The Disturbing Truth Behind AEW's Obsession With WWE

Chris Jericho ROH World Title
AEW

Incredible when it peaked - very early - Anarchy In The Arena was a seminal war that deftly obscured the sheer amount of thought that went into it. Beyond that, the very thin premise was much too shallow to work as a long-term story.

The JAS hated AEW because it was a pro wrestling promotion, the honour of which the BCC defended. That was the basis for countless derivations of singles and tag team matches, the results of which didn't matter. Those wins were only traded to advance something that existed for the sake of it. There was no deep, emotional core to that story.

It didn't truly feel as though Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley or Claudio Castagnoli despised Chris Jericho. It didn't truly feel as though AEW fans despised the concept of sports entertainment. The "Fed bad" story lost so much momentum that Jon Moxley, months after it began and peaked, had to expressly say on TV that it was definitely set to be concluded at ROH Final Battle on December 10, 2022. That PPV wasn't sold on the promise of a huge match, but on the feeling of relief that a long, meandering and hollow storyline wasn't going to drag Dynamite down any longer.

It wasn't all that believable, either. Bryan Danielson literally wrote of his love for Vince McMahon in his outgoing Player's Tribune article, and didn't leave WWE because he hated it. He loved it, but simply wanted to try something new. If the idea was to reach that extremely online fan, that fan already knew it wasn't credible.

It's happening again with the ongoing AEW "homegrowns" versus ex-WWE imports storyline in the women's division.

CONT'D...(3 of 5)

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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!