Why Wrestling Has A MAJOR Problem Right Now
Remember the first Steel Cage match, between Cody and Wardlow, and how massive it felt?
It was the first time AEW had promoted that gimmick attraction, and it was built towards incredibly well. This week, Road Rager is essentially AEW Uncensored. Before Jeff Hardy's DUI arrest, AEW was cycling through ladder matches at a near one-per-month WWE-adjacent rate.
Impact Wrestling has effectively become the home of some excellent under-the-radar matches, but then, where can't you see great wrestling these days? For all its countless faults, even WWE has had a superb year in the ring in places. The Japanese landscape remains plagued by clap crowds, the "it is what it is" latitude extended towards which is harder to excuse now that fans have returned to arenas in the States for almost a full year. Dominion was a great one match show, but some of the dreck on that undercard indicated that NJPW can't rely on simply waiting for the noise to return. Gedo has peaked as a booker.
Ring Of Honor exists only to impose on AEW right now. Where the independent scene was once a thriving cult hotbed for discerning taste-making crowds, the place to watch the hottest new talent progress, AEW has seized this mantle, with its bold and revolutionary approach to debuting new acts with minimal TV experience. The scene remains in decent health, for completionists, but by the time a talent generates serious buzz, they've already appeared on Dynamite. As progressive and convenient as this directive is, it still de-incentivises catching up on the indies.
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