The Secret Ingredient Behind AEW's Booking Success

by Michael Sidgwick
Boat Tony Schiavone
AEW

The match? The match that is officiated? Every sport has at least one memorable referee. If you're a sports fan, you might hate them. They've left an impression on you, in any case, because they are heavily involved in the game. If wrestling exists to in some way emulate real life, the wrestling referee must be, too.

This connection-driven approach isn't just a plot driver. All of this building creates a believable and immersive constructed world in which the vast majority of even the non-wrestler players appear to live rich and believable interior lives. You can imagine Schiavone complaining to his wife Lois about that "little prick" when he gets home. You can imagine Edwards dreading the match to which she's been assigned that week. These aren't nameless officials nor living soundboards. They are people interacting with other people.

The mentality behind AEW's booking is to account for every action and stay faithful to every existing relationship. It's a wacky world, wackier than some wanted it to be in good faith or otherwise.

But it's one you can believe in, dinosaurs, space aliens, evil cults and all.

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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!