action Andretti and Myles Hawkins on the January 12 and 19 editions of Dark: Elevation respectively. Only the super-invested fans would have known this, and even then, come on. Two wins over two nothing teams, lasting all of six minutes and 30 seconds combined, was hardly enough to build them as credible contenders.
Reasonable wrestling fans understand AEW's philosophy. They want to preserve the premium attractions to make them mean something, and this cannot be accomplished by beating the best wrestlers and teams under the carny belief that they can always "get their heat back". You have to put meh stuff on TV or the PPVs won't feel unmissable. It's just a fact.
The Dark squash spree is considered a necessity, but it's all so obligatory. It's nice that they do this, but it's just empty data; a footnote reference that nobody ever reads. When the act that wins a lot on Dark gets their turn on TV, the vast majority of the audience is nonplussed. Don't Sting and Darby Allin win far more often than any Dark regulars? This isn't just a booking luxury Khan indulges in January, either. It's a year-long issue.
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