This week I am focussing on AEW, a lot has been said and written about the new kids on the block over the last 12 months in FB groups, Pods, Vlogs and just about everywhere else you can imagine so I am just going to focus on my opinions and perceptions of what I have enjoyed or not and what I feel about All Elite Wrestling.

To begin, I guess we start at the beginning… variety is the spice of life so when word of a new promotion came about I looked on it as a positive, the fact that the names associated with it were well known and popular in the industry, and looked like they would be getting some hefty financial backing I was certainly intrigued and hopeful that this would be good for wrestling on the whole.

What followed over the coming months actually turned me OFF the idea of AEW. We all know about keyboard warriors and how the IWC generally works but all this went into over drive in the build up to AEW – sign this guy, sign that guy, AEW will put Vince out of business etc etc. All this was way, WAY before a single episode of Dynamite had aired. It also came across in the shows too and felt a little desperate to grab attention and be controversial. But for the most part as things have progressed that seems to have stopped for the most part with only a few little references which have actually been quite amusing. like Jericho’s list and how he put down the crowd and corrected them that it’s NOT a list – although substituting it for the “Lexicon of Le Champion” didn’t actually mean what they were intending it to mean, but if you think about what we as fans are expected to accept in wrestling then I don’t really think anyone is too fussed by linguistics or grammar 

Then there was the weekly argument for bragging rights over viewing figures, which became a much quieter argument once they levelled out!

Overall I think its excellent for wrestling on the whole to have competition, my opinion from the start is that it is hard to judge over a short period of time so I would be keen to see how things are going in 12 months – can AEW avoid the pitfalls that WWE periodically stumbles head first into? What changes will be seen in WWE to react to AEW? What individuals will step up to the plate for either company to strive for the next level?

Below, I am going to break down my thoughts into things I have seen as positives so far and areas that, in my opinion, need development going forwards.

Positives

I’ll start with the AEW Tag Division, growing up watching wrestling tag team teams were a big deal, teams stayed together for long periods of time with a large variety of gimmicks and styles until sometimes you’d get the break out singles star coming out of a team. More recently tag team matches have become increasingly more often used to give ring time/TV time to multiple singles wrestlers. Totally blame Teddy Long here playa!!

Its no surprise with The Young Bucks being key players in AEW that tag wrestling would get some attention and the teams signed from the start showed that there would be a big focus on this. There’s been a big focus on high flying tag matches, which obviously isn’t for everyone but several of the matches on Dynamite so far have been genuinely top drawer especially during the Tag Title tournament. Having proper teams who have been together for a long time and had matches previously has allowed the division to hit the ground running and most matches have been well put together to showcase the talent and variety of styles. It is also a breath of fresh air that AEW has steered clear of obvious booking decisions – like The Bucks losing early in the title tournament and SCU progressing without Christopher Daniels. It will be interesting to see how the division continues to develop from both talent and storyline perspectives. I’d expect to see Proud and Powerful take the titles in 2020 not only as they are a fantastic team but it would make sense for the Inner Circle to gain more gold.

Promos, for the most part have been excellent week after week with Jericho obviously setting a pretty high bar which the likes of Cody, MJF and Scorpio Sky have really risen to. MJF in particular really shone in his back and forth with Le Champion after turning on Cody, the back and forth between the two was in equal parts amusing and intense while moving forward the narrative of the relationship between MJF and Cody.

The highlight for me though has been Cody Rhodes, the verbal sparring leading up to his title showdown with Jericho was brilliant, both with in ring promos and the taped vignettes. Cody has a great look with his expensive suits and how he represents the corporate side of the Brand but when he speaks in the ring, he portrays so much passion and respect for the business he commands attention.

There are a number of new names and faces appearing regularly in AEW who have impressed me, they may not be new to everyone but they are to me. Darby Allin and Joey Janela are both names I was aware of prior to watching Dynamite weekly and both have shown that they are more than simply gimmick wrestlers. Sammy Guevara in particular has grown on me rapidly, the opening Dynamite match vs Cody didn’t impress me much but how he has developed as a part of the Inner Circle he has gone up considerably in my estimation.

Jurassic Express as a unit are very new to me but both in ring and as a gimmick, they have been very impressive, Luchasaurus has a phenomenal look, hard hitting style and his brief bit of mic work facing off against Jericho was great and unexpected. Jungle Boy has impressed in his matches despite a losing record – he sells really well which is fortunate given the amount of time he spends on the receiving end but also has a good offensive move set. Marko Stunt is a phenomenon all of himself, he reminds me so much of Spike Dudley for obvious reasons. He always seems to be having fun despite being thrown around like a ragdoll!

Finally, Orange Cassidy…. I absolutely love this gimmick, I probably shouldn’t but I do! I have spent far too much time recently watching match after match on YouTube and it just really works – obviously he is a really talented wrestler and athlete but his gimmick shows that he doesn’t need that to get over. From what I have seen in AEW he is being booked brilliantly and can’t wait to see what they do with him going forwards, but for now just being alongside the Best Friends with little involvements here and there is working really well for him as is evident by the pops he is getting.

Kenny Omega obviously isn’t a new face, but he is someone that I knew more by reputation than from seeing all that much of him, I have watched some NJPW over the last few years but never consistently. Early impressions in AEW for me were a bit mixed, I am not sure if he was deliberately being held back so it didn’t look like the execs were getting the rub from their positions, but in recent weeks the more I have seen of him I am starting to “get” the hype around him and would now say I am a fan.

Finally, I can’t talk about the positives of AEW without talking about Le Champion, Chris Jericho may be sporting a dad bod these days and the Judas Elbow is a People Elbow/Five knuckle shuffle type move in my opinion but I have always loved watching Jericho in the ring. Watching the way he moves around the ring, plays the crowd reacts and interacts with his opponents is always impressive and his mic work is consistently good and utilises it perfectly to go with the heel persona even down to how he pronounces Tony Schiavone’s name. Ignore the associated names and financial clout behind them AEW is still a fledgling company so to have Jericho involved and furthermore have him at the pinnacle of the Brand is vitally important.

Requires development

TV presentation – in my opinion from the PPVs so far and Dynamite there is a great deal of room for improvement in how AEW is presented technically, there have been a number of mistakes and gaffs so far which need to be ironed out – say what you want about Raw/Smackdown but the production values are sky high in comparison to AEW at this point. The highlight of this which will also lead onto my next point is the women’s Casino Battle Royale which I can only describe as a complete clusterf*** in terms of the presentation and commentary as well as the in-ring action. And remember when Tony Schiavone was off doing something else and they had some random stage hand on comms for a bit…. I don’t think anyone had any idea what was going on then!

Before I start on the Women’s division, I have to say that improvements have been seen since I first started prepping this piece but there’s still a lot of scope to get better. The division is missing some top talent, a lot of what was making it to TV in the early weeks was a really low standard. I struggle to buy in to Rhio as champion – and I usually like an underdog – she seems far too timid and lacks in presence, on the flip side I think it would be equally bad had they put the title on Nyla Rose who I don’t feel has a great deal of in ring skill based on what I have seen so far. Hikaru Shida has really impressed me so far and Emi Sakura is great although arguably reaching the end of her career now – I recall seeing her about 10 years ago at an Indy show in Wolverhampton. The recent addition of Kris Statlander is a definite plus for AEWs women’s division though as she has looked very impressive in her matches so far, although would question her walking almost straight into the title picture

Explaining the unknowns seems to have been a bit of an issue for AEW for example… “that’s the Butcher…. That’s the Blade…” but who are they? “It’s the Butcher and the Blade and the Bunny!” As a unit they are quite intriguing but the introduction was so random with zero build it didn’t make a whole heap of sense. Similarly, with Kris Statlander there seems to be zero build, and very little acknowledgement or explanation of her being “The Galaxy’s Greatest Alien”

And finally, Good Ol JR – it pains me to say it but I think his time is done, its almost like he has become a caricature of himself and speaks and shouts mostly nonsense throughout the broadcast. I quite like Excalibur and I can put up with Schiavone although I think they would be better off using new names on commentary who are more relevant and “in the know” for the modern product, I wouldn’t be averse to wheeling JR out for special matches or occasions but I’d prefer to hear a more modern voice alongside the in ring action.

So that’s just my opinion on AEW so far, I remain open minded and hope to enjoy the ride over the coming months and see what changes in the business

Name Drop…

With each article I will try to add in a relevant name drop for a wrestler I have met or experience I have had. Since we’re talking AEW I’ll throw back to meeting Trent Berreta at Kamikaze Pro’s “Project K” show. Trent had an amazing match against Pete Dunne, on a card which also included Eddie Dennis vs Tommaso Ciampa. Both matches were fantastic and it’s hard to pick between the two. Trent vs Pete was technically amazing and demonstrated great story telling throughout with some great spots and then was great meeting and chatting with fans at the end of the show.

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I am on Twitter where I have a new profile – Matt Based Wrestling - just to focus on all things wrestling related, you can follow me at @mattbasedwres01