It's Official: AEW Needs A MAJOR Wake-Up Call
In 2019 and 2020, AEW soared in opposition to WWE's brutally monotonous, stakes-free rematch-heavy approach. The stable-dominated framework deployed by Khan was refreshing. Fans enjoyed the wait. What was once novel about AEW, however, simply isn't novel anymore. The way in which Khan preserves his PPV attractions no longer feels like it is worth the anticipation. Ricky Starks taking on every member of the Jericho Appreciation Society recently was such a chore. Every match, as ever, was predictable. Khan accomplished nothing here beyond padding out TV time. It was procrastination. Nothing more. A phoned-in, beyond redundant programme. A cliché of an AEW development.
The gauntlet is a narrative obligation. Does the stable-based framework need to go entirely? Nothing works forever, even that which is a great idea that works for a long time. Fans have lost the drive to watch a wrestler run through the gauntlet. Even when this approach is tweaked, interest levels are low. Jon Moxley didn't have to beat Evil Uno to get to Hangman Page - he was challenged by Uno directly, who was sticking up for the much-maligned Dark Order - but it simply wasn't an interesting prospect. This indirect approach to heating up big matches has become contrived in the extreme.
So many of AEW's issues emerge from a bloated roster assembled through impulsive greed.
It is impossible to care about so many characters because it is impossible for Tony Khan to service the amount of characters he books. This generates a lack of faith in the entire process.
In 2022, the AEW fanbase was asked to invest in both Daniel Garcia and Wheeler YUTA. You were meant to believe in Garcia as a wrestler above sports entertainment. You were meant to receive YUTA as the next badass on the block. Fast-forward to 2023, and even if Garcia realises his true calling, will it resonate? He's playing Sammy Guevara's younger brother long after people stopped caring. Those "You're a wrestler!" chants disappeared. YUTA meanwhile spends his time running his mouth, obnoxiously, to people backstage. He speaks as if he has authority, but then he simply loses. It's far more cathartic than it should be, and that can't be the point. If he's turning heel, good, but he was built as an awesome babyface after that classic Jon Moxley match. That story was told to get YUTA over as a babyface, and the follow-through was unacceptable - particularly after his performance at Forbidden Door.
CONT'D...(3 of 5)