Huge AEW Mistakes That Let WWE Regain Momentum

A few years ago, it seemed as though WWE finally had its work cut out for them as they faced true mainstream competition for the first time in two decades. Vince McMahon’s company enjoyed a monopoly over the industry for the better part of 20 years before AEW came around in 2019, quickly establishing itself as the challenger brand with all the momentum.

In 2024, AEW’s challenge has waned significantly, with WWE enjoying a new boom period under Triple H’s creative control. AEW has also allowed WWE to regain momentum due to some poor decision-making on the part of Tony Khan, because it is not the same company that it once promised to be.

AEW Has Homogenized Its Presentation

It Looks Very Similar To WWE Now

• AEW used to be adept at branding their shows and promoting them to be unique
• It has smoothed out its presentation style, losing a lot of its charm
• The style AEW has now is very similar to WWE, which makes mainstream American wrestling feel very homogenized

It could be argued that AEW needed to catch up to WWE in its production levels at some point, as the television networks would expect a certain level of shine on its programming. However, the approach that AEW has taken has made it look very WWE-lite, when it used to be unique and charming.

AEW used to have a more personal feel than WWE does on Raw or SmackDown, with limited lighting and more set dressing to make every show feel special. Now, Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision are hardly different in any way other than the logo, becoming a primary color homogenized nightmare that only contributes to the general malaise around the company.

AEW Has Copied WWE’s Booking Mechanisms

This Makes Tony Khan’s Company Feel Like A Knock-Off

• AEW has utilized similar gimmicks and match stipulations to WWE, but done them in a poorer way
• Their ‘Blood and Guts’ events have never been as good as War Games’ matches in WWE and WCW
• The Casino Gauntlet has also become something very similar to the Money in the Bank contract

When something in wrestling has proven to be successful, it is difficult for others not to imitate it, as everyone copies each other’s homework. AEW used to be able to take old wrestling tropes and make them better, but they have devolved into parodying WWE’s ideas.

This began when AEW introduced their own version of War Games, ‘Blood and Guts,’ which promised to be a more violent version of the stipulation, but it felt exactly like a WWE match if not worse. The promotion has also started using a Money in the Bank-type gimmick with Christian Cage waiting to cash-in his Casino Gauntlet title shot, which is nonsense and never would have made its way onto AEW TV when it first started.

AEW Cut Off Ties With Impact Wrestling

WWE Now Has A Good Relationship With TNA

• AEW and Impact wrestling used cross-promotion throughout 2021 to great effect
• WWE began working with TNA last year, which has also been a successful partnership
• AEW’s working relationship with Impact/TNA should have been kept to avoid WWE receiving the benefits

It is fair to say that the AEW/Impact working relationship was relatively one-sided – as the former simply used the latter’s best talent whenever they wanted to. Impact did get a run with Kenny Omega as the ‘Belt Collector,’ which considerably boosted the show’s ratings in 2021, but their partnership came to an end later that year.

Fast-forward to this year and TNA have now struck up a much better talent-sharing agreement with WWE, which has allowed performers like Joe Hendry, Jordynne Grace, and Rosemary to appear on NXT. This has only strengthened the developmental brand as AEW continues to overuse their working relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling, with both companies struggling to build any momentum.

AEW Has De-Emphasized Its Television Output

Its Increased Number Of Pay-Per-Views Has Been An Issue

• AEW used to only have a handful of pay-per-views a year, whilst producing Dynamite every week
• The increased number of television shows and PPV events has ultimately been detrimental for AEW creatively
• It is very similar to how WWE operates now, but the competition does it far more successfully than AEW

Whilst AEW’s initial run of pay-per-views were great in 2019, it was the invention of Dynamite that really catapulted the promotion into being a real contender to WWE’s dominance. The initial couple of years went very well for the fledgling company, as they defeated NXT in the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ and managed to produce some of the best wrestling television of all time.

However, once AEW started to add more TV shows and PPV’s to the calander, it was clear there was a decline in quality across the board within the company. This lack of focus on television output has made AEW rely on pay-per-view events for acclaim, which is the same trap WWE fell into years ago.

AEW Involved Ring Of Honor Too Much

ROH Has Become An imposition Within AEW

• Tony Khan announced in January 2022 that he had purchased Ring of Honor
• ROH talent and titles began appearing on AEW television, which was a mistake
• The already bloated roster did not need even more wrestlers or championships

When Tony Khan announced that he had purchased Ring of Honor in 2022, it was as exciting as it was concerning. Whilst the prospect of seeing some of the best ROH wrestlers appear in AEW was great, it had already begun to feel like Khan had taken on too many projects as the creative lead of the company.

Unfortunately, ROh began to feel like more of an imposition over time as the brand’s champions were often beaten on AEW, underscoring how unimportant it was. AEW also had too many wrestlers and titles already, so adding a whole new promotion to the mix was not a good idea at all.

AEW Has Made Far Too Many Signings

Tony Khan Got Carried Away With Recruitment

• AEW started out with a small roster where every wrestler was able to get some profile on television
• They began signing more talent in 2020, with a lot coming from WWE after being released on mass
• Their recruitment got out of hand from 2021 onwards, as wrestlers were signing with AEW almost every week

In 2019, it was clear that almost everyone on the AEW roster had something to do, which allowed te audience to invest in every character, no matter how important they were. over time, this began to dilute itself with the increased number of signings AEW made, to the point where the roster became so bloated that barely anyone was profiled in the right way.

Another issue that came from Tony Khan’s over-indulgent recruitment was that many of the performers were ex-WWE, which made AEW feel less than through association. Many of these performers were great prospects, but have gone on to show that AEW were wrong to invest in them over some of the homegrown talent they had begun to produce.

This Has Happened Due To The Size Of The Roster

• AEW used to be great at promoting young talent, particularly ‘The Four Pillars’
• Due to the overcrowding of the roster, many of its rising stars have been unable to break through
• This is due to a lack of focus on booking the young talent, overlooking them for more experienced signings

The key to prolonged success in wrestling is to keep the ball rolling when it comes to creating stars, as even the biggest performers eventually fizzle out. WWE learned this the hard way on multiple occasions, whether it be the ‘Golden Era’ going into the ‘New Generation Era,’ or the ‘Attitude Era’ going into the ‘Ruthless Aggression Era.’

It appears that AEW has had to learn the same lesson as a lot of its former biggest stars now feel normalized, whilst its younger talent has not been given the right amount of exposure. The company is attempting to fix things now through the likes of Kyle Fletcher, Daniel Garcia, and Darby Allin getting a greater profile, but it may be a while before they can reach the top level that AEW needs them to be.

AEW Needs To Stop Running Anti-Sports Entertainment Angles

The Digs At WWE Have Long Become Tiresome And Obsolete

• AEW has made a point of making itself a wrestling show, in opposition to WWE’s sports entertainment style
• Acts like the Jericho Appreciation Society have been designed to mimic/mock WWE
• Given WWE’s recent success, the idea that sports entertainment can’t be good is evidently false

When AEW launched in 2019, it had the luxury of facing an awful WWE, which made jabs at the competition fair game in most fans’ eyes. However, momentum has shifted back the other way, yet AEW continues to critique its competitor and its sports entertainment style in a desperate way.

The most egregious example of this was when Chris Jericho led a group of ‘Sports Entertainers’ in AEW as heels in 2022. Not only were the Jericho Appreciation a worse version of The Inner Circle, but it also highlighted how wrong AEW were to criticize WWE’s style of wrestling, when they are the most successful brand in the sport’s history.

AEW’s Overall Creative Quality Has Declined

The Best Part Of AEW Used To Be Its Storytelling

• AEW built its success on being able to tell stories, especially long-term ones that had time to evolve
• At some point over the past few years, the promotion became more week-to-week with its booking approach
• The clear lack of planning and investment in certain characters has clearly harmed the quality of AEW programming

Ultimately, AEW’s loss of momentum to WWE can be put down to the fact that their overall creative quality has declined significantly. AEW is still able to offer moments of brilliance, such as the ‘Hangman’ Page and Swerve Strickland feud, but these tend to be outliers to the overall quality of the product.

Whilst AEW has tried and failed to elevate its content this year, WWE has continued to go from strength to strength under Triple H. Tony Khan has a lot of work to do in order to try and get AEW back to its best more consistently, but it looks quite bleak as of right now.

‘The Feeling’ Is Gone, AEW Must Move On

The Promotion Needs To Adapt Or Become Irrelevant

• AEW has mentioned ‘restoring the feeling,’ which is problematic for a number of reasons
• It is a blatant admission that they have declined as a company, without doing much to change things
• AEW may never be able to recapture its original ‘feeling,’ but it can still be successful by becoming something new

AEW has spent much of 2024 attempting to ‘restore the feeling’ that is apparently the solution to all their problems, which is a massive self-own from the company admitting the product has been poor. It is clear that the AEW from 2019-2021 has gone, so getting a similar ‘feeling’ back among the fandom is unlikely at this point.

Tony Khan just has to evolve and find a way to reengage fans as AEW’s momentum has just halted in large part due to how successful WWE has become again. Nobody truly expected AEW to dethrone WWE when it started, so the promotion should just start from scratch and give its core fanbase the best wrestling product that it can offer.