The Secret Ingredient Behind AEW's Booking Success

Jon Moxley
AEW

This was hermetic in its logic. The plotting, with so many moving parts, was conducted with maestro elegance.

The AEW fictional universe is made up of entertaining side quests that are related in some way to and preserve the value of the main story. This is why the promotion is so heavy on stables. This is why all promotions should be heavy on stables.

Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho didn't brawl every week, nor did they constantly witter at one another in endless promo exchanges. Mox had to go through Jericho's Inner Circle to get to the final boss at Revolution. The idea of connection and its importance is crucial not just as a plot mechanism but to create a sense of genuine immersion in the product. The simmering Elite explodes saga works so well because the bond and the tension feels so lived in. There are further babyface alliances, too, which in addition to setting up match permutations generally depicts so many of AEW's babyfaces as stand-up guys who look after their pals.

There's such a rampant machismo energy in pro wrestling, but AEW subverts it magnificently with the wholesome likes of Best Friends and Jurassic Express. When one of their own is beaten down, they race out to pick them back up, allowing AEW in one sweeping motion to book heat segments, get the babyfaces over, and create derivations of matches involving the opposing alliances.

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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!