AEW: The Honeymoon is over, and I still love you

     

    

    The new car smell has faded from our brand new minivan and we still love it all the same. If you are a fan of AEW, you may feel that they can do no wrong, or at least that’s how it felt for most of their first year. No wrestling promotion is safe from criticism, though, and AEW now finds itself in the same boat as other major and mid-major promotions in this regard. Still, they find themselves to be the favorite promotion of many wrestling fans despite some of these issues, and for good reasons. Let's look at some of the issues highlighted by the IWC before we discuss the areas that they excel in. 

 

     The state of their women's division is probably the most common complaint I see on Twitter and Facebook Groups. While they have a great B show in AEW Dark, they only have one opportunity every week to showcase their talent to a national audience. AEW has a lot of great young talent in their women's division, but they don't have the time to showcase it; or do they? Each episode of Dynamite only features one match from the women's division and may contain a promo or segment for a different story. But that's it. The answer may be to extend Dynamite to three hours (please don't), or to feature the division more prominently on their second show for TNT; whenever that begins. AEW is certainly at a disadvantage with the current global situation when it comes to all of their international talents, so, hopefully they can resolve this issue when international travel opens back up. 

 

     Too much comedy? Jim Cornette is possibly the harshest critic of AEW, and this is one of his main complaints. Other fans aren’t a fan of Orange Cassidy, The Dark Order, Michael Nakazawa, or even some of the segments involving members of the Elite. If you watch Being the Elite, which you should, you can see where AEW gets its sense of humor from, and it often bleeds into their approach to certain segments for Dynamite. Comedy wrestling is an essential ingredient to a good wrestling show, but some feel it should only be given in small doses. 

 

     So, what are they good at? They have an amazing tag team division. The promos aren’t scripted. They let wrestlers have creative freedom over their characters and even allow them to work for other promotions. They promote talent from the independent scene and help other promotions like the NWA keep their wrestlers employed when they aren’t having shows. They promote a safe and friendly locker room and work environment. They are inclusive of people from all races, religions, genders, and sexual orientations. These are just a few of the reasons they are so over with their fanbase. A wrestling promotion that promotes WRESTLING and wants to see the business as a whole succeed. How refreshing is that? 

 

     AEW has thrived in its first year, and through the most extraordinary of circumstances. Tony Khan has put together a fantastic company, and the wrestling community, for the most part, has welcomed this fresh approach to a business that has been monopolized by WWE for the last twenty years. They listen to their critics and try to grow from their comments rather than shy away from them or try to pretend they don’t exist. Originally presented as the alternative, AEW very well may become the norm if they continue to impress the wrestling community and can manage to create some new fans.