The Divide in Quality Between WWE and AEW Just Keeps Growing

[@Luke63517]

AEW just needs more belts.

[@ScienceBabbleMusic]

😂😂😂

[@CozyHumanoid]

Nah, It needs more factions.

[@evacody1249]

Everyone should have a belt and should be in a faction.

[@mrmccmath]

@@CozyHumanoid Oh definitely! And factions within factions! Really convolute things!

[@unrivaledWF]

WWE has more belts across their shows than AEW, stupid criticism.

[@TheStunscsa]

AEW peaked in 2021. Only way they get that back is Tony has to give up creative. Hire someone else to do it and learn from them like he should have from the start. WWE at the end of Vince' run wasn't that they didn't know what they were doing. Writers would have their stuff in and approved by Vince on Friday. Then when they got to TV on Monday Vince changed his mind and re wrote the whole thing.

[@Blackgold1155]

Totally agree. He should start with Bryan Danielson as head booker. I would add Christopher Daniels and try to get Bully Ray for the Tag Division and Dustin Rhodes for the Women’s Division.

[@nickhughes8179]

Fire the Bucks too. Khan listens to and does all of their creative pitches, and you can tell what they are by how stupid they come off ie: Roddy Strong yelling ADAM and everyone’s first name. Childish, obnoxious, unfunny, Bitcharoos “humour”. Then there’s the issue of those two sabotaging other teams out of jealous spite like The Acclaimed and FTR, and the issue of those two sabotaging Cody’s booking and Punk’s travel and show until they went back to WWE. Only way AEW gets better is by cutting out the Cucamonga Tumour. The Bucks are ratings and locker room cancer.

[@Kel336]

I didn't know The Hockey Guy liked Wrestling. WOW IM SO HAPPY . THIS IS A CRAZY TIMELINE I WOKE UP TO

[@chrisguardiano6143]

In my view, TNA is better than AEW at the moment in terms of the storylines, though the in-ring product between the two companies is about the same. I really like the crossover between TNA & NXT which has been really good. The biggest things that are keeping TNA below AEW in the pecking order are a terrible TV deal & their refusal to go to bigger venues. Unless you have the premium tier cable/satellite TV package which has AXS TV or a TNA+ subscription, it is virtually impossible to watch TNA. In order for TNA to overtake AEW as the #2 company, they need to get a better TV/streaming deal or better yet move all of their content to TNA+ & lower the price of it to encourage more fans to watch. As for the venue situation, TNA needs to stop going to exhibition/concert halls, casinos & high school gyms as if they are an indie promotion because it is a terrible look for a company that is trying to market itself as a global company. I am not saying TNA should be doing shows inside Madison Square Garden like WWE is, but TNA should be trying to do events in AHL or collage basketball arenas because I think they would draw good crowds & the crowds would likely be bigger than what AEW is drawing currently.

[@staticJ7]

TNA have been doing bigger arenas recently, (the next ppv arena in January holds between 6,500-8,000 seats) but they shouldn't over do it. It's better to have a full small arena than an empty large arena. That's one reason AEW is constantly being made fun of online for.

[@dfrancis9939]

TNA have almost everything except, the budget, production and the quality of talent. If they had a better roster than they have; they could very well be seen as better than AEW.

[@kerrydustin3996]

Totally agree with you. AEW got me back into wrestling after 7 years of not watching or paying attention to it. I watched every episode and ppv for the first 5 years. But now, it’s different and I can’t sit through an entire episode of dynamite. I also feel it’s the storylines and lack of build up. For example, Ospray and Richochet should have been a ppv and there was little build up to it. I want it to be successful, but it’s just different now.

[@UFCWWE69]

One big difference I notice is the lack of crowd energy now. Just go back and look at some of the crowds during that first year and when punk came back. Now if feels like you can hear individual people clapping in the front row on the broadcast 😂

[@Awwscrewit]

Orange Cassidy vs John Moxley for the AEW title. That pretty much says it all.

[@michaelreppenhagen736]

Literally the only reason I'm considering buying is the failed hope that the match is just going to be a 15-minute murder.

[@Coolsauce]

@@michaelreppenhagen736Orange Cassidy wins for shock value. (Unlikely but lmao)

[@mikawhofan]

Money says My little dog Pockets is going to win

[@turnerkirby2508]

Chris Jericho as a champion in the year of our Lord 2024 says it all too

[@UFCWWE69]

@@turnerkirby2508I just saw on social media today that Chris Jericho is now as old as cowboy bob Orton was when he was in Randy’s feud with the undertaker 🤯

[@OWlsfordshire]

"People are lying when they say AEW doesn't tell stories!!" Yeah, just look where all these storylines end up....The Devil Storyline, EVP storyline, BCC storyline, etc. All complete disasters.

[@oIRONITEo]

They never said the story's had to be good, just that they were story.

[@pinroshan020]

The only most memorable story in aew was the feud between MJF vs Punk. ❤

[@dvon1097]

WWE is the best its been since the attitude era. AEW literally has become what it was trying not to be. A place full of has been wwe guys, people with talent who are not being used right, goofy celebrity appearances, unjustified hardcore matches, not enough time for the women. It's awful.

[@oIRONITEo]

So TNA with a worse women's division.

[@johnnymittle]

WWE was better a year ago. It's just endless Bloodline repeats. Cody is kinda getting stale. Punk is a part timer. Wyatt group has fizzled. They kill momentum of other talent. Chad Gable was on fire until they stalled him. WWE coasting on momentum from when Rock was there. AEW is on a roll. Your criticism does not stand up to scrutiny. What was AEW trying not to be? From day one of TV they had Jericho and Mox at the top. Both ex-WWE. What talent is not being used right? According to who? Are they not using Ex WWE Swerve right? Or Toni Storm. What goofy celebrity appearances are you talking about? When was the last one before an upcoming preshow thing with the Walmart guys? Snoop dog 4-5 years ago? What was unjustified about Hangman-Swerve hardcore match? We'll wait. Women's division has surpassed WWE's even with still needing more time.

[@lucymoody4927]

​@@oIRONITEoTNA was NEVER this bad

[@oIRONITEo]

@johnnymittle a year ago at this time it was Cody and friends against the Judgement day every week. It's just the time of year where things get stagnant. After Survivor series things usually kick up for the wrestlemania build.

[@MrKeydeveiousi]

​@@johnnymittleeither go to rehab or troll better

[@fubartotale3389]

When the punches went from missing by six inches to missing by two feet, that ushered in the golden age of wrestling!

[@mentalcow]

WWE also made the titles feel important again by having Roman hold it for as long as he did, the Tribal Chief run honestly became my favorite title run every. The long term booking and mix and melding of stories together makes the shows feel very worth watching imo.

[@johnnymittle]

It doesn't work that well when they had ALL titles on record long runs. It' needs to be mixed up to be effective. Roman also as a side effect killed every WWE baby face momentum except Cody.

[@mentalcow]

​@@johnnymittle I agree there is a happy medium to find, but if I had to choose between them all being held long and them all hot swapping month to month like it was for a while I would much prefer long runs. I also would argue that it didnt kill everyone's momentum especially in the second half, at the start I agree there was some that just got pushed aside but the back half of it they would lose and stick around the story and be meaningful pars of the show.

[@InternetSecretsUnveiled]

@@johnnymittle I disagree. Roman had memorible fueds with people whom people didnt feel were that special and the fueds felt so special. Kevin Owens (4 times, Sami Zayne, Jay Uso, like 3 or 4 times), you can argue for Bron strawman and Brock, who I don't think were really baby faces. surely LA Knignt? that was hist first title and he looked strong and lost by interferance. That reign was just special due to the stories that were told; it was not about having people with momentum. others were actually legends

[@evacody1249]

Gunthers run as IC champ was better.

[@dynamite1647]

This is what happens when you let a wrestling fan book a wrestling show instead of a wrestling booker

[@timetobspodcast]

THG said he’s a listener to Jim Cornette. My respect for HG has grown tenfold. As a fellow member of the Cult of Cornette I approve of this. The council approves

[@alexfurtado7254]

The biggest problem with AEW is they just assemble talent and then don’t know what to do with them. They threw a lot of their homegrown talent to the wayside in order to bring in WWE and NJPW names to get brief pops and then did nothing with them. Whenever younger guys like Hook, Ricky Starks, MJF, The Acclaimed, and Orange Cassidy got momentum, they’d either disappear from TV or job out to somebody like the Young Bucks or Jericho. They’re booked like they’re being booked by a fan with a ton of money. Not to mention I think the whole fumbling of the situation with Punk and the Bucks killed all of their momentum.

[@christhornycroft3686]

Even WCW at its worst was like a trainwreck where you couldn’t avert your eyes. AEW isn’t even that. Meanwhile, to some degree, WWE is getting its act together.

[@davidcarter3272]

I don’t like how if I want to go back and watch an AEW PPV that I might have missed a few months back, I still have to pay $50 on Bleacher Report despite it being a few months old.

[@chnomtra531]

Producing weekly TV shows, especially live ones, is challenging, and AEW needs to fully grasp this. They should focus on creating compelling storylines that keep the audience engaged and eager to tune in the following week, gradually building a larger viewership through memorable moments. Currently, the stories often lack coherence, random wrestlers appear solely to elevate others, and the live crowd's lack of energy-which greatly impacts the TV viewing experience-doesn't help. If AEW ignores constructive criticism from those who genuinely want to see them succeed, their future may suffer.

[@capngeeoff]

I don't know what I was expecting from this video but I did not expect negative comments about Kris Statlander and Swerve. To me, these are two of the best acts in AEW. Although, Stat for sure more for her wrestling than her promos. I thought Swerve's reign started and ended on two great moments

[@NotTheHockeyGuy]

Oh I love Swerve as a wrestler, but his title reign was a mess. He wasn't treated like the biggest star on the roster and turning him face like they did killed his momentum. I never said anything bad about Stalander as a wrestler, just her promo ability which is on AEW, not on her. Wrestling companies are supposed to work on that stuff. WWE is well known for working a long time on promo skills.

[@NecroericYoutube]

It's very difficult to watch AEW. NXT is even better than AEW. You're correct about the women in NXT. Thankfully promotions like GCW, Beyond wrestling and other Indies in the United States are holding up the quality. Japan always rules. AJPW, GLEAT, NJPW, TJPW, NOAH, Sendai Girls, Stardom, Marigold, DDT

[@jjukkyumiz]

the beauty of wrestling is that I hold the complete opposite position 😅 Since right after SummerSlam this year, I have been horrendously bored by 99% of what WWE has been providing. To me, outside of the ongoing Bloodline story (even it feels stunted waiting for PLEs to me sometimes), none of it feels like it’s going anywhere or has any weight. I still watch weekly and the events, because I want to know what’s going on, but it is not grabbing me the majority of nights. AEW on the other hand, has held my full attention since Dynasty in late April of this year, and has had me eagerly waiting for showtime on Wednesdays & Saturdays ever since. I said that’s the beauty of wrestling because like me, I’m sure you’re entirely unbothered by someone else enjoying something you haven’t been. I’m glad other people like yourself are digging what WWE is doing, and I really do hope to be able to say the same soon! different strokes is really the name of the game, and I wish more people online would come to realize that and find peace 😂

[@steveb9713]

Khan running aew like the jaguars

[@evacody1249]

I wonder if they will use that Jags 52 to 6 lose against the Lions in a storyline.

[@nickhughes8179]

Cheap Sports Heat on line one for MJF.

[@jonathanpayne4772]

Hopefully the massive subscriber base of Netflix will get more people into WWE. They deserve it now.

[@michaelreppenhagen736]

You hit the nail on the head on a lot of my feelings and you didn't even mention some of the just flat out bizarre stuff that has happened, like Adam Cole being booked as a chicken shit heel and then suddenly being a baby face with no real turn? Miro is a great example, but the sheer number of misses they've had indicates that in order to get over in aew, you have to be the type of person that would have gotten over anywhere. Because you're an industry life writer, who knows what to do a la Christian or you just get it the way mjf just gets it. I think your point about Anna Jay is really in the money and it's why powerhouse Hobbs and Wardlow and lots of other guys have really struggled in spite of having some of the stuff they need to be guys you can build a company around and just not getting that development. Even some of the guys they strapped rockets to could use some time in a developmental program. I think part of the reason I'm so bored of the mox world order stuff they're doing is that the main targets of the feud are Darby and Orange Cassidy - both guys who are pretty gimmicky and might have been better if they transitioned out of that gimmick well, but never really did, f but now they just kind of annoy me. I don't know how true this is, but it's a little suspicious to me was when they had a player/coach type guy in the room like Cody or Punk.

[@nickhughes8179]

Punk had Cassidy on Collision because he was planning to slowly get Cassidy to develop character, gain a little size, and ditch the Mudshow Pockets crap. The Bucks caught wind from a stooge (likely Glittery Heels Jericho when he showed up 3rd week uninvited looking like Ms Trunchable from Matilda), and the sabotage campaign through Davey-Derp Dementia kicked into overdrive, and the plan to sabotage Punk at every turn really ramped up. The Bucks are balding children with 40 year old faces.

[@WolfEffectzz]

dropped off of AEW once all my favourites just started to suddenly stop being used. miro, ricky starks, jay white... the stupid Tony Khan/Young bucks segments were the final nail in the coffin

[@Deans-jm3uf]

The worst part is so many characters disappear without much or any explanation. It gives the fan the impression what you’ve been watching is meaningless.

[@oIRONITEo]

Tony gets a new toy and forgets what he was doing with everyone he used to have.

[@Ian-u6m]

WWE has a target audience of 6-10 year olds and it shows it’s literally in most instances Baby Face vs Even bigger Baby Face

[@UnicornHunterD]

One of my biggest pet peeves with AEW is they choose to drop storylines or carry on storylines when it makes no sense. How can Swerve threaten to kill Hangman's infant then become a face? There is no continuity. Nothing matters and if that is the case then there is no point in me tuning in.

[@pulsarpresents]

Every valid argument people have had against WWE over the past decade (that you’re stuck performing for an audience of one, that you’re at the mercy of whether 3-4 people in the back like you, that you’ll be signed just to be buried out of spite)… now applies to AEW.

[@andyq524]

Couldn't agree more. AEW has taken a significant step back from where they started. Conversely, WWE had been killing it the past couple of years. The difference for me seems to be Cody. AEW started on their decline when he left. Also, didn't know you were a wrestling fan. I'm here from the hockey channel.

[@markray3273]

i been watching wwe since 1984 i think todays wrestling is great

[@jmn327]

Wow, uh...totally disagree, but I guess that's why opinions are what they are.

[@mikehuly4208]

I went to the halloween show in Cleveland and the crowd was dead. AEW is in trouble

[@lostinthegrave7462]

I went to the World’s End PPV last year. The place was a mausoleum for most of the event and the stupid endings of the last two matches left a sour taste. Haven’t seen much of dynamite since I usually work late on Wednesdays now.

[@nerdtmcgurt4552]

Really enjoyed this vid, first time viewer, earned my subscription to see your POV on other things. TNA/MLW/GCW and even NWA growing their territories have me so much more interested in the wrestling world now. I haven’t watched WWE in years and gave up on AEW around 8 months ago. I read another comment that said “AEW has become what it set out not to be” and that really hit home. Every time I look in on a segment I just shake my head. I would rather give my time, attention and dollars to places that can use it to grow than either of the two big US companies, I hope the hardcore fans are enough to keep AEW where they want to be.

[@dolandarkxgrandayy6953]

The problem with AEW is their growth was due to WWE being awful under Vince the last few years. Vince retiring made the need for an alternative to no longer be needed.

[@ricksanchez2425]

Eric bischoff started all this shit in the 90s

[@Rando201]

Is that a Blues Wayne Gretzky Jersey????? Very Nice. Very Nice.

[@LSLS5555]

AEW as random sums it up perfect for me. The moxley/OC thing is coming along nicely it seems, but im not fully invested in part because they dont ever pay off storylines (or at least it doesnt feel like it to me). But beyond that, matches feel like they are thrown together for extreme fan dream matches. What makes wrestling appeal to the masses is it being like a soap opera. Throwing two elite wrestlers out there to have a match just cause they are elite produces great in ring stuff, but doesnt connect any emotion. So you get the extreme fans, but thats not going to sell the merch out.

[@unrivaledWF]

I feel the complete opposite, I really struggle to get through a WWE show. It just feels too loud, brash and when I watch I genuinely feel like I'm watching a show designed for children. The wrestlers have 0 authentic personality and they just feel like cogs in advertising machine. AEW for me, feels more authentic, it has an edge that makes me believe anything could happen and the overall tone just feels like it fits my age demographic way better. I think the gap in quality is very one sided but in AEW's favour, I don't need twitter users with Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes avatars, washed up people from the industry that are sour that they never got a job with AEW or an outdated neilsen rating system to sway my opinion. I do think AEW's booking can be a little hit or miss and sporadic but I don't think it's a level that deserves all of the criticism it gets. It's like AEW are held to way higher standards than WWE.

[@ShinyMew76]

Could we have a wrestling channel on the Discord server please? I’ve asked there, I just think it’d be another cool thing to have there.

[@NylanderHas5StarDragonBalls]

Woahhh THG likes wrestling? I’d be down for more content like this

[@Coolsauce]

Zaria will be a huge star

[@psell8628]

Love your (rare) wrestling videos. Good perspective

[@RodLofton]

As a Canadian, this is the first time I've seen this channel. I love the hockey guy channel, (also a Canucks fan.... i think you are), love this channel too. Insta-subscribe. Thank you

[@VazzVegas]

There have been far too many story lines that get dropped for no reason and with no explanation in AEW. There's also a lot of misuse of talent. For example, Kamille lost in like her 3rd match, and to Statlander, who's basically just being built up to lose to Mercedes anyways. Kamille should have gone undefeated for quite some time. She's their future and they've already messed her up. Now the money feud between her and Mercedes will have much less impact. The one that gets me is I have no idea what they're doing with MJF. He was the hottest face in the company and then he disappeared and came back as a heel and keeps disappearing to the point where no one cares about him. He was to be the face of the company and now he's just nothing. And all of a sudden Adam Cole is a face after he last feuded with MJF as a heel. The explanation was so bad too.

[@christianouellette1006]

The best recipe would be WWE main tv shows mixed with AEW ppvs lol

[@allenmoisan3375]

Wrestling is a lot better than watching the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight

[@Alex-js5lg]

Waiting for Jake Paul's WWE run next...

[@chriscarter855]

yes! more wrestling content! feed us!

[@thefloridaman41]

I honestly think you are being overly kind to AEW, WCW could make stars. AEW buys stars and then they become less and end up off tv and then TK buys the next star. The whole show is parasitic on WWE in a way not even TNA at its worst was. Where is Wardlow, Hobbs, Starks, Garcia, everyone that was Dark Order, where are Butch, Bunny and Blade? The company failed their originals. Darby played the geek boy Robin to Sting’s Batman and now he’s a laughing stock which sucks because he’s capable of good matches with intelligent opponents. Orange Cassidy is rating poison to casual audiences. Adam Cole looks like he’s dying from liver failure. MJF has regressed to reruns of when people thought he was the next Miz. The company needs to reevaluate what they currently look like outside the cult

[@theandrew1375]

You obviously haven’t been paying attention in the past year. Wardlow blew his knee out on television, Hobbs returned last week and is allied with Ospraey and Ricochet, Garcia is on tv weekly and likely to win the TNT belt from Perry this week, Bunny left for mental health reasons, Blade got his back fused, Butcher is pretty much the jobber to the stars now with Blade being out, Starks won’t do jobs, and Dark Order is on ROH and have been featured in the Deathriders story. Orange Cassidy usually has the highest rated segments of the week. Darby is over as hell and will probably be the next belt holder at Worlds End. MJF is off filming a movie, hence his current prerecorded segments.

[@thefloridaman41]

Highest rated segment in a company that has lost almost half its audience in a couple years. Yeah that doesn’t sound like ratings poison. 🤷🏼‍♂️ idk why you are pretending that all those people being injured or needing mental health support is a defense for AEW.

[@thenimrods8481]

the hockey guy watches wrestling this is amazing

[@MrXabungle]

Statlander is a great ring performer but doesn't have any promo skills. It sucks because her run as heel against Willow was going well until she hit a New Game mode.

[@CineMasterDamian]

HALESTORM!!!!!!!!

[@JustinJost]

Now the WWE has a Womens United States Championship so that's good to

[@thehaunted8055]

Nitro 2001- 2 million ratings Original TNA 1.3 -1.9 million Dynamite 500,000 - 700, 000

[@raphaelmarincas4523]

"i don't need a white board for this" :(

[@rusevdai5810]

Said it before and I’ll say it again: the bloodline saga is the greatest storyline in WWE history, with the possible argument being the Austin-McMahon feud.

[@waywardlegacy5045]

Taker and Kane feud is definitely up there as well.

[@dolandarkxgrandayy6953]

​@waywardlegacy5045 The problem with Taker and Kane was the matches were horrendous. The smoke and mirrors helped the feud, but WrestleMania 14 was a very boring match.

[@waywardlegacy5045]

@@dolandarkxgrandayy6953 I disagree, a lot of their stuff from 97 till about 99 or so, even their little feud till Summerslam 2000 was pretty good to me. But you’re entitled to your opinion and how you feel. I respect that.

[@rusevdai5810]

Yeah that Kane undertaker fued was real legendary overall, I think kanes debut has to be the best debut of all time. The Kane vs Kane story had some potential but flopped so bad

[@staticJ7]

​​@@dolandarkxgrandayy6953 The Bloodline matches have been terrible and predictable due to constant ref pumps and interference. Only good Bloodline match has been Roman v Cody 2 and the Wargames match last year.

[@Laverty318]

It's a weird disconnect nowadays. Not gonna deny AEW has been struggling in terms of story and etc. I remember not being able to secure a ticket for the first AEW Toronto show. Hope they pick it up.

[@jsaffri]

I record AEW episodes and fast forward through 80% of it.

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

I'm a wrestling fan. I don't want AEW to go out of business. Like most people I criticized WWE when Vince was running things. I gave AEW a pass because they were an alternative to Vince and they were new. Nowadays I'm pretty critical of AEW because Vince is gone and they have been around for a while. Also, I think that it's weird that AEW calls themselves "Real wrestling". I know that's just marketing but it just sounds embarrassing. WWE and AEW are just a soap opera where men and women pretend to fight.

[@mixinitup2031]

I have completely stopped watching both products! AEW always has better wrestling and WWE has always had better storylines but now AEW can’t make me care to watch their wrestling and WWE is reusing storylines all over the place that make no sense for the most part! If you enjoy the bloodline stuff then definitely I can get why people would love WWE! To me it’s an overused story that’s just pushing a bunch of overrated wrestlers all from the same family who all wrestle the same boring styles!

[@ScuffedF]

One of the problems is what many complained about with Vince for years: Tony books this product for one person. Himself. And now this Death Riders storyline is the drizzling sh!ts that is doing absolutely no good for the programme either and its all Moxley. Im at the point now that I dont want to see Moxley on my screen at all. He has go away heat with ne and even the crowd barely react to his actions now. The worst of all though is the fact that the product is boring. There is nothing to get hyped about. And I sure as hell dont want to see Orange Cassidy win the belt. Dear god....

[@nickhughes8179]

Jon Moxley has literally morphed into a Neo Na-zi version of Nick Gage. I think he replaced booze with fentanyl laced crack. They put the belt on Pockets, then so long new TV deal once the network sees that shiny new sub 100k viewership after another 500k finally give up and deem AEW to be GCW 2.0. Garbage Can Wankery

[@ryanw2544]

Gettin close to WM season!

[@codyge18]

Id like to see you check out non American promotions

[@TheJonHarder]

I was today years old when I learned Hockey Guy likes pro wrestling. Very good points and agree on most views. Don't forget, they are now trying again, with Y2J as ROH champ, to get Ring of Honor a TV deal too. The main thing I think about: how much money is Honorclub losing so that they will need a TV deal? A lot to think about there.

[@fawkesclub2590]

I call it the WWE filter Some need it Others don't

[@JohnnyReno71]

As a kid I loved wrestling now as an adult it’s a completely ridiculous.

[@christhornycroft3686]

I agree. And we grew up with cartoon characters at times.

[@Alex-js5lg]

I don't watch it today, but let's be real: it was ridiculous in the 90s as well.

[@staticJ7]

​@@Alex-js5lg exactly. If we're talking in terms of ridiculousness, the 90s was filled with it. The biggest thing people complain about now days is the "gymnastics," which is nowhere near as bad as giving birth to a hand, someone getting their manhood chopped off, a fat guy shoving his butt in his opponents' faces... And that's just the storylines not even mentioning the ridiculous gimmicks back then.

[@MichaelHeilman]

1. The biggest issue with AEW is Tony Khan's ego. He belives that AEW is great and there is nothing wrong when there is clearly problems. He has more people who say yes than no. 2. More wrestlers in AEW have creative control and that is a problem. Some ideas they are doing right now don't make since and their characters are going nowhere. 3. AEW roster is so bloated that they need to release some of the wrestlers they are not using aka Ricky Starks. With the amount of wrestlers they have on the roster, you would think they would have a brand split to give Dynamite and Collison their own set of rosters and use ROH as a development. Until Tony sees he is harming his company, AEW will continue to suffer and fans will continue to find alternatives like WWE and other companies to watch.

[@bigyodatheman]

Spot on

[@waywardlegacy5045]

I’ve been a WWE guy since like ‘98, I watched up till 2019, then I stopped because the shows were just hard to get through. I still kept up with what was going on but I wasn’t watching. When I heard AEW coming out, I thought with Cody being involved and some of the legends being involved, I thought it would be a great alternative. I watched a bit Dynamite originally and it wasn’t for me. When Punk came in, I started watching, it still wasn’t for me. I got back into WWE in 2022, I have to say right now, the company is the best it’s been in a very long time. I feel Tony Khan and company are stuck in their ways and they cater to a niche Indy, mark audience. They book what they want to see want to see. Not what would keep fans or bring in new ones. I think that holds them back a lot.

[@denistuohy2535]

Hey Shannon, why does every wrestling fan I know watch hockey and the vast majority of hockey fan watch wrestling? What’s the correlation?

[@dolandarkxgrandayy6953]

Watching guys clobber each other

[@whatif8900]

Fast pace

[@roblewis7186]

I started out as an aew fan but now, I think even the in ring product is awful. The gymnastic performances are so off putting.

[@VGK702]

I've only been watching wrestling about 6 months and i started off trying to watch both WWE and AEW. For some reason AEW just never was able to hold my attention, even though the matches are fun, it just never feels like it makes me care about the overall story. WWE on the other hand i havent missed an episode of raw or smackdown since i started watching along with all the PLEs. I also feel like the women have been more entertaining to watch and have put on some great matches. Its almost like they make more of the time on screen they have.

[@NylanderHas5StarDragonBalls]

We don’t have to lie for the sake of “progressiveness” it’s ok to admit the women’s divisions in WWE and AEW has been underbooked as shit with mediocre matches that follow. WWE’s women division minus Rhea Ripley might as well have been called the Divas division for the year because that’s the only type of female wrestlers allowed to succeed under Triple H booking as of recent

[@VGK702]

@@NylanderHas5StarDragonBalls lol I have no reason to lie. I've genuinely just been more entertained by the women's matches than the guys, that's just my opinion. Besides that my favorite was the cm punk and drew match at bad blood

[@NylanderHas5StarDragonBalls]

@ literally how 😭😭😭. The entertainment industry must really be at an all time low if that’s considered good…

[@VGK702]

@@NylanderHas5StarDragonBalls maybe you're just taking everything too serious lol I think they are fun to watch. I'm not saying the guys matches haven't been good though don't take me wrong. I've really enjoyed WWE as a whole

[@Famous_Athlete_Hashimoto]

The downfall of AEW is very much attributed to the departure of Cody Rhodes. While he was there, he had control over the booking and was able to bring cohesion to TK's booking. After he left, TK took full control of the booking and just threw together dream matches with his action figures with the story being an afterthought. It speaks volumes that every wrestler that WWE has managed to poach from AEW has succeeded whereas those that have gone the other way AFTER the founding of AEW have all languished. Ricochet and Sasha Banks are prime examples of that

[@kokushi629]

Do you get hate from either side when you do videos on wrestling?..

[@timmutohfan]

the answer is have someone else book, but he'll never do that.

[@timetobspodcast]

AEW’s problem is not only the writing but the booking as well. Take the Main event at Full Gear as a perfect example. Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley……mmmkay??? So you’re building this, twig…to overtake Moxley as the face of your company. Got it. And the Young Bucks think they’re the best tag team in the world but meanwhile Motor City Machine Guns who are one of the current WWE Tag Team champions in their 40’s run circles around the bucks 20 times over. Jack Perry annoys me as a person and as a character. The TNT Title means nothing now since Edge got hurt. And Mercedes is a walking cringe party. Also; there’s too many championships. Including in Ring of Honor which Tony owns as well

[@arleneconverse1238]

If Vince was still in charge, AEW would still filling arenas

[@MBMusicGeek]

I tried being an AEW fan, when I couldn’t bring myself to going and seeing them live last year, I just gave up. Raw and Smackdown are great

[@modeisin7]

Chad Gable is incredible he’s a fun heel and very good in the ring. But ultimately I just can’t do wrestling anymore in general.

[@jonathanmcfaul9203]

I’m a newer wrestling fan and I’ve tried to get into AEW but I just can’t. It’s so bad.

[@lassederboss]

i like wrestling. AEW PVs have 6 bangers, WWE PPVs maybe have 2. All the soap opera shit with wwe is boring.

[@UnicornHunterD]

That is true and once AEW comes to Max in the US I know I will watch some ppvs even if I hate dynamite. WWE with peacock is more accessible and every person that watches WWE has it while a lot of people that watch AEW are not going to pay 50 dollars a month for a ppv on top of having to have a cable plan to watch it. AEW shot themselves in the foot taking 5 years to get a streaming service.

[@CaveWaverider]

I feel AEW's problem is that there is no coherent story, not in the ring nor outside and hardly anything ever makes any sense, especially since CM Punk (and to an extent Cody Rhodes before him) left. There are no truly defined good guys and bad guys, people seem to flip flop depending on who they fight as it's mostly good vs. good and evil vs. evil and it's hard for the audi3nce to really make a connection. Storylines and feuds just appear to stop and evaporate for no reason, with wrestlers disappearing for months after starting to gain momentum. Also, in AEW wrestlers (as well as their characters) rarely seem to get better, if anything, they regress (even established stars that come in from elsewhere like you mentioned in your Bret Hart to WCW analogy which is true for most of them, except perhaps for CM Punk, Cody, Jericho in the early days and maybe Christian Cage to an extent). It's a shame, really, AEW had so much potential to become a true alternative to WWE but so far they have squandered it, especially when WWE was on the ropes creatively there a couple of years ago.

[@ShaqFuGuru]

I loved old AEW but fell off it hard. It just isn’t for me anymore.

[@oIRONITEo]

AEW has a redundant roster imo. There's a million flippy wrestlers with little to no appeal outside of their in-ring abilities. The problem is there are guys who are in that company that have both in ring and the ability to get over, like Ospreay, MJF, Danielson, etc. Not to mention, it feels like everyone is in some stupid group that no one cares about. They still have very good matches, dream matches, even. But dream matches for the sake of dream matches just make them mean less. At this point they're a monthly indy promotion that has a national TV deal, the stories aren't interesting so they have to book amazing matches to draw ratings and its not working.

[@PEANUTBUTTERNINJA]

Wrestling was good in the 80's and early 90's. It sucks now.

[@tomingram4108]

You openly admit that you only watch clips of aew matches then think you can critique aew. Aew and wwe are not the same show nor the same product. Wwe as stated by vince and triple h are not wrestling shows they are soap opera about wrestling where aew is a wrestling show. Zero comparison stick to watching those 20 yr old wwe stories that recently they have been replaying with different actors and actresses. If you don't like aew or wwe shut your pinhole and watch the show you like instead of trashing the show you admittedly don't watch. At least aew doesn't waste 24 minutes for a promo at the beginning of every episode

[@Blackgold1155]

I was one of the biggest AEW fans there is. There was a point where I couldn’t put my finger on why people lost interest. Now even I don’t care about their product at all. Their choices for booking are maddening.

[@totallykoolyeah]

Aew is wrestling camp.wcw had stars

[@DoppaD]

Yeah, it all comes down to the creative team in my opinion. I'd like to be a fly on the wall, and see what goes on behind the scenes in AEW. Perhaps the creative team is suggesting some awesome ideas, and Tony is just shooting everything down or something... I'd love to know for sure. Whatever is going on, it isn't working.

[@jamesmaskell3743]

Tony Khan had a very revealing and lengthy answer at the post- All In media scrum this year when he was asked about how creative worked. From the sounds of it, he has up to 30 writers whom he would pick ideas from. Some were allocated to certain wrestlers. It felt quite unstructured and lacking in structure. It's absolutely worth a watch.

[@DoppaD]

@@jamesmaskell3743 Wow... 30 writers?!?!? Considering the product they're putting out there, that's insane. Tony needs to trim the fat, and quit micro-managing.

[@TroublesWeekly]

Spoken like someone that barely pays attention. The EVP thing went nowhere? What about Private Party getting the tag titles and this ascension of Daniel Garcia? Or the entire Scapegoat thing with Jack Perry? It’s always the same with these people, it isn’t bad if it’s not WWE and you claiming E is more watchable? Outside of Rhea returning and the Rollins/Reed match, RAW was abysmal

[@nickhughes8179]

Scapegoat, pfft. He’s still whining over Punk snatching him up for being a disrespectful little brat backstage to the agents and Schiavone, then to Punk in the ring with that Real Glass crap, where he ended up slicing up his tricep. Bet that Hertz rental company that car was rented from won’t rent cars to AEW wrestlers now after Perry trashed a rental. That’s the Scapegoat gimmick, crying rivers.

[@martezdetroit3164]

This is a great take, that doesn't sound like crazy modern Wrestling fan____ i think someone else should do the script writing for the AeW. I don't believe khan has a degree in booking, lol. He needs a helper or teacher

[@hezekiahthomas837]

As an aew fan its hard its very hard right now. I can only blame tk at this point he has nothing but time, opportunity,and money. He could change it tomorrow if he wanted to all he needs to donis invest money into major reforms in aew in the writting its is so mid.

[@whatif8900]

A big problem with AEW is a the glazing. The whole Adam Cole return was just talking about how awesome everyone is and was so corny to watch.

[@eptx830]

WWE = Bloodsport starring Jean Claude Van Damme AEW is like any Kung Fu film that badly dubbed

[@bucketophil]

AEW just can’t package it like WWE can.

[@dolandarkxgrandayy6953]

AEW is literally just WCW at this point. Guys on inflated contracts with limited dates and creative control who don't care about putting anybody over like Jericho and Moxley.

[@ThatGuy-p2c]

The matches are good in AEW if you throw out psychology.

[@capngeeoff]

honestly, what I like most about AEW is when they zig when WWE would have zagged. So, IMO they should lean into the things they do that are different than the WWE. If AEW does something and it makes Attitude Era podcasters mad, then I would double down. AEW will not be able to be a better WWE than the WWE

[@sharonnejones8389]

HHH is Cooking Jailhouse Swoles stop the madness

[@AemsMC]

TNA is the true alternative to WWE.

[@ajmartineau8221]

Aew and new Japan are the best!

[@capngeeoff]

I hate to say it because he is truly one of the legends of Canadian wrestling but for me Chris Jericho's matches and segments are routinely the worst thing on Dynamite these days. I actually genuinely like most of the rest of the show.

[@Deans-jm3uf]

I actually don’t think the wrestling on AEW tv is better. I’m sure it’s great on ppv but that price point is way too high. The wrestling on AEW tv at times is way too either extreme, too many big moves with kick outs and/or has too many high spots. It now means nothing. Also almost all of the tv matches are very predictable. You have these 15 minute back and forth matches only for the person they are clearly pushing to win by the skin of his/her teeth against an opponent that is featured maybe once a month. Again it means nothing but the matches are good. Thing is most wrestling fans only need two or three good matches a week and the quota is filled. Without compelling stories the good match for a good matches sake is largely meaningless.