Before 2024 even started, AEW tested a soft reset. The Continental Classic was an “experiment” where creative put emphasis fully on wins and losses. It removed the other wrestling tropes (including those of sports entertainment) that AEW had arguably over-reliant on during 2023 which drew fan criticism.
2024 started with clear signs that Tony Khan had listened and was responding to criticism again. Khan has again shown a willingness to adapt the AEW product to rebuild fan’s trust.
It would be a lie to say wins and losses didn’t matter when the rankings disappeared in August 2022. However, the removal of the rankings took away the scaffolding that helped make the structure of AEW and its story-telling different.
The Rankings are coming back to AEW going forward, starting this month!@AEW is having a very exciting January, and this is only the beginning of an amazing 2024 for AEW and our fans.
Thank you all watching Saturday Night #AEWCollision right now on @TNTdrama!— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) January 21, 2024
The Power of a Solid Structure
The rankings helped show fans the overarching story of all AEW wrestlers: wrestlers want to ascend to become the champion. The framework provided a solid and logical structure for how wrestlers gained title shots that allowed AEW to frame itself as a sports-orientated product.
All the wrestlers/players/characters had a clear primary motive: win to gain more success, money, and championships. Yet, like any other sport, individuals could have their agendas, personal goals, morals, and ways of progressing.
As an emulation of various sports leagues or combat sports like boxing and MMA, the rankings answered any questions new and old viewers might have. Who’s on a roll? Who’s spiraling downwards? Who’s one to watch? Who’s at risk of being taken down off their pedestal? Who’s going to beat X?
Without Structure
When the rankings were scrapped, the reasons why wrestlers were fighting did not change. However, without the scaffolding to make this obvious, it took something of AEW’s identity.
It allowed for inconsistencies of logic, the rules at points changing and repetition, and a dilution of the product with various tropes used to explain why someone got a title shot. This overall creates various problems for championships, champions, and the roster. It also impacted how fans invested in wrestlers and the product as a whole.
Restoring the Feeling?
In many ways, returning to the rankings offers both benefits and potential setbacks for the AEW roster and programming. The latter of which will be covered in a future article. The rankings are not a magic bullet to “restore the feeling”.
At least not by themselves. The rankings give the outlines, but it’s up to the wrestlers and creative team to fill in the blank space. As a symbol, the rankings are associated with AEW’s creative peaks. If implemented effectively and if the mistakes of the past can be learned from, there’s no reason the structure cannot facilitate a creative resurgence.
Distinguishes AEW from WWE
Symbolically, the rankings differentiated AEW from WWE. It made the companies appear opposites. In AEW, matches occurred like fixtures in a sports league or combat sports.
In WWE, matches are sometimes booked at the start or middle of the show. Lance Storm once said WWE TV shows were shows about running a wrestling company rather than about the wrestling itself.
Raw often still starts like SNL with a wrestler doing a “Welcome to Monday Night Raw” opening monologue. Backstage issues fill out the card. Things happen spontaneously, wrestlers are driven by emotions like in a soap opera or by the chaos of a scripted reality TV show.
Some matches are made and advertised in advance under Triple H, and there is more cohesion, but the general structure persists. Differently, the rankings helped AEW’s week-to-week programming feel more like a sports broadcast.
The rankings meant that often matches felt organized like fixtures. You could look or think ahead to, a fantasy book where things are going if Wrestler A wins and Wrestler B wins, something will have to give.
Think at present of Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page being equal with wins as they pursue Samoa Joe’s World Championship. It allows fans to think about how the number one contenders will be determined.
Build in Stories to All Matches
Criticism has and will continue to exist around whether AEW tells stories. This is a null point when considering AEW in 2023 was criticized for storylines that drifted too far into sports entertainment (MJF’s championship reign at times).
Or that both during and after the rankings, AEW produced layered storylines with the sophistication of a prestige drama series. MJF’s character arch and feud with CM Punk being one. “Hangman” Adam Page’s ascension to AEW Champion is the most notable long-term story.
The rankings became a storytelling device that allowed fans to track the Hangman’s redemption arch. As Hangman overcame his anxiety, self-doubt, and issues with alcohol, he progressed up the rankings. The rankings were a metaphor for Page gaining control of his life.
Then on the road to Double or Nothing 2020, Page looked set to challenge Kenny Omega. Then Page fell to the massive obstacle that is Brian Cage. Losing, Page fell from the number one spot. PAC and Orange Cassidy rose to challenge Omega and Page had to beat Cage to progress.
Mimicking real sports where upsets happen and athletes having to cope with failure, allowed character development for Page. A narrative was told inside the ring, before and after. In the Continental Classic, the impact of wins and losses aided the character growth of Daniel Garcia and Mark Briscoe. A losing streak meant Jay Lethal as a character has to make a change.
Like in real sports, fans can bond and invest in the characters and human beings they are seeing.
Long-term Creative Plans Required
Looking back at the first Double or Nothing, AEW cleverly foreshadowed the lineage of the AEW World Championship. “Hangman” Adam Page and MJF were the last two in the pre-show battle royal. Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Jon Moxley were featured in the main event segment.
AEW, before Triple H took over creative for WWE, redefined long-term storytelling. The rankings supported this because the journey had to be mapped out in advance to ensure the wrestlers reached their destinations. This kind of stability and planning seemed missing in 2023.
With wins and losses mattering, it altered characters and added stakes and intrigue to matches. Jon Moxley in beating Omega helped propel Mox to the top of the rankings and gain a title shot against Jericho.
Omega’s initial spotty record led to him going into the tag team ranks, reinvigorating himself, and finding a new focus, leading to Omega turning heel at Winter is Coming to capture the world championship.
In 2023, the structure provided by rankings might have helped The Elite’s creative direction during their “putrid” year as it had previously. It would have allowed a top prospect like Konosuke Takeshita to have a clearly defined ascent up the card.
Championship Matches Feel Earned
The adage goes: “The money is in the chase.” Beyond Hangman’s title ascension or Swerve’s current ascent, the best example might be Julia Hart’s TBS Championship win. Hart’s undefeated streak progressed alongside her growth in her in-ring and as a character, endearing fans to her.
Having rankings could potentially aid the championships, champions, and challengers by restoring a feeling that the belts are special. An overuse of shortcut tropes to get championship shots during 2023 did not help the value of the championships.
Open challenges; wrestlers asking for title shots; and number-one contender matches that could contain someone who just lost a title shot against someone else were common, especially in the women’s division. Willow Nightingale, Anna Jay, and Skye Blue all lost championship matches. Each failed upwards, receiving another championship shot for the other women’s championship.
The rankings can help to rebuild logic and allow for emotional investment in the championship picture. When beloved Babyface fails and has to start all over again, it will feel more significant when they finally win the championship.
Think Darby Allin beating Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship. The win elevated Darby. Cody’s reign ended by completing a long-term story. Everyone comes out better, including the aura surrounding the championship.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
