5 Things WWE can learn from AEW - Big change to promos, Change in how titles are treated

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Let's be honest for a second! WWE is a powerhouse and a billion-dollar company. Its current net worth is well over five billion dollars. Thanks to its lucrative network deals, the company's content is spread across USA Network, Fox, and even the WWE Network -- distributed by NBCUniversal's digital streaming service, Peacock, in the United States.

So, no one needs to teach WWE lessons in financial growth. It's in the creative where the sports entertainment giant seems to have fallen behind in recent times.

Chris Jericho famously mocked Vince McMahon's company during a promo for its reliance on 'bad creative.' Currently, WWE can showcase Roman Reigns' booking as its high point, but there are multiple low points as well. The 24/7 Championship is a prime example of a watered-down version of the WWE Hardcore title. 24/7 Championship segments have devolved into a series of hijinks and keystone cops.

AEW has been doing all the right things creatively by giving the fans what they want. While mistakes have been made, many decisions have gone right thanks to smart booking, a determined approach, and being as dynamic as possible.

Maybe Vince McMahon can learn a thing or two from Tony Khan. Let's take a look at five things WWE can learn from AEW.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of Sportskeeda).

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#5 WWE should mainly go back to unscripted promos

Let's face it! AEW showcases some of the best promos in the business right now, and part of that has a lot to do with going back to what WWE used to do -- be unscripted.

In some of the best pro wrestling promos of all time, several of those included heavy improvisation. 'Austin 3:16' was something Stone Cold came up with, as did The Rock's use of the word 'Jabroni,' catapulting it into the dictionary.

AEW has a slew of people who cut promos that very few can touch. That includes MJF, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, Matt Hardy, CM Punk, and many more. While younger stars in AEW are still learning the ropes, when it comes to their promo skills, they will be further along once they master it.

WWE's reliance on scripted promos takes away its intrigue, impact, and reality. While having writers on staff is not a bad idea, dialog shouldn't be their primary concern. Allowing people to use their own words is pro wrestling in its form. As some would say, WWE needs to go back to basics.

#4 WWE should respect its championships

Go back to that moment at Double or Nothing 2019 when WWE legend Bret Hart came out to reveal the new AEW World Heavyweight Championship. The fact that The Hitman himself unveiled the title gave it instant legitimacy. Even its design is reminiscent of past belts.

In WWE, championships have become props. While this is true on a certain level, the title should mean everything, especially the world title. It doesn't help that the company's championships resemble living toys. The recent title designs are a branding exercise in keeping the formula in place.

Moreover, the fact that WWE has so many championships on different brands devalues the experience. While AEW has the advantage of being a relatively young promotion, the titles are more respected, even the 'mid card' titles.

There was a time in WWE when the Intercontinental Championship was the stepping stone to the world title. But now, it seems like a shiny object for a storyline to prosper. Even though the TNT Championship, a modern-day television title, has already featured several title changes, each one has had a purpose.

While Roman Reigns is one of the longest-reigning WWE Universal Champions, only bested by Brock Lesnar, and has brought legitimacy to the title, it lacks a substance that the AEW World Championship already has in abundance. The title doesn't have the same 'WOW factor' that championships of the past had, not accounting for the horrible color scheme.

What does this mean? Right from its inception, it was understood that the WWE Universal Title was the supreme 'championship.' However, since the beginning, it has felt more like a marketing gimmick than it does a real championship. Of course, this is a matter of opinion, but the overwhelming overtly 'red' or 'blue' screams 'toys for children.' Moreover, the title awkwardly featured transitional champions like Goldberg, Kevin Owens, and The Fiend without thought put into it. Can the same be said of the AEW World Championship? Probably not!

Maybe WWE needs to go back to the drawing board on how these titles are presented and booked.

#3 Use WWE legends correctly

One of the few things that AEW is doing much better than WWE is using their legacy talent properly. AEW has included stars like Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Jake Roberts, and Sting with smart booking decisions. Wrestling legends have even been used in one-off scenarios like Bret Hart's Double or Nothing appearance.

In WWE, they would not feature in storylines specifically, and if so, there would be very rare instances of this. Take the RAW Reunion episode from 2019, where it seemed that the show had no direction and came across as an excuse to pop a rating. The infamous 24/7 Championship had title changes that included Pat Patterson, Gerald Brisco, Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, and Madusa. Was there a reason for it? The short answer is no! It was just a poor excuse to do an 'entertaining segment' with no real payoff in the end.

Still not convinced? Here's another way to look at it, from an actual booking standpoint. WWE makes a habit of putting over legends at the expense of younger talent (more on this in the next slide).

Take Goldberg. He got booked in a dream matchup with Brock Lesnar when he returned, culminating at WrestleMania 33. Kevin Owens dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg, who then dropped it to Lesnar as a result.

Lesnar was and is still very much a part-timer, as is Goldberg. Both of them and a few others have been put over at the expense of younger talent. On the other hand, AEW has tried to ensure that legacy talent is booked within reason.

Sting, who most thought would be restricted to cinematic showdowns, has competed in tag matches and won convincingly. Interestingly, most fans have welcomed a 60+-year-old Sting going over the likes of 2.0 and FTR. But it's limited and clever in execution.

Will WWE learn from how AEW has booked their legends? It isn't very likely, but anything is possible.

#2 WWE needs to start investing in younger stars again

WWE fans would probably reject this notion that the company has not invested in younger talent, only to look to NXT or even Roman Reigns as an example of them creating new stars. But people forget that Reigns has taken years to get to where he's at right now. Much of that was WWE insisting on making him 'The Guy' to lead the company into the next generation.

Again, AEW has the advantage of being only a two-and-a-half-year-old company, but that comes with its disadvantages, with some of the younger wrestlers having little or no mainstream appeal. Thus, AEW has to get mainstream WWE talent like Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and CM Punk to help get those guys.

In a recent promo on AEW Dynamite, MJF named Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara, and even himself as the "four pillars" on which AEW will be built. There's truth in this as the company has booked them in angles where their attributes are highlighted regularly on Dynamite and Rampage.

In WWE, it seems that top superstars have been in the business for several years, be it Big E, Bobby Lashley, Shinsuke Nakamura, Brock Lesnar, and others being in their mid-30s to 40s. Of course, it would be silly to say that age should determine a star's trajectory. There are exceptions to this with Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Bayley, which highlights why the women's division is one of the best things WWE has going for it.

Perhaps investing in young talent is something that WWE needs to relearn. Still not convinced? Think about this. The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and The Big Show were in their mid-20s when they became WWE Champions for the first time.

Whenever the opportunity presents itself, Vince McMahon's company should start going back to that strategy again.

#1 WWE can learn a lot from AEW's Tag Division

WWE's Tag Team Division pales in comparison next to AEW. This isn't an opinion but rather a consensus amongst the wider fan community. Sure, The New Day and The Usos are the exceptions, but Vince McMahon seems more interested in splitting teams than keeping them together for the most part.

Manufactured teams have also been a staple since the 1990s. Rock 'n' Sock Connection, Rated-RKO, and even the most recent RK-Bro are examples of teams that were/are easier to break rather than to keep them together. If one were to look back to The Attitude Era, WWE had the New Age Outlaws, Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Dudley Boyz all around the same time. But that impressive synergy of tag team wrestlers is not present on the current WWE roster.

The AEW roster is very much invested in it, thanks to The Young Bucks, who are helping on the management side of things. Moreover, Tony Khan is very much in favor of tag team wrestling. Teams like Private Party, Lucha Brothers, Butcher and The Blade, FTR, Jurassic Express, etc., have been some of the highlights of AEW.

In fact, FTR left WWE due to the company's perceived unwillingness to invest in tag team wrestling. More importantly, they were pushed into childish antics during their feud with The Usos, which didn't do great for their image. It's something that they have rectified since coming into AEW.

WWE used to have a tag team division that soared above others, creating innovative matches like TLC along the way. Can WWE find that spark again? Only time will tell.