Image via Getty/Amy Sussman
On October 2, 2019, All Elite Wrestling will officially kick off the latest pro wrestling war. It’s yet to be said how much they will lean into their new weekly live television series being a “war” with Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment—a federation which has run professional wrestling in the United States since I was in kindergarten—but the upstart pro wrestling company has a number of factors that can put it ahead of the current pro wrestling landscape.
When AEW kicks off its run on TNT this fall, the landscape of professional wrestling could shift. Or it could just make things more fun. Or they could tank, although judging by the moves Cody and company have made leading up to its television debut, we don’t see a total failure on the horizon. If you want proof, here are some reasons why.
Wednesdays could be a fire night for pro wrestling
Monday nights are an institution for professional wrestling; the WWE has been occupying that night for decades, in a number of iterations (and channels). Their second brand, Smackdown, has hopped around; it currently airs on Tuesday nights, but will be making the jump back to Fridays when it debuts on Fox this fall (it’s also occupied Thursday nights for a time). Wednesdays are interesting altogether; it’s known as the night for NXT on the WWE Network, airing at 8PM ET. That crowd, who loves the more indie-minded brand, might be interested to hop over to TNT to catch a bigger production, indie-minded federation in AEW. And since NXT is on-demand, not catching it live at 8PM won’t be that much of a trip; they’d just watch a replay later that day.
Plus, with no other established pro wrestling on that day, AEW’s got a wide-open field when it comes to wrestling-related competition on television.
Cody is Dusty Rhodes’ son
Dusty Rhodes was not only one of the biggest pro wrestling stars of the 1980s, but he also helped book the NWA during his heyday, as well as the early ‘90s at times. He was so famous (infamous?) for his booking that the term “Dusty finish” was coined to describe Dusty’s tendency to have matches end where a winner’s hand was raised, only to be informed that due to something small, they lost. He’s a legend in the game and judging by how Cody cuts promos before matches, but for the old school “big match feel” of his modern-day bouts in AEW. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and with Cody settling into the role of star on-screen and creative mind behind the scenes, those Dusty influences should will help dictate the feel of the storylines and, more importantly, the tentpole matches and shows will make AEW a true force.
Wrestlers won’t have scripted promos
If you grew up in the era of The Rock, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and the other best talkers in the squared circle, you were treated to promos that were basically improv. Back in the day, pro wrestlers were given a few bullet points, then let their personalities turn them into entertaining speeches that would not only tell their opponents how they would be beating their ass, but letting fans know where, and how to see it. As WWE grew, they shied away from that aspect, making their superstars stick to scripts when it came time for cutting promos. Usually, this practice has lead to embarrassing segments, or stars sounding more wooden in the ring because they are much better when they aren’t memorizing lines. Moxley himself spoke about the ills of this practice, and rumors of guys like Kevin Owens being allowed to come up with their own material during promos is seen like the WWE is trusting in his performance.
In AEW, they have made it a point to say that they would be allowing their stars to cut unscripted promos. People like Chris Jericho and Cody will have a field day with this, as will MJF, who has become a true phenom on the mic.
Wins and losses will matter
One of the biggest problems many have with today’s WWE product is that it doesn’t usually matter who wins or loses; it’s a common occurrence for a title-holder to regularly lose to a challenger, only to then demolish them in a title defense. The “even Steven” booking of this era can be mind-numbing, as it’s hard to tell what the pecking order of the roster truly is. All Elite has made it a point to specify that wins and losses will matter and that the ranking of their talent roster will help determine who’s being given title shots.
The ramifications of this should be felt immediately; instead of just watching a match, waiting for high spots or moments to cheer, AEW’s going to foster a sense of unpredictability with their programs. If every win and loss matters, that can make most matches must-see television, keeping fans in suspense throughout a program. It’ll make AEW feel closer to real-life professional sports than any form of pro wrestling has been able to.
Tag team wrestling will be on full display
It shouldn’t be a surprise that tag team wrestling will be put on a pedastal in AEW; the world-renown Young Bucks are a part of the federation’s executive team. That said, it’s something that the WWE lacks; they have solid teams like The New Day, The Usos, The Revival, and others, but they have neglected their tag team divisions for long spells. On Day 1, AEW will be kicking off a tag team tournament that is set to eventually crown the first AEW Tag Team Champions. It’s something that’ll help differentiate their product from the WWE, and with teams like the Lucha Bros in competition, it will set a new standard in professional wrestling.
Access to talent
This is where things will get interesting. During the Monday Night Wars of the 1990s, one of the wildest games to play was seeing which stars would defect from the WWE to WCW (or vice versa, with some ECW thrown in the mix). The nWo storyline was initially based on WWF (at the time) stars returning to WCW to wreak havoc. While the amount of ship-jumping might not be that rampant (we’d assume the WWE has learned a lot from that war), the possibility of AEW’s pluses allowing pro wrestlers more freedom in a less-strenuous environment could be intriguing to WWE superstars who are up for contract renewal and just unhappy with the current product. This also translates to former WWE stars—Jim Ross currently has an active role in AEW, and guys like Bret Hart and Diamond Dallas Page have already made appearances on AEW-branded pay-per-views. Two of their biggest acquisitions, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley, got their biggest looks in the WWE, and have quickly been pushed to the top of the AEW card.
With a few more key signings and surprises, AEW could continue to pull WWE fans over to see their favorites get to express themselves in a new environment.
The "fresh" factor
Ultimately, everything AEW does right now is newsworthy, for good or ill. Lucky for them, they are saying all of the right things for fans looking for an alternative to the WWE and making a number of interesting decisions. As you can see, they want to make their diversity known from the beginning, be it signing wrestlers from the LGBTQ+ community like Nyla Rose and Sonny Kiss or working with the OWE to bring more Chinese performers in front of an American audience. AEW is leaning into being different, and that's going to be successful for them...in the beginning. They are still learning, and are willing to amend the six month-to-one year's worth of storyline plans they have mapped out already.
It's up to Cody, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and company to now execute on the tools they've laid out to achieve ultimate success.