The Secret Ingredient Behind AEW's Booking Success

OR; how to make dinosaurs more believable than humans.

by Michael Sidgwick
MJF Dynamite
Scott Lesh Photography/AEW

The low-key best-booked match in AEW Dynamite history is one you might not expect.

It's a midcard match that wasn't the best, quality-wise, on the night. It wasn't even the second best - and this is TV we're talking about, not pay-per-view. It's a midcard match promoted by the fresh, revolutionary new wrestling league that featured among others a 51 year-old man, a 63 year-old man, and a man who doesn't do pro wrestling as his primary career. It's a match that very subtly advanced a much more significant wider storyline by putting over its antagonist without pitting him against his rival. It's a match that distills, defines and celebrates AEW's approach to booking and its mastery of episodic television.

It's the match between MJF, the Butcher and the Blade and Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall and Diamond Dallas Page from the Bash At The Beach-themed January 15 edition.

It was booked primarily to strengthen MJF ahead of Revolution without giving away that first confrontation. It was distinct to his first AEW match with Jungle Boy on February 12. That match served a colder, more pragmatic purpose, in that it aimed to convince the paying public that MJF could flat-out go ahead of an expensive PPV purchase.

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!