It's Official: A New Era Has Begun In AEW

Hangman Page Tunnel
AEW

It's not difficult to book a character like CM Punk and plot his path to the top, where the promotion generated such incredible loyalty by telling the most difficult story in the modern history of professional wrestling.

AEW hasn't quite lost its soul. CM Punk, indie scene trailblazer, genius, and the first man to really illustrate how WWE got it so badly wrong, is in effect the spiritual architect of the company. It's not as if AEW has brought in a part-time mercenary who has disgraced the company's values or anything quite so drastic. His sweat-drenched "old guy on the f*cking team" arc was incredible, very much consistent with AEW's trumpeted "sports-oriented" storytelling vision, and his run is already legendary.

There is however something to the idea that All Elite Wresting is not quite the same.

The grand narrative core no longer exists. The prestige drama series era has ended. If that scans as a lofty comparison, consider the perfect shot at Full Gear 2020.

The Bucks had just captured the World Tag Team Titles from FTR and were joined in their celebrations by Omega, who had defeated Page in the opener. Page lurked in the babyface tunnel, at once expressing his inability to feel Elite and, stemming from the events of All Out 2020, his inability to feel like he was truly, openly good. Omega captured the singles men's World Title in under a month. Both title runs were exceptional, sky-high in entertainment value, but each existed and were ultimately booked to cast Hangman Page at his lowest ebb and launch the grand comeback that culminated at the next year's event - at the expense of Omega, and with the tacit approval of the Young Bucks.

CONT'D...(4 of 6)

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Contributor
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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!