NXT helped WWE get its sh*t together in 2013/14. They're potentially not due an intake that watched that product as kids for another five years or so, compared to AEW reaping the benefits of the sweet spot right now.
To be in your mid-20s and "making it" in WWE is to be at the whims of a detached billionaire 50 years your senior scripting the dialogue he thinks will make you sound cool. Contrast that with the success of mid-to-late 30s guys Cody, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Jon Moxley and several other power players in the upstart promotion.
It's not short on a youth movement - Hangman Page, Britt Baker, Jungle Boy and MJF will all make even bigger successes of themselves in the company than they already have - but they'll be guided by those aforementioned names and other colleagues that knew what made them tick and want to make it the norm again.
AEW wins that key demographic because they are it. It is WWE's job now to ensure the current generation get a better show than the one they're being offered in order to offset this phenomenon happening again for generations to come.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
