5 things AEW is doing right

Since the new company was first announced, All Elite Wrestling has done a lot of things right. It would have been easy enough to consider the wrestling market saturated between the depth of current WWE offerings, and a variety of high profile smaller companies like Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, and New Japan providing strong, increasingly accessible offerings for hardcore fans.

However, AEW has quickly established itself as a company with star power, resources, and a foundation that could well make them meaningful, legitimate competitors to WWE. They have a TV deal with TNT, and the critically acclaimed Double or Nothing and Fyter Fest shows under their belt, all setting them up nicely out of the gate as a company for casual and hardcore fans alike to take seriously.

How did AEW position itself, so quickly, as quite arguably the number two wrestling promotion in the world? This article takes a look at five things AEW has been doing right.

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#5 Not depending too much on ex-WWE talent

AEW has done a good job of not putting too much weight solely on WWE alumni.

One of the signature mistakes of companies trying to get to WWE’s level is to lean too heavily on former WWE talent. It’s a natural choice to make given that WWE stars tend to have the most exposure to wrestling fans. There’s also an argument to be made that they’re best talents in the world for having worked the most rigorous schedule in front of the largest fanbase in the world.

AEW has picked its spots with WWE alumni, including Chris Jericho working the Double or Nothing main event and Jon Moxley making his surprise debut after, and later working Fyter Fest’s closing match. However, the company has also featured guys like Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, The Young Bucks, and The Lucha Bros in important positions and let them demonstrate their talent to win over fans, instead of relying on big names from yesteryear to get the company over.

#4 Appealing to hardcore fans

Featuring talents like Kenny Omega has helped WWE appeal to hardcore fans.

Chasing casual wrestling fans is a losing proposition for any company that isn’t WWE. WWE is better established, better known, and more accessible than any other wrestling promotion given their TV deals and the WWE Network. Hardcore fans or past hardcore fans alienated by the WWE product are the ones looking for more and different wrestling content.

AEW has appealed to hardcore fans in pushing talents who made their names in NJPW, Ring of Honor, and other smaller companies, besides giving former WWE talents an opportunity to shine by not rehashing their WWE shtick, but rather reinventing themselves. The Double or Nothing match between Cody and Dustin Rhodes alone demonstrated how past WWE stars can present different, and better selves when given greater creative freedom and time to ply their trade. Being different from WWE—offering a genuine alternative—is key to the long-term success of AEW, and courting hardcore fans is a great avenue to get there.

#3 Leveraging surprises

Surprises like Jon Moxley's debut at the end of Double or Nothing have contributed to AEW's success.

Eric Bischoff has famously cited that one of the keys to his success managing WCW as research demonstrating wrestling fans loved surprises, and leaning into that—particularly for the New World Order angle—with surprise heel turns and debuts.

One could argue that WCW went too far as the years went on, with nonsensical twists and turns for the sake of surprise. Thus far, AEW has achieved a fine balance of legitimately surprising moments without anything feeling forced. The surprises have included moments like Jon Moxley’s debut, or Chris Jericho’s appearance at All In (technically pre-AEW, but unofficially on the way to the company launching).

These were legitimately big happenings that stood out in part because AEW hadn’t been forcing swerves over the course of the events, but rather let these moments stand out on their own and make AEW the talk of the wrestling world coming out of them.

#2 Building its tag division

WWE has a long history of discounting tag teams. Bruce Prichard and Eric Bischoff have both addressed the choice on their podcasts, noting that having twice as many paid talents locked up per match makes tag team bouts less financially savvy booking. However, there is some proven history of big-time teams like The Road Warriors and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express being legitimately big draws. AEW seems to buy into that history.

AEW has already introduced a roster of tag teams that includes The Young Bucks, The Lucha Bros., The Dark Order, SCU, The Best Friends, and Jack Evans and Angelico. These ranks are as deep and with a disproportionately high volume of big names relative WWE tending to shunt younger stars and also-rans into tag team roles. This approach to booking immediately sets AEW apart and has already paid dividends, particularly in matches featuring The Young Bucks and The Lucha Bros. thus far.

#1 Being patient with its titles

AEW has treated the unveiling of its titles and crowning of champions as big deals.

One of the segments of AEW’s officially debut PPV included wrestling legend Bret Hart unveiling the new AEW Championship belt. While some have criticized the actual presentation—particularly the camera work around the segment—the company nonetheless had the right idea to make the title itself seem like a big deal and wait until All Out to actually crown a champion based on the winners of two matches from Double or Nothing squaring off. AEW seems to be following a similar trajectory for its women’s title, already announcing that that title will be shown to fans at All Out.

Not rushing to crown champions, and making the physical titles themselves feel like a big deal are fine steps in offering a more sports style presentation and establishing quickly that titles are going to matter in this company. These moves honor wrestling tradition, and exercising patience in actively crowning champions suggests the company won’t rush to crown champs that are anything less than carefully chosen standard bearers.