{"id":124946,"date":"2024-06-17T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=124946"},"modified":"2024-06-16T23:42:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T03:42:44","slug":"aews-polarising-present-aew-is-under-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/06\/17\/aews-polarising-present-aew-is-under-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW\u2019s Polarising Present: AEW is Under Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this series, James Staynings takes a deep dive into\u00a0<\/span><\/em>AEW<\/span><\/strong>\u2019s<\/span> short but impactful history, its present, and its future. In part 1, James discussed how AEW changed the wrestling industry (<\/span>here<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0In Part 2, James discussed how <\/span>AEW\u2019s<\/span> continued existence benefits wrestlers and fans alike (<\/span><\/em>here<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Part 3 has <\/span>been divided<\/span> into two articles. One discusses the differences between in-ring action and storytelling (<\/span><\/em>here<\/span><\/a>). The other excellent in-ring action is compensating for <\/span>wider<\/span> issues in AEW creative (<\/span><\/em>here<\/span><\/a>). The final part will discuss <\/span>AEW\u2019s<\/span> future. <\/span>Including discussing <\/span>the problems that AEW faces<\/span> and <\/span>questions<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Tony Khan<\/span><\/strong> will have to address.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The following is a bonus article! Its focus is on dissecting the negative PR AEW receives from critics and the <\/span>company\u2019s<\/span> response.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Only Proven True<\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201c<\/span>T<\/span>o be AEW is to be under constant attack<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Tony Khan, <\/span>Final Battle<\/span><\/em> media scrum 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had to question myself after reading this statement. My article evaluating <\/span>The <\/span>Elite\u2019s<\/span><\/a><\/strong> \u201c<\/span>putrid<\/span>\u201d <\/span>2023<\/span><\/a> had just <\/span>been published<\/span> and<\/span> I\u2019d<\/span> received both insults and accusations of being an anti-AEW WWE shill\/mark.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>Writers like you<\/span>\u2026\u201d.<\/span> Comments that said my opinion meant little. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the grand scheme of things, I <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span> disagree. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> funny <\/span>in<\/span> hindsight <\/span>those<\/span> folks behind their screens <\/span>couldn\u2019t<\/span> see I was wearing a<\/span> \u201c<\/span>Hangman<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Adam Page<\/span><\/strong> t-shirt as I read their views.<\/span><\/p>\n

I felt then <\/span>and<\/span> I still feel now <\/span>re-reading<\/span> that article <\/span>that<\/span> what I said was fair. I pointed out issues in AEW that still exist in the creative process that <\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span> discussed throughout this series. <\/span>Although afterward, <\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span> consciously tried to ensure my language and content are balanced to capture a range of fan perspectives<\/span>, as well as<\/span> my own.<\/span><\/p>\n

I questioned myself <\/span>and<\/span> the conclusion I drew from <\/span>Khan\u2019s<\/span> statement was double-sided. Yes, AEW has and is under attack by certain parties who profit financially from their takes. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, AEW was critically in a low period <\/span>experiencing<\/span> both constructive and bad-faith criticism. From a PR standpoint, it offered a temporary deflection from both.<\/span><\/p>\n

A politically defensive move that was right at the time<\/span>. In the short term, <\/span>wider<\/span> trends in discord were spotlighted<\/span>. Long-term, Khan has been proven right. Various media outlets, from <\/span>Voices of Wrestling<\/span><\/strong> to <\/span>WhatCulture<\/span> <\/strong>have published content explaining how and why AEW is <\/span>being targeted<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cottage Industry<\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The term cottage industry applies to the concept of small-scale business, usually that operates within a small location by one person or a small team. The origin of wrestling podcasts and their content goes back to the shoot video market that existed from the early 2000s to the 2010s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former and current wrestlers and personalities with the more extreme, outlandish, and populist opinions sold more. They <\/span>were asked back<\/span> to record more content and make more money. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s<\/span> evolved into podcasting where <\/span>from<\/span> the comfort of their homes<\/span>, personalities can share their opinions<\/span> and earn money for this.<\/span> The ends justify the means. \u00a0as when criticism <\/span>is rewarded<\/span> by financial gain.<\/span><\/p>\n

The anti-AEW cottage industry, a niche within the niche of wrestling news coverage, focuses on peddling a one-sided narrative that the promotion is incompetent and constantly in a state of decline and failure. <\/span><\/p>\n

The primary figures in this, your <\/span>Disco Inferno, <\/span>Konnan\u2019s<\/span><\/strong> (who unironically criticized AEW while working with them to share talent with <\/span>AAA<\/span><\/strong>), <\/span>Jim <\/span>Cornette\u2019s<\/span><\/strong>, and <\/span>Eric <\/span>Bischoff\u2019s<\/span> <\/strong>have moved from constructive criticism towards outright dismissal.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the shoot interview era, some personalities criticized <\/span>WWE\u2019s<\/span> product, the current wrestlers of the day, as well as<\/span> TNA<\/span><\/strong> and<\/span> ROH<\/span><\/strong> as<\/span> inadequate alternatives. Unlike these shoot interviews, even those anti-WWE wrestlers who shot at the company rarely threw into the conversation the possibility that WWE could die.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why WWE Did and Still Gets a Pass<\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vince <\/span>McMahon\u2019s<\/span> <\/strong>legacy at present is that of a man who has been able to work with everyone. Steering past financial ruin, the government and finding ways to make WWE profitable without the need for the fans during a period of barren creative has aided this perception that the man and WWE are Teflon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even critics like Cornette <\/span>who<\/span> hated <\/span>Vince\u2019s<\/span> wrestling <\/span>philosophy<\/span> had to give respect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given WWE has only gone from strength to strength with Vince gone also and the general perception of WWE in a Renaissance, <\/span>it\u2019s<\/span> easy to make historical comparisons. AEW <\/span>therefore<\/span> is<\/span> the <\/span>WCW<\/span><\/strong> of today.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE\u2019s<\/span> PR machine has insulated the company at present. When breaking down<\/span> \u201c<\/span>The Paul Levesque Er<\/span>a\u201d<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Nick Khan<\/span><\/strong> and <\/span>Chris Legentil<\/span><\/strong>, perhaps more so than <\/span>Triple<\/span> H<\/span><\/strong> are responsible for the <\/span>promotion\u2019s<\/span> growth. <\/span>Especially,<\/span> in terms of PR and promoting news media stories that tell the narrative WWE wants to <\/span>be presented<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE benefits massively from history and repeated triumphs over adversity. <\/span>Vince\u2019s<\/span> ability <\/span>also<\/span> to politically manipulate and use language to change <\/span>the way fans even<\/span> speak and think about wrestling is another aspect of his legacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, it impacts how some see AEW. Whether intended or not, <\/span>WWE\u2019s<\/span> position impacts this cottage industry. The company is hot and giving many WWE fans what they want.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE has changed for the better <\/span>and<\/span> for some <\/span>fans<\/span> that\u2019s<\/span> all they wanted. Paraphrasing <\/span>Brian Zane <\/span><\/strong>of <\/span>Wrestling With Wregret<\/span><\/strong>, did some fans want an alternative wrestling company <\/span>or<\/span> did they just want WWE to be good?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dangerous and Corrosive Narratives <\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

As humans, we are more attuned to focus on the negatives. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> what makes this cottage industry so powerful. The frequency of content has led to the issue that long-term narratives, even those that are false, have become true.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether this is the lie that AEW is too busy pursuing <\/span>Dave <\/span>Meltzer\u2019s<\/span> <\/strong>five-star ratings or Meltzer is an AEW defender, a little research would show otherwise. <\/span><\/p>\n

Videos exist showing <\/span>The Elite<\/span><\/strong> and <\/span>Will Ospreay<\/span><\/strong> all<\/span> saying they do not put value in <\/span>Meltzer\u2019s<\/span> subjective system. Likewise, listening to a Meltzer podcast would reveal how critical the man is of <\/span>AEW\u2019s<\/span> current product.<\/span><\/p>\n

This<\/span> impacts fans across the divide. It gives ammunition to anti-AEW fans. I know myself that some are happy, without invitation, to tell you why AEW sucks. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> draining. <\/span>Even staying out of the discord, blocking accounts, or avoiding subreddits<\/span>, the barrage is still constant<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Repeated enough times, some AEW fans who do not do research believe these sentiments. Out of four other folks in my friendship group who are wrestling fans, three out of five brought up the five-star ratings-chasing narrative at some point in our discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Possibly <\/span>the<\/span> most pernicious and widespread criticism of AEW has snowballed into an avalanche of bad faith. AEW <\/span>doesn\u2019t<\/span> tell stories. When someone tells me this, I often imagine they searched through <\/span>Dynamite<\/span><\/em> or <\/span>Collision<\/span><\/em> with the enthusiasm and effort of <\/span>John Travolta<\/span><\/strong> in that viral Pulp Fiction meme.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although, as stated earlier in this series, at its core, some elements of bad faith, either by accident or its in origin, do hit on some home truths.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s<\/span> Not All Bad Faith<\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

One thing must be clear. Not all criticism of AEW is bad faith. Online AEW fans <\/span>just<\/span> as <\/span>easily<\/span> as anti-AEW <\/span>fans<\/span> will dish out sweeping generalizations, statements, and name-calling. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s<\/span> easy to call someone a<\/span> \u201c<\/span>mar<\/span>k<\/span>\u201d,<\/span> \u201c<\/span>shill<\/span>\u201d <\/span>or some other term that reduces a person and their opinion\/perspective to somehow a different kind of human being. Fans and AEW itself have sometimes fallen into the binary of all-or-nothing discord. <\/span>You\u2019re<\/span> with us or against us.<\/span><\/p>\n

The issue with the cottage industry discord and then defense against it often reduces complex issues to oversimplifications. Sometimes <\/span>blocking<\/span> out or ignoring valid points of view.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stories are <\/span>being told<\/span> in AEW. Sometimes <\/span>AEW<\/span> suffers through polarising extremes. The issues are often related to execution and long-term thinking. Sometimes things are too busy. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wrongly accused as a<\/span> \u201c<\/span>shil<\/span>l<\/span>\u201d,<\/span> Dave Meltzer has pointed out that the promotion often tries to tell too many stories. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> hard to remember all of them, especially when AEW can be <\/span>at<\/span> times <\/span>too<\/span> subtle and too<\/span> implicit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes <\/span>story<\/span> beats and elements are missing, forgotten, or developed sporadically. Some things are stretched out for too long <\/span>while<\/span> others <\/span>are rushed<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Other times <\/span>stories<\/span> can rely on tropes that become repetitive, and events play out mechanically. There are lots of contrasts and contradictions. The overall issues come down to a lack of long-term planning and managing quality control.<\/span><\/p>\n

It <\/span>doesn\u2019t<\/span> mean all AEW storylines are inherently <\/span>bad<\/span>, but just scattergun. Yet scattergun pellets still can hit the bullseye and the target. <\/span><\/p>\n

But what happens instead for various reasons is the reality gets streamlined into digestible stories supporting one side <\/span>or the other<\/span>.<\/span> Likewise, comparisons between the similarities in successes and mistakes of AEW and WWE <\/span>are ignored<\/span> due to this tribalism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Role Reversal<\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Comparisons of AEW to <\/span>WCW\u2019s<\/span> last legs or TNA are false pearls. <\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span> watched enough of old WCW to what AEW produces in the ring <\/span>and<\/span> even flawed in the storyline <\/span>at<\/span> least resembles wrestling as we know it. I lived through the lol TNA era. <\/span><\/p>\n

I watched desperately and increasingly becoming depressed as <\/span>the strong wrestling product was dismantled<\/span>. AEW creatively is not the same. <\/span>There\u2019s<\/span> not enough <\/span>Vince Russo<\/span><\/strong>-inspired ballyhoo to make that comparison stick.<\/span><\/p>\n

When discussing <\/span>AEW\u2019s<\/span> relationship with WWE<\/span><\/a>, AEW promised to do the opposite of what WWE was doing. If anything, <\/span>AEW\u2019s<\/span> flexible logic and lapses of continuity are more akin to WWE than WCW or TNA tropes.<\/span><\/p>\n

AEW\u2019s<\/span> books <\/span>in<\/span> some ways <\/span>like<\/span> the later stages of <\/span>Triple <\/span>H\u2019s<\/span> Black and Gold Era NXT<\/span><\/strong>. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> more than just because wrestling <\/span>is seen<\/span> as superior. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes <\/span>match<\/span> graphics sell matches promising excellent in-ring action. Increasingly, some matches have become excessively long, fulfilling the idea longer is better. Yet this forgets quality can beat quantity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The stars NXT focused on were indy darlings and great wrestlers with limited characterization or storylines beyond<\/span> a <\/span>certain<\/span> set of<\/span> tropes.<\/span> Like the challenger picks up a belt.<\/span> Challenger stands on the ramp. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beat down in the car park. A similar repetition that <\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span> discussed with a different set of tropes AEW has often relied on. <\/span>In both cases, <\/span>what<\/span> was sometimes missing in the storyline <\/span>was the heart<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Selective amnesia around WWE being good once again has helped some ignore comparisons. Tribalism and its mindset of polarised differences <\/span>can\u2019t<\/span> comprehend that these two millionaire bosses could be similar. They must be complete foils of each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

AEW\u2019s<\/span> Response to Being Attacked <\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n