If WWE Was Being Honest About AEW

Austin McMahon
WWE.com

Luminaries and veterans alike all insisted that this would be the case. John Cena, speaking on a Canadian TV appearance last year, reckoned "competition is great because it forces you to step up or step aside and I think that is fantastic". Steve Austin echoed these sentiments to Sports Illustrated, drawing on his own experiences to state that "Without competition, who knows what would have happened in my career - who knows what will come out of Wednesday nights, but I believe in competition."

Dustin Rhodes said something similar to the same outlet - "You need places to go and work, competition is great and it is the best thing that can happen for WWE" - and Gregory Helms expressed the same on Booker T's podcast. "AEW is gonna be good for the business. Competition is good, there’s an excitement in the air."

On May 13, 2019 - before AEW had even promoted its first show - your writer penned an editorial in complete disagreement with this consensus take. It wasn't 1996 anymore. Vince McMahon had grown so lazy and so profoundly arrogant that he had repeatedly - to arrive at a point by which competition was even viable - booked a mass-produced and soapy, synthetic product completely in line with what he and he alone wanted, from pushed acts to ring style to literally every word his roster spoke aloud. Triple H borrowed the Eric Bischoff tactic with his NXT brand to euphoric acclaim in the mid 2000s, but looking back on it, it was only a very, very good sports entertainment product. Evidently, given that AEW came to exist, it did not satisfy an overwhelming desire for the old, expressive spirit of pro wrestling.

CONT'D...(2 of 6)

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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!