The Unbelievable Truth Behind Wrestling Fan TRIBALISM

by Michael Sidgwick
Nikki Cross
WWE.com

Commentary in AEW is very good but often lighthearted, running away with itself. Smug in-jokes Jones.

While he might reference STARDOM once a month or something, Michael Cole is still a phenomenally sterile, exposition-happy announce guy who either dryly recaps incredibly basic stories or overcompensates by screaming his head off. One company could do with a bit more focus, the other could do with being far more organic.

Moreover, beyond these differences, the other irony of WWE Vs. AEW tribalism is that each promotion does a lot of the same things. This isn't some Scorsese Vs. MCU divide. Both WWE and AEW go overboard with distraction and interference finishes. Both are guilty of taking forever to do anything of note with nothing character arcs, whether it's Triple H presenting Nikki Cross as an amnesiac or Kip Sabian standing around with a box on his head. Both rely on bad comedy. Both are millennial-brained entities that don't seem sure of which year it is, between Roderick Strong referencing The Waterboy (1998) or Jey Uso unaware that TikTok replaced Vine years ago. Both promote too many titles; does anybody need either the Heritage Cup or the ROH World TV title?

At times, the only true difference is the set of initials.

Obviously, you don't want both companies to operate identically, but the grand irony of tribalism within US mainstream wrestling is that each promotion would actually be better if they copied one another's homework to a degree.

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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!