Grading All Elite Wrestling's first year as a promotion

It's rare in today's age, but we literally saw the ground-up formation of a professional wrestling promotion over the last two years. After the success of All In, it became apparent that something special was on the horizon regarding members of The Elite. Since Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, The Young Bucks and Cody all became free agents at the same time, it provided the storyline that wherever they landed, the landscape of wrestling would be greatly altered.

Instead of joining a promotion or staying put in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, they did what most pro wrestlers would like to do - form and run their own promotion. Once 2019 kicked off, we learned that those men would be forming their own company, All Elite Wrestling. While there were some instant successes like landing The Lucha Brothers, Pac and Chris Jericho, it took a longer time to get another important thing - a TV deal.

It took almost the entirety of 2019, but in October, AEW Dynamite took to the air on TNT. For a first-year promotion to land on a major cable network like TNT meant that AEW was the real deal. Having the financial backing of Tony Khan didn't hurt either.

As things currently sit, AEW has been a prominent wrestling promotion for almost a whole year. They've had a few PPVs, free events, and a new TV show. They've done things their way, but still have a lot of work to do, if they want to be the top promotion in the world. Here are the grades for certain aspects of the promotion's first year.

Production value: A-

It became very apparent very quickly that AEW's visual presentation would be top-notch. The sets for every major event, like Double or Nothing, Fyter Fest, and Fight For the Fallen were event-specific and added to the aura around the shows. DON had poker chips on the stage while Fyter Fest utilized the gamer connection with Omega and the Bucks coming dressed up as Street Fighter characters.

Since Being the Elite was already in their back pocket, we had some idea of how visual presentation might go in the new promotion. Dynamite, for the most part, has been produced greatly with solid video packages promoting feuds and new stars. One part I would change is interviews. The interviewing is inconsistent, as there are sporadic backstage interviews and sporadic interviews in the ring. Cody is always interviewed in the ring, but other stars don't often get the same treatment.

The AEW logo looks good on the big screen and the use of multiple colors makes it stand out. One problem that has plagued the show on TNT's side is issues with sound. It literally gives people a reason to turn the channel with NXT on USA.

Another complaint is the picture-in-picture choices. The TNT viewers don't hear what might be going on while others on Fite TV or TSN may be able to. I personally missed out on the whole backstage exchange between Jericho, The Inner Circle, and Jurassic Express and the whole reference to Britt Baker being Adam Cole's girlfriend. Even The Inner Circle poked fun at that pic-in-pic aspect during the last Dynamite of the year.

Commentary: C+

Jim Ross is a legend in the business and should be calling action in any promotion. His voice is still synonymous with pro wrestling whether calling action for WWE, NJPW, WCW or AEW. The legend still has name value and can call the action, but a lot of today's matches are faster and contain many new moves that he may be unaware of.

Alex Marvez just seemed over-matched and unnatural with his delivery when he was calling pre-TV events like Fight For the Fallen and DON. Being a sports announcer and being a pro wrestling announcer are two different things, although another member of the broadcast team does both extremely well (Tony Schiavone).

In contrast to Marvez and to a lesser degree Jim Ross, both Excalibur and Schiavone have been the bright spots of the commentary thus far. Excalibur knows all of the moves and the stars and is great a play-by-play with a natural delivery. Having him on the announce team was a good call.

Schiavone is also a legend in the business, but not on the level or Ross. He is, however, still great at calling the action, reacting and interviewing stars when applicable. His voice is also familiar to people who watched WCW or MLW.

Pre-television events: B+

Fight For the Fallen was the second free event promoted by AEW.

Since it was still months away before Dynamite started in October, it was a smart move to air both Fyter Fest and Fight For the Fallen on free streaming platforms. If they wanted to win over some casual fans, it makes perfect sense to give them a free taste of your product (for US viewers) before All Out.

Fyter Fest took place during a gaming festival and opened with a three-team tag team match, a staple of AEW. They are usually fast-paced and exciting in order to get you right into the action. Some of the other matches were middle of the pack (Allie vs. Leva Bates, Chris Daniels vs. CIMA), but for the most part, the matches were good.

Of course the two main happenings were the first match for Jon Moxley, a non-sanctioned win over Joey Janela. The other was the botched post-match chair shot from Shawn Spears to Cody.

Fight For the Fallen was a slight step below Fyter Fest. The Allie/Brandi Rhodes match and the buy-in matches were okay while the rest of the matches were much better. It was hard to top an event with Jon Moxley's first unofficial match in the promotion and the controversy surrounding the chair shot to Cody. The events were good for keeping the appetites of fans satiated until All Out and Dynamite.

PPV shows: A

Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega took each other to the limit.

AEW put the rest of the wrestling world on notice with Double of Nothing, their first official offering as a full-blown wrestling promotion. It gave fans a taste of how things would look regarding presentation, interviews, matches, commentary, and style. The event also had a great card of matches including Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes, the Casino Battle Royale, The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers and Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho. The event was also memorable due to Jon Moxley debuting after the main event and attacking both Jericho and Omega.

All Out had to be a big deal because it was the last PPV before AEW's television debut. It also had the distinction of crowning the first ever AEW Champion. Since they needed to crown champions, it made sense to have many matches with stakes attached to them (Battle Royale, Riho vs. Hikaru Shida). Ortiz and Santana also debuted with AEW after attacking both the Lucha Brothers and the Young Bucks following their grueling ladder match.

Full Gear was the last PPV put on by AEW. It was notable as the first show to be put on after having builds on Dynamite. Cody put his right to ever challenge for the title again on the line against Jericho and Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley had an insane hardcore match. MJF also turned on Cody to stir the pot after the event. Each PPV set the stage for the following weeks and storylines until Dynamite debuted in October. Offering a variety of matches also kept the shows fresh instead of a bunch of one-on-one matches with a tag match added here or there.

Dynamite: A

'Le Champion' is at the center of AEW's success.

When AEW announced that they would be putting out a weekly television show, it was met with enthusiasm and cautious optimism. How would they handle a TV show having never done so before? How long would it be? How would it be presented visually? What about vignettes and interviews?

For the most part, it has been a success. Chris Jericho has obviously been gold every time he's either in the ring or on the mic. He has been a part of the most memorable segments thus far, including his "Thank You" celebration and the "Lexicon of Le Champion" bits. The former WWE star has also delivered in promos against Cody and MJF.

One minor complaint is that the entire roster hasn't been used on TV or in matches. A good deal still have independent bookings to take part in, explaining why we haven't seen the likes of Jimmy Havoc, MJF or Sadie Gibbs on TV each week.

The action has been good and we've even seen multiple debuts/appearances lead to quick signings (Kris Statlander). Wardlow and Jake Hager debuted and the Butcher, Blade and Bunny also debuted as a faction in the show's early stages.

Tag Team Division: A-

The AEW Tag Team Division has obviously been the strength of the promotion with the likes of The Young Bucks, Lucha Brothers, SCU, Santana and Ortiz, Best Friends and Jurassic Express. When any two or three of those teams square off, it's usually always an exciting encounter. Most of the early matches have been competed at a breakneck speed, but with the likes of the Dark Order and the Butcher and the Blade, the paces might slow down a bit. The Hybrid 2 and Private Party have also delivered in their spots.

One small complaint is that too many of the same spots are used in all of the matches. Every match is filled with suicide dives, superkicks and enziguri kicks. Private Party has shone brightly in their young career, but they need to learn that they don't have to compete at 100 MPH in every match. There need to be some spots in the match to calm things down, but not an overuse of rest holds like in Randy Orton or Robert Roode matches.

Another nitpick is that since there are about 10 teams on the roster, they've all almost competed against each other. While the matches are usually good when top teams square off, the likes of SCU, The Young Bucks, The Best Friends and The Lucha Brothers have all faced off multiple times.

On the flip side, one thing that AEW has done extremely well with the division is the placement of matches on cards. Putting them as the first match on a pre-show or as the first match on the main card has set the tone for their PPVs. Placing a fast-paced showdown between two singles matches also might pick things up, if a match might have been a slower-paced one.

Women's Division: C

This might will be a US-centric bias, but I had no idea who half of the women on the roster were throughout the early PPVs and shows. I know who Britt Baker, Allie, and Awesome Kong are, but regarding the joshi wrestlers, I was unfamiliar with most of them.

I understand wanting to feature talent from all over the world and giving them an international spotlight, but it was hard to pick who to root for other than Riho because she was barely 100 pounds soaking wet. The joshi women are obviously all immensely talented, but like featuring Chris Jericho initially as the AEW World Champion, it would have made a little more sense to me to have put the AEW Women's title on Allie.

Since the promotion is based in the US and received a TV deal with a major US cable network in TNT, it would have benefited the roster a little more with a known name carrying the title initially. Having Allie drop the tile to Riho would have worked perfectly anyways after fans got a taste of her fighting back against all the odds in order to get a title shot.

We knew that the roster wasn't filled to capacity due to the promotion being in its first year, so it made sense to feature non-rostered women like Statlander, Swole and Jamie Hayter on TV before deciding to sign them.

Kenny Omega even admitted that they hadn't booked things the best with the division but things would be changing. I know Brandi is Cody's wife and a CBO, but her presence on TV could have been given to women who are actually wrestling. Instead of trying out a new gimmick that seems to be losing steam each week, we could be seeing Shanna, Gibbs or Penelope Ford in action.

Men's Division: A

As I mentioned on a prior slide, the smartest decision AEW made in their first year was strapping the title to Chris Jericho. He is arguably the most entertaining personality in the whole business, and every time he's touched a microphone on Dynamite, it has often been the highlight of the show.

It would have been a different story had Hangman Page won the title, but his quest after failing to capture it is becoming an intriguing storyline. We also have the interactions between Page, Omega and Pac as well as Moxley's lone wolf status. Most of the matches have delivered.

MJF, Jungle Boy and Darby Allin have all been positioned as future faces of the company and for good reason. MJF is one of the best heels on the planet today whereas Allin and Jungle Boy are the undersized underdogs that fans love. We've seen that play out in both men's matches against Jericho and Allin's matches with Cody and Moxley.

Another smart move was to keep Omega away from the title picture. Hardcore fans would have wanted him to win the title, but it would have been a sense of nepotism had he or Page been the first AEW Champion. The records made things a little weird in the beginning because Pac had one of the best records but never got a title shot. It's at least being used in a storyline now, so at least it's going somewhere.

Conclusion and overall grade: B+

Dynamite's first show took place in Washington, D.C.

There were numerous unknowns and expectations once The Elite announced they had paired with Tony Khan to form a new wrestling promotion. They kept themselves relevant with social media and announcements until their actual PPVs/shows came around.

We knew that the action would be top-notch with the members of The Elite and many other familiar faces joining the promotion. There were some small bumps along the way, but that is expected to happen in any company's first year.

One huge plus for the promotion was having the backing of the Khans. It allowed the promotion an almost unlimited supply of cash in order to bolster the roster while also making it an attractive option to prospective free agents. That in turn has forced other promotions to up their games.

Having a two-hour show has helped the new promotion expose portions of the roster to the public each week. There are, however, still some who haven't had nearly the amount of exposure as others (lots of Britt Baker and Brandi, little of Gibbs, Ford). I get that AEW Dark is another hour for those people to get exposure. The whole point of landing a TV deal was so that people wouldn't be forced to watch matches on YouTube instead of on TV in certain parts of the world.

The first year was ultimately a success and should certainly set things up for a much better second year. Who will eventually dethrone 'Le Champion?' Will it be a veteran like Omega or Moxley or a younger star like Darby Allin or MJF? Who else will join the promotion with free agency currently in play? It will definitely be fun watching things play out throughout the business now that AEW is a part of it and has a year under its belt.

Edited by Michael McClead