How AEW Turns Trash Into Treasure

by Michael Sidgwick
Pete Dunne Damien Priest
WWE.com

This has happened several times on the NXT’s USA run already. Shayna Baszler Vs. Candice LaRae, Adam Cole Vs. Finn Bálor, and Adam Cole Vs. Tommaso Ciampa were all but booked using this formula, which is only really tweaked with a one-note, one-sided beat-down (Adam Cole Vs. Matt Riddle, Damien Priest Vs. Pete Dunne).

It isn’t enough to build programmes using only the foundation; this is why NXT is not building its house despite arguably boasting more talent. Certainly, the talent is more acclaimed critically. And that feeds into another point: AEW, strangely, given its apparent reliance on Dave Meltzer, isn’t striving for critical acclaim. The euphoria of Moxley’s freedom, in which the air he breathed in at Double Or Nothing seemed to sustain him, stirred the emotion—as did the brutal, outlaw chair shot aimed at Cody’s head at Fyter Fest, as did the use of Dustin as Hager’s first victim. Tellingly, he didn’t blast either Matt or Nick Jackson onto that table with a gut-wrench power bomb. AEW used the old, bleeding dog to pump the blood of the crowd.

Expression, emotion, creativity: it’s an old song, and AEW is playing it with soul. NXT plays it like a technically advanced noodling guitarist. Impressive, but hollow. WALTER Vs. KUSHIDA is going to be outstanding. Do you care who wins?

Do you want to see Goldust avenge Jack Swagger?

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!