The Secret Critical Mistake AEW Keeps Making

Tony Khan
AEW

The Tony Khan idolatry underpinning this programme is masturbatory. There’s more than a hint of the God complex to it. You can’t lay your hands on TK! He saved wrestling - for you, and for the families of everybody trying to make it in this business!

It might all be a lot easier to stomach, if it still felt like AEW had saved wrestling, if AEW was still on its invincible streak. The entitlement hard-coded into the DNA of the promotion is getting a bit much. Just promote unqualified great shows with no self-aggrandising approach. That’s how to get the feeling back. A feeling by definition cannot be forced; it must be felt.

There used to be a time in which the independent contractors didn’t give a sh*t about where they worked. They just wanted to win the big one or beat to a bloody pulp those who prevented them from doing it - and it was often better.

While AEW has retained the ability to put on very good to excellent shows more than half the time, the babyface promotion ideal no longer exists, and as a direct result, this storytelling philosophy is propped up by nothing.

To put it more succinctly, AEW is effectively breaking the first rule of storytelling and, gauging by low or middling interest levels, its fanbase is too sophisticated to fall for it. AEW is telling you that it’s great and that what it stands for is great and that you should think it’s great!

AE-dub! AE-dub! AE-dub!

It’s pandering. AEW are playing to the gallery. This bid to create a cultish siege mentality is off-putting if you aren’t a mega-loyal, devout weekly watcher who either earnestly loves everything AEW does or desperately wants to believe in the “vision”. If you’re a discerning fan with a slightly diminished faith in the process, this rah-rah stuff is eye-rolling. You have to believe that the brand is the star - a big stretch if you’ve lost the feeling.

Through this type of story, it’s as if AEW is desperately clinging onto the idea of what it used to be and how it used to be perceived. It feels hollow, grabby, desperate.

This mentality extends beyond the latest Stand Up For AEW storyline.

CONT'D...(4 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!