The Corporate Elite: Is the AEW Faction What’s Best for Business?

The Elite have gone corporate. From killing the business to running it. Although, controversial as ever, some fans and pundits continue as if the Elite’s direction is to take AEW into the ground. Especially in the wake of recent decisions related to wounds, many fans hoped had healed and been forgotten.

The Young Bucks as a tandem seem revitalised. Goading, and freely feeding into some fans’ meta-awareness of behind the scenes. Along with their new stablemates, they are telling a deeper story.

One that partly parodies repeated WWE storyline depictions of behind-the-scenes authority figures while furthering their own Elite saga in a new direction. There’s been a mixture of fun since the Bucks put on their Dumb and Dumber-inspired business suits.

The EVPs are taking their job as seriously, as two men known intent to boil the proverbial urine of those who want to hate on them and All Elite.

Alongside violent storytelling and veiled meta-shots at WWE. Playing so close to reality and linking their actions to the business side of wrestling plays into some fans’ focus on AEW’s business prospects and finances. 

There are wider issues AEW has/is facing creatively and financially heading into potential right-fee negotiations by the end of this year with Warner Brothers Discovery. In the face of uncertainty, criticism and restoring the “feeling”, The Elite’s punk DIY attitude of flying in the face of criticism may seem dangerous.

Depending on if and how you use metrics to judge your wrestling, your interpretation of the line graph of AEW’s progress in 2024 will differ. Whether you see growth or regression is an interpretation based on your biases and preferences.

This is not a discussion of AEW’s business strategy. Although I did discuss discord over AEW’s pay of wrestling here. Rather, it’s a discussion of whether and how the EVPs’ rebranding of The Elite can successfully help AEW from a creative standout. And thus impact AEW’s business.

The Petty Nature of Things

Since turning heel, the Young Buck’s level of detail and thought into each of their segments seems more meticulous and layered compared to their late 2022 return from suspension. The levels of meta in their characters innately take further shots at WWE. Meta humour is hard to do. However, The Bucks have a history of success with this going back to the Indies and Being the Elite. It contributed to their following.

On the one hand, they have played into some fans’ perceptive that they are aloof, self-absorbed, and passive-aggressive wrestlers. Also, terrible managers with no people skills. On the other, they have parodied wrestling’s real, not fictitious, authority figures. This has included their boss, Tony Khan.

See their post-Revolution announcement after losing to Sting and Darby Allin. Their decision to use their full “God-given names” seems like Vincism of the past.

Heels should have to have longer formal names, damn it! Early segments where they were seen backstage producing segments felt at points like they were taking shots at WWE production and micromanaging.

Some might argue that this approach is too niche and somewhat petty. While I agree, it’s nothing new in wrestling. It hasn’t always worked, including one recent huge error of judgment. Some fans are fed up with AEW taking shots at WWE. Likewise, those same fans may or may not have a problem when WWE gives it back.

The criticism that it makes AEW seem secondary is fair to an extent, but it’s also selective. Especially when you consider that while the pro wrestling industry might be built on the ideas of masculinity, strength and brotherhood, pettiness has always been a feature. Politics is innate in wrestling.

Spirit of Competition Turns Nasty

Even before Vince McMahon aired skits with Billionaire Ted and The Huckster promoters and wrestlers have been displaying pettiness backstage and in front of crowds. Vince McMahon Sr fired Hulk Hogan before superstardom for working on Rocky III.

It was suggested Tommy Rich’s one-time short NWA World Championship reign was used by Jim Barnett in his power struggle with other members of Georgia Championship Wrestling management.

Politics has festered in the ring before recent times with “Hangman” Adam Page mentioning “worker’s rights”. Think of Bruiser Brody refusing to work with opponents. Like Lex Luger in their infamous 1989 cage match. 

This was decades before Shawn Michael bumped like a Looney Tune character for Hogan. Hulk’s inclusion three times in this section was a happy accident. Yet it does highlight a link between position, politics and pettiness that filters from the top down in wrestling.

I would argue this has filtered down through the years into the fandom. Especially now into modern wrestling tribalism. It’s something wrestlers and both AEW and WWE are playing on because it drives engagement. This is one metric of success: social media.

Does that mean that engaging in these games with an extremely dedicated group of fans, often referred to as a “minority”, bad for business? That’s a hard question to answer.

Before revisiting The Elite, we can’t go on without addressing the words of the man once known as “The Voice of the Voiceless”.

The Magic of CM Punk 

Personally, like a lot of fans, I want to move on from discussing CM Punk and AEW. Yet the problem is this new version of the Elite has explicitly made their connection to Punk’s exit clear on multiple occasions. It’s the entire basis of Perry’s heel persona. The passive-aggressive motivation for the Buck’s heel turn.

I broke down Punk’s interview on the MMA Hour (here). I focused on only giving context to his perspective to be objective. What I did not discuss is a wider context: the timing of the interview.

It happened just before Wrestlemania XL. Arguably WWE’s biggest recent success. Commercially and creatively. Punk joined WWE as the wave was about to reach its peak. This meant that his comparisons of AEW and WWE as businesses and criticism aimed at Tony Khan and the EVPs have been helped by Punk’s association with WWE.

Intentionally or not, it’s helped some fans paint Punk as being on the right side of history at present. It implicitly presented Punk as right and AEW as wrong because of the differences in business.

That isn’t to say Punk’s comments on AEW business and creative do not have merit. This is not to say Punk’s truth is wrong. One of Punk’s comments, about the “magic of CM Punk”, is Punk enjoys blurring the lines between what’s real and a work. Making fans believe there is controversy is important.

The reality behind the magic is Punk knows how to articulate his message and manipulate existing perceptions. To tap into thoughts already circulating in the wider wrestling consciousness to get a reaction. Punk was open that he enjoyed aspects of his time in AEW. Yet Punk is fully aware that fans perceive him as a saint or devil with no in-between. Muck sticks more than positive praise.

He sets verbal pitfalls and traps that opponents may inevitably slip into, proving him right.

That All In Footage 

Right now, we as fans cannot escape the bitter historical thread that binds them. The reason is that AEW has not yet let go of it. The promotion responded loud and clear. Despite every person and their Bret Hart wrestling buddy knowing it would not look good. Still, they did it. Twice. Three times if you include Ospreay’s “grinding” response.

Adam Copeland’s rah-rah speech on the Dynamite after the interview inadvertently proved Punk right. It showed that AEW was focused too much on itself and good matches rather than promoting and growing its audience.

Ross Berman of Wrestlinginc on the website’s weekly article series of important shows “3 things we hated and 3 things we loved”, described the speech as “oddly apocalyptic”.

The implication is that the speech was cultish. Preaching to the converted. Worse, Berman suggested this reinforced a narrative about AEW’s decline. “Any avid viewer of cult narrative knows that there’s only one way this ends.” The response made this narrative feel real to some fans.

But honestly, if they had completely ignored it, would some fans have let it drop? Would the narrative have changed? The stalemate of tribalism suggests not. Or at least until the next shots were fired.

Shots were fired again in the safety of the high ground, which was the huge, monumental win that was Wrestlemania. Triple H, Pat McAfee and Punk again took swipes at AEW. The short-term reality is, footage or not, AEW had already lost this battle. The footage short-term made things worse for AEW. Did it damage this new corporate version of The Elite by association?

After a stellar Dynasty (more on this later), it feels like the news cycle has moved on.

Confirmation Bias 

Releasing the All In footage, although attempted as a tie-in for The Bucks’ legacy feud with FTR, became an umbrella in a lightning storm for the promotion. If the goal was sympathy for AEW, this failed spectacularly. The reality was a dog pile on AEW. From thousands of dislikes on YouTube, memes and negative social media posts.

The reality was no one was going to change their mind. Why? Tribalism. The footage just confirmed what everyone had already made their minds up about. Seeing the reality was going to be mundane compared to the violent brawl many fans might have imagined. Regardless of who started it, loyalties already meant the verdict was decided.

As IGN put in the headline of their wrestling review: “AEW aired the CM Punk All In Footage… and No One Gave a S***”. The writer, Matt Fowler, asserted also that it backfired because “everyone’s moved tf on” (article here). Fewer people have moved on. More they had already decided who was right and who was wrong. Entrenched in their views, some fans no longer want to argue.

Confirmation bias was the real winner. And WWE by association of critical favour.

In the short term, it might be a failure for AEW. Yet already, something has grown through the manure besides a small ratings boast. And there was that reaction at Windy City Riot, Chicago for Jack Perry.

It’s a gamble The New York Post’s Joseph Staszewski ponders with the headline of his weekly Post Match Angle column was headlined this week: “Jack Perry can make AEW’s CM Punk footage gamble well worth the risk“.

Recruiting a Scapegoat

“Yo, Scapegoat, I love your work”, uttered Matthew Jackson to the camera on Dynamite. It was foreshadowing, a swipe at a former disgruntled co-worker, storyline progression and additionally a middle finger to detractors who continue to blame The Young Bucks in part for AEW’s issues.

At Dynasty, as predicted, “Scapegoat” Jack Perry returned from his NJPW excursion to push Dax Harwood off a ladder to allow the Bucks to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Predictable, but satisfying. Judging by how the crowd “popped” when the former Jungle Boy had his Sting mask removed, AEW fans were pleased.

It seems inevitable that Perry will join this new version of The Elite. Intended, or not, Darby Allin in twice referring to Perry of the “Cali Clique” made them a trio. One that post-All In, many fans thought would be a natural fit.

The reality is, once you remove the discourse since All In about Perry, he was still an excellent wrestler. I argued in my article Jack Perry Deserves a Second Chance how even when fans were bored of his wooden performance against a dynamic Christian Cage, in-ring Jack delivered brilliance. Not even during his failing first heel run did the in-ring action stink. Especially as the gimmick was dead on arrival.

The pop Perry received is perhaps not unexpected. Chicago could have been an anomaly. Yet it’s also CM Punk’s hometown. Across Perry’s tour of Japan, Perry was able to work on his biggest weaknesses: promos and character work.

Alongside the House of Torture (fitting given the divisive attitude towards the faction mirrored the attitude held against Jack), Perry cut anti-AEW promos. Perry developed a clear character and motivation. He has become less wooden and is now more dynamic. Not the finished article, but Perry feels ready to level up.

Making It Rain 

Kazuchika Okada’s success at integrating and becoming a weekly TV wrestling character cannot be understated. Although Okada has perhaps had a smaller amount of screen time than Will Ospreay, the Rainmaker has maximized his minutes. Okada oozes smugness, entitlement, and superiority. 

Whether this has been teaming with the Bucks, winning the Continental Championship or showing that a former top Japanese wrestler can work as an episodic character on a wrestling show.

Being the Continental champion is the perfect positioning currently for his character and the wrestler himself. As I outlined in discussing Okada’s championship victory, Okada has not been normalised. Okada has been kept special and given his own division/story arch, separate from the world championship picture. This has allowed Ospreay to be foreshadowed as the next world champion.

Like the Bucks, Okada seems revitalised in this heel role. After his championship defences against Pac at Dynasty. The championship feels elevated by Okada’s presence. Reverted to the original version of the Rainmaker has benefited the unit’s prestige, and relevance and hints at what’s to come. Especially once Kenny Omega is healthy again and “Hangman” Adam Page returns from suspension.

From a storyline and business standpoint, nepotism connects this real-life friend. If built appropriately with engaging storylines, the prospect of any combination of the unit vs. Omega, Page and partners. As well as singles matches could draw attention. Maybe money, if mistakes from a creatively “putrid” 2023 for The Elite are learned from.

The Elite Come Back with Authority

To what extent AEW and the new Elite can move on from Brawl Out and All In isn’t just up to them. It’s up to fans and detractors as much as the wrestlers themselves. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson, along with Jack Perry, could be seen as passive-aggressively taking Punk’s advice of trying to turn real-life drama into money. Ironically, this time with him elsewhere.

Has this and will it be too niche? Are the Elite focusing too much on the past rather than moving forward? There is a balance.

At points, the insider aspects have been too much. I touched on this profiling The Young Bucks vs. Sting and Darby Allin some things did not click initially with The Bucks. Talking about the format sheet (“bangers”) and seeing them produce a segment between Sting and Darby was distracting and detracted from the segment. 

Lance Storm once stated that WWE shows during the 2010s were TV shows about booking wrestling rather than the wrestling itself. The era of wrestling being booked for an audience of one in WWE has gone. It’s no longer topical or relevant.

Contrastingly, there is more to their business gimmick. You don’t need to know the lore or get the insider references to enjoy this new corporate version of the Elite.

Taking the trope of the boss you want to smack has been done before in wrestling beyond WWE. Using modern business lingo, false positivity, and the promise of pizza parties as a means of motivation reflects modern cultural trends that suit the present.

Now, the Bucks seem to be finding their groove. All In has been dealt with and is in the process. Three of the four men are wearing gold. Jack Perry has fans’ attention. There are signs this version of authority can translate to business with time.

This Business Is About Money 

Dedicated wrestling fans of the Internet Wrestling Community can become stuck in a myopic viewpoint of wrestlers and wrestling promotions.

Step back and consider Revolution buys were up 34.2% from World’s End. Overall, this was AEW’s third-largest PPV buy in their history. Credit goes in part to Sting’s retirement. However, the Bucks were the other half of that main event. They were Sting’s handpicked opponents.

Jack Perry merchandise from NJPW is completely sold out. Perry had NJPW’s top-selling t-shirt for two months back-to-back. There will be naysayers who will say that benefits NJPW rather than AEW. Regardless, they are doing exactly what Punk said. They are trying to generate money.

AEW as a product has still not found its feeling. Some fans might state the view AEW is more focused on five-star matches than storylines and promotion. 

Yet with this new version of The Elite, they have been doing the opposite. This completely ignores that everything the Bucks have been doing on this heel run has been story and character-driven. To the point that in some matches, The Bucks deliberately wrestled at a slower pace as if (likely) to spite critics.

Think about the bloody beating with white baseball bats on Sting and Darby. Even with the All In footage, they connected it to their loss to FTR. While poorly received, they tried to have their cake and eat it. Which, perhaps once the kinks are worked out of the gimmick. A group dynamic has to be built between the four men. It will have to go further than Punk and meta.

Aggressive Expansion

There is the chance to explore ideas of power dynamics in wrestling from a different perspective to WWE’s toxic masculinity with The Bloodline. AEW has a history of presenting wrestling through the lens of modern masculinity that hits on universal themes of human experience.

Last year with MJF and Adam Cole, when the company was not at its creative peak, All In generated between 171-175,000 PPV buys, the fourth largest in history. Despite arguments about the number of attendees, AEW generated a $9 million gate.

The Young Bucks have the World Tag Team Championship. Okada the Continental Champion and Jack Perry are arguably hotter than ever. Like CM Punk himself, Perry is divisive. People are talking about him. This new Elite has a chance to flex their power. The fact they use humour doesn’t take away from the group being successful.

During commercial and critical successful periods, like Kenny Omega’s world championship reign, The Elite weaved humour into segments.

They could get serious and become Extremely Violent People in the ring, but still maintain the humour. They have already proved they can be insufferable bosses. Now with four members and a new dynamic to form, there is the potential to capitalise on the controversy. Maybe create cash.

Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t 

Something else to consider: if The Buck had gone heel but taken a different route, would the criticism of them, The Elite, AEW and Tony Khan’s handling of CM Punk’s exit be any different after the MMA Hour? Would WWE have left AEW alone and not taken shots at them? Would some fans entrenched in their mindsets feel differently about everyone mentioned in the first sentence?

One issue with the divisions within the wrestling fan base is that for some their identities as fans are so tied up in being pro on one side and anti another, that they are not likely to change their minds on a product, wrestler or philosophy of wrestling. It may be a different day but their perspectives are going to be the same.

The Young Bucks are so controversial to some that the act of being in wrestling is enough to raise their blood pressure. From their stance, why not turn this up to eleven? Realistically, it is going to generate conversation regardless. So why not encourage a bit of negativity?

If you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t. Someone once said all publicity is good publicity. At least in terms of social media, engagement as a metric is a driver of success.

Even decisions that might help generate buzz for AEW and get attention on the product will be dismissed such as…

Tony Khan Takes a Punch and a Piledriver

Something that some fans will miss about this week’s Dynamite conclusion with The Elite taking out Tony Khan. It feels somewhat like a WWE-style angle. It feels somewhat CM Punk inspired in taking on the authority figure. Given in recent months The Rock similarly in storyline abused his power to impact Wrestlemania, this may seem familiar.

It may for some feel like a step too far for AEW fans themselves involving Khan in an active storyline, something many fans want to never happen because it would be too much like WWE. Yet it is positioned as a huge storyline moment in a company criticised for not doing storylines.

Creatively, it’s pushing the Elite and company perhaps in a different direction. Some might worry if it repeats the sports entertainment elements of the late 2023 world championship picture with MJF.

Many will have a knee-jerk reaction. It might (likely) be negative. However, depending on how things play out, like with the All In footage, opinions change quickly in wrestling. The news cycle moves on and AEW as a company, despite claims otherwise, is trying to gain exposure and capitalise on this to grow their business.

The night after Dynamite is the NFL draft. Tony Khan is involved in the Jacksonville Jaguars, where AEW happened to broadcast from. Already, the NFL’s official website has promoted the angle. Other new sites will likely do the same.

For a company accused of focusing on good wrestling and catering to a niche, AEW is going to get some mainstream attention from the angle. It’s a way of trying to draw new fans in.

The follow-up creative needs to be delivered to fully capitalise on any attention gained. That’s the job for next week.

Having Their Cake and Eating It Too 

AEW might be the place where the best wrestle, but on the other side of things, The Elite are the storyline heart of the promotion. Right now, this is still an issue for AEW more widely: how they tell stories and build characters. When writing about Will Ospreay, I pointed out there is always a danger AEW relies on dream matches over storylines. 

The build to Ospreay and Bryan Danielson for example, along with other key matches was missing story beats and a deeper emotional connection beyond the promise of great wrestling.

If this new Elite and new Elite saga is to be successful, they must continue to adapt, and be able to find a more streamlined and easily accessible approach to story-telling. Move on from Punk to prove him wrong. Long-term, there is the looming possibility of Elite saga matches. Multi-man and singles matches with Omega, Hangman and friends.

In the short term, new ground can be explored. With time, Okada and Jack Perry could be headliners. The Young Bucks could aim to have their cake and eat it too. Keep to their ethos of wrestling while expanding.

But it’s a fine balance. The meta can still be there, but Easter eggs rather the main priority. On the other hand, they and Tony Khan could get too lost in the pettiness.

To quote Pop Hockey Culture blogger, Stacy Albano, they could prove in-ring and as characters “they’re what’s best for business because they’re the best in the business!” We’ll have to wait and see how the line graph changes to see who’s right.

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