5 Bold changes AEW needs to make in 2022

AEW has emerged as the alternative in pro-wrestling after nearly two decades of WWE dominating the industry.

Recently fans have become a little bit more disillusioned with the promotion, especially after the incident involving President Tony Khan and the recently released Big Swole.

That being said, since its inception in 2019, All Elite Wrestling has been breaking boundaries and setting new standards for wrestling. Despite all of their strengths, there are still several areas where Tony Khan's promotion can grow and reach newer heights.

Now is the time for the company to become bold and make changes to not only build on their foundations but also invite new fans. This list will explore five things AEW needs to do in 2022 to maintain and expand fan interest.

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#5 AEW needs to have another two-hour show

AEW's biggest problem might just be the number of wrestlers currently signed to the promotion.

While the roster boasts performers with a wide array of skillsets, there is only so much time to feature wrestlers per week. Dynamite is a 120 minute show while Rampage has a run time of 60 minutes. With only 180 minutes of screen time per week, there isn't enough of an opportunity to feature the entire roster.

Adding a second full-time show at 120 minutes could help bridge the gap and provide time for more wrestlers to be featured. With more time, the audience can see the underutilized wrestlers grow on screen without having matches on Dark or Dark: Elevation.

There are far too many talented wrestlers who have one week feuds or simply wait in the back to get their shot. While All Elite Wrestling does have a better environment, these young wrestlers need exposure.

#4 AEW Dark needs to be used for more than just squash matches

AEW Dark was meant to be a stage for new wrestlers to enter the promotion and prove themselves. Unlike other companies, All Elite Wrestling's dark matches are viewable to more than just the fans in attendance.

Unfortunately at some stage, Dark became a place for wrestlers to improve their win/loss record and in turn it features mostly squash matches. Prospective wrestlers are either jobbing for each other or the already established wrestlers trying to improve their ranks.

For viewers who don't watch Dark, it's become confusing to see a wrestler get a title shot when they've hardly been on Dynamite or Rampage.

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#3 Get rid of the ranking system

While this issue ties into the point made in number 5 of this article, it is still something that stands on its own.

The ranking system has been interesting, but after nearly 3 years it's clear it doesn't work well. Wrestlers like Scorpio Sky and even Brian Cage have received very little screentime despite their skill in the ring, simply because of the ranking system.

The rankings seem to have the same few people on top and this ends up causing the same couple of wrestlers to appear on television. AEW should be careful how they push their wrestlers or they might begin to draw the same criticisms as WWE for pushing the same few people.

2. AEW needs to stop signing older talent or recently released WWE wrestlers

AEW signings CM Punk and Bryan Danielson were probably two of the most shocking moments of 2021 in pro-wrestling.

Since then, however, Punk has done very little other than wrestle against up-and-coming wrestlers. Most notably, he had a brief feud with Eddie Kingston and is now in a storyline with MJF. Unfortunately, his run has been disappointing so far.

All that time and resources could have gone into pushing new wrestlers instead of making Punk have a lackluster run. It's fantastic to see Punk wrestling again, but the promotion needs to focus on the future.

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1.Create a trios Championship for all the many factions to fight for

If there's one thing that's abundant in All Elite Wrestling, it's all factions and teams.

The Dark Order, Hardy Family Office, The Pinnacle, The Elite, and The Best Friends all have more than three members. Even Jurassic Express had three members not so long ago.

These teams either square off with each other for bragging rights or target tag teams that need to team up with another tag team to fend them off. The number of factions isn't a bad thing, but they should definitely have a title to fight for so that they do more than outnumber everyone else.

A trio's title would give the tag-team division some much-needed air while giving the factions something worth fighting for.