AEW is still Elite - but is it still All Elite?
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00:00You know how this goes, as a wrestling fan we can never be happy, we give ourselves a
00:05few weeks here and there, but otherwise we are looking for things to make us mad, we're
00:09all very very strange.
00:11There are some things that do come and go from the world of predetermined grappling
00:15however that can be quite sad, which is exactly what we're going to talk about today.
00:20So I am sorry for what culture, please do subscribe, and these are 9 things AEW stopped
00:25doing that we really want to see again.
00:289.
00:30Given what we do know about wrestling, why wouldn't you go out of your way to ensure
00:33some individuals have your back, because if you don't you're going to get your ass whooped.
00:37Because of this though, all elite wrestling has fallen into a habit of post-match beatdowns.
00:42Unless you are a loner, which few are, you will be saved by those you've associated yourself
00:46with as that's the whole point.
00:47There's nothing wrong with this either, but it's like anything, if you do it too much
00:51you cross the line.
00:53This wasn't always the way though, as way back in 2019 Tony Khan would measure it a
00:57bit differently.
00:58It was like when Hangman Adam Page defeated Sammy Guevara on Dynamite.
01:01The cowboy just won to establish himself as a threat to the main event scene, leaving
01:05the inner circle to enhance their feud with the elite later on during a contract signing.
01:10So they still got their revenge, it just wasn't directly after the match, which also ties
01:14into
01:158.
01:16Realistic Run-ins
01:17In all walks of wrestling you are going to get run-ins, be it due to a pal coming out
01:21to help a buddy, or a super good guy arriving to try and smack a villain in the face.
01:25If they just leg it out there it does make sense, but that's not what we do is it?
01:30Instead we hit their entrance music and make sure to milk it for all it's worth.
01:34Now again, I do love this, but is it realistic?
01:37Of course not.
01:38It didn't last long in AEW, but in those early days it did seem to be something they were
01:41fighting against.
01:42Again though, it's important to be realistic, but you know what's better?
01:46Having a whale of a time.
01:487.
01:49Ending a Program
01:50Do you remember when Cody Rhodes challenged Chris Jericho for the AEW World title and
01:53didn't win?
01:55We drew a line under that story and we moved on.
01:57It was the same when The Young Bucks defeated FTR or when Hangman Adam Page and Kenny Omega
02:01broke up.
02:02We had a very distinct arc that had a start, a middle and an end.
02:05Lately however, this has been a bit more wishy-washy.
02:08It likely comes down to the fact All Elite Wrestling is trying to balance so much, but
02:11the likes of Shida vs. Deeb, Dante Martin vs. Team Taz and pretty much everyone who
02:15was tangled with Andrade hasn't got much finality at all.
02:19In fact, a lot of these feuds just stopped and nobody knows why.
02:22Malachi Black has kind of fallen into this hole too, and while it hasn't stopped anyone
02:25I've mentioned from growing as a performer, sometimes you just want a full stop so the
02:30tale can be wrapped up in a nice little package.
02:32And that doesn't mean you have to go the other way either and run things into the ground,
02:35but an ending is important, otherwise you're just left wondering.
02:39Like Shaq for example.
02:40And if you know where he went, please let me know.
02:436.
02:44They'll Pop For Anything
02:45Apparently, it doesn't matter that All Elite Wrestling has crazy hot crowds, because yes,
02:50they'll react to anything, and just to summarise, isn't that the whole point?
02:54No matter what three initials are above the door, you should be aiming to cultivate an
02:57atmosphere where every single person in attendance wants to make a lot of noise.
03:01It makes any event ten times more fun.
03:04If we are being honest though, this run of white hot love may be over.
03:07It is just the nature of the beast, but as AEW grows, fans are becoming less likely to
03:12just cheer because it's cool to cheer with a few Dynamites quite noticeably having more
03:15subdued audiences than we're used to.
03:17A big reason for this could be the fact the taping schedule is far more intense as we
03:21try and record our flagship Wednesday show, as well as Dark, Elevation and Rampage.
03:26Given that the main event for the latter can sometimes be happening after almost three
03:29hours of grappling, it's no wonder some folk may be tired as a long ass day.
03:33I'm not really sure what the solution would be, because this is done to cut costs, so
03:37it always has to come first.
03:395.
03:40The Opening Match
03:41I'm starting to sound like a broken record now, but yet again I do see the upside.
03:45While having a banger of a fight to start every Dynamite is always really cool, you
03:48do need to spice the format up here and there, otherwise you run the risk of falling into
03:53a pattern.
03:54This is why the likes of CM Punk and Adam Cole have gone full on sports entertainment
03:57here and there and kicked things off with an opening promo, and look, with Punk it tied
04:01into the MGF feud and that thing was gold.
04:04With that said, we have seen that for the last 20 years, so when AEW began putting wrestling
04:09at the front of its wrestling show, fans obviously ate it up, because why wouldn't we?
04:13No matter what, this is what we tune in for.
04:15It also gives you a proper adrenaline rush that gets you pumped up for the rest of the
04:19show, and is definitely something All Elite Wrestling should keep more often than not.
04:22The credits roll, the entrance music hits, away we go.
04:25And you're always going to get raw comparisons when you do do somebody grabbing a microphone,
04:29and no that's not fair, but nobody said it would be.
04:324.
04:33All Star Matches
04:34I'm pretty sure if Tony Khan had kept doing this it would have blown up in his face, but
04:38man, did AEW like giving PPV worthy matches away on TV?
04:42But it did plant the seeds for the inevitable, expectation levels went through the roof and
04:46then wobbled when it wavered.
04:48The replacement to this was taking a proper star and putting them against a young up-and-comer
04:52or a veteran that could withstand a loss, and that simply was never going to be as fun,
04:56how could it be?
04:57It does serve a purpose though, and really when we were doing this, AEW was desperate
05:01to get their name out there.
05:02What better way to do that than with dream fights people had always wanted to see?
05:06It is another case of the promotion coming into its own then and getting ready for the
05:09long haul, or basically, we'd been spoiled.
05:13There could be struggles here too mind, there are so many top tier talents you can't beat
05:17right now, eventually a lot of questions may be asked.
05:203.
05:21Making Rampage Distinct From Dynamite
05:23I'm not entirely sure we can judge this just yet as it's too early, but there's definitely
05:27been a shift in the thought process.
05:29When Rampage kicked off initially it did feel like a very match heavy production, before
05:33finding its feet, where it would often go fight, angle, fight, angle, fight, angle,
05:36the end.
05:37But for some reason or another, and I would guess that big roster comes into play again,
05:41it is now just a barrage of content or as much as we can squeeze into that one hour.
05:45It is an absolute blast as you're never bored and never know what's coming, but on occasion
05:49it can be a little bit too much.
05:51I still don't get how they fit in as much as they do within 60 minutes, but sometimes
05:54it can feel like we're sacrificing certain stories just to get to the next beat.
05:58I still believe Rampage is going to come into its own at some point, especially if Ricky
06:02Starks, Keith Lee, Swerve, Strickland and Powerhouse Hobbs continue to make it their
06:05own.
06:06Those guys are smashing it.
06:082.
06:09Listening
06:10On the one hand, you have to listen to your audience.
06:12If you don't you will create unrest and a disconnect will begin to form.
06:16We have seen that time and time again.
06:18On the other side to this though is that there are some individuals who definitely should
06:21not be listened to.
06:23If we did that the whole format would be scrapped, and never forget why AEW definitely does want
06:27to keep that hardcore base, extending it to welcome in the more casual supporter is equally
06:31as important, without both you can't grow.
06:34Herein lies the reason though, that not every single thing is being switched just because
06:38the audience was vocal, as that mentioned audience has changed.
06:41Far more newcomers have found their way along for the ride, and whether you like it or not,
06:45their voice also counts too.
06:46It's why any TV time All Elite Wrestling can get as vital as they try out new ideas,
06:51but it cannot be like it was in 2019, the company is so much bigger.
06:56If you want to compare it to your favourite band playing the local bar before finding
06:59their way to huge arenas that would be fair, we're just at another level now, and with
07:04that, comes great responsibility.
07:061.
07:07Brightening up the audience
07:08And no, I don't mean reading them books or teaching them math, I am talking about the
07:11physical act of lighting the crowd up in areas so we can see their beaming faces.
07:15It's a ploy AEW utilised so much in the early days, to the point it got noticed all the
07:20time.
07:21It made the whole visual feel fresh too, and actually seeing fans lose their minds was
07:24very entertaining.
07:25To be fair, Mr Khan believes that trying to recreate that sporting, combat atmosphere
07:30is the way to go, and he wouldn't be wrong, I mean ratings are up at the moment so it's
07:33not like this is proving to be a huge flop, and maybe even Warner requested it, and if
07:38they do that, nobody has a choice anyway.
07:40It was a nice friendly touch though, that hopefully one day, could rear its head again
07:44once more.