How AEW Made Me Love Wrestling Again

4. Competition Breeds Healthy Expectation

As weird as it sounds as a standalone reason, the de facto appeal of AEW now operating at this scale is that it's not WWE.

If you're anything like me, you remember the days of ECW and especially WCW and WWF (back then) operating as one. You remember the Monday Night Wars and the distinct identities of each brand. The garage band carnage of ECW, the wannabe glitz and glamour of WCW, and the hybridised appeal of WWE that eventually won out.

There's something about competition in a given space that's inherently appealing. For far too long, WWE - and the refined product of WWE - was the only viable option in town.

With AEW, it's a return to healthy competition in the wrestling space that hasn't existed on this level in quite some time. Yes, TNA came close - and Hulk Hogan and Jeff Hardy making the leap across certainly raised eyebrows - but it never felt like a credible threat to WWE's dominance.

All of this reinforces why you should be watching every week. Literal professional wrestling in the moment is one thing, but knowing that AEW as a company are navigating this space and wanting to continually impress on their end is a whole other dimension of appeal.