It's Official: The AEW Roster Is FAR Too Big

MJF AEW
AEW

Operating within a smaller roster with television time there to be filled by the most ambitious and the most talented, he maximised his minutes and got over, massively, as the best heel and week-to-week storyteller of his generation. That path is blocked now. How can anybody follow it with so few minutes to maximise?

Wardlow and to a lesser extent Wheeler YUTA are getting over big - it's not as if AEW has suddenly lost the ability to build new stars - but there are too many star acts for any one to feel special. Even the World Champion.

Place yourself back in October 2019.

You are told then that, in 2022, the two biggest factions in the Wednesday Night Wars, the nucleus of each competing brand, had formed a super-stable named the Undisputed Elite in All Elite Wrestling.

You'd think this was an enormous, transformative deal, the biggest thing to happen in the promotion to that point - possibly the biggest thing to happen to the industry. It isn't. It's just another segment on the TV show with stars that could headline the show in it. At this point, is it too cynical to place that word between quotation marks? Perhaps, but the nagging feeling that AEW's roster has diluted itself is difficult to shake.

For another comparison, contrast Jeff Cobb's three shock appearances in AEW thus far.

CONT'D...(3 of 6)

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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 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!