How WWE Can Win The New Wrestling War
It's not that WWE's wrestlers aren't capable of meeting those in-ring standards, because they most certainly are. Rather, it's because WWE's rigid framework, with its myriad restrictions and overstocked army of producers, writers, and road agents, is not.
Similarly, AEW's product may not be calibrated to deliver a popcorn match like the Graveyard Dogs vs. McMahon and McIntyre. We'll find out in time.
One thing we know for sure, however, is that AEW can't write popcorn characters like WWE can.
The new promotion's one attempt at writing an outlandish, Sports Entertainment-style act has brought us The Dark Order. They have flopped spectacularly. Stu Grayson and Evil Uno are an awesome in-ring tandem but come off goofy and outdated in AEW, with their borderline problematic army of Creepers more bewildering than intimidating. It doesn't help, either, that they're trying to make a mark at the same time as The Fiend on WWE television.
Bray Wyatt's reinvention has been nothing short of stellar so far. The Dark Order's problems show that at a mainstream level, this kind of character can only truly flourish under WWE's framework. The Fiend makes Grayson and Uno look antiquated by comparison.
Making use of similar characters going forward provides another key to victory.
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