4 things AEW need to possibly compete with the WWE
On January 1 2019, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks tossed a metaphorical hand grenade into the world of professional wrestling, and the internet exploded with excitement and speculation.
That hand grenade was called All Elite Wrestling.
They announced that they would be creating their own wrestling company, All Elite Wrestling, with the backing of the billionaire Khan Family (the owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC). The Khans will be making an initial investment of US$100 million.
AEW will hold its first show, "Double or Nothing", in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas. The venue has a capacity of 17,000, an increase from the 11,000 who attended "ALL IN" in September 2018.
Despite not holding a show yet, AEW already has a large fan-base. Many people are expecting AEW to be major competition for the WWE. They believe this is the second coming of the "Monday Night Wars".
I don't believe this to be the case. I think AEW's biggest competition is Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling. There are a number of things that would need to happen for AEW to challenge WWE's position in the world of wrestling. Here are 4 things AEW need to do in order to possibly compete with WWE.
#4 Be different
If AEW wants to compete with WWE, they need to present a product vastly different from the WWE's. They need to avoid the things WWE do badly, and improve upon the things WWE do well. They need to provide a real alternative to disgruntled WWE fans
Everybody has probably heard the story of Eric Bischoff creating a list of what WWE did and what he was going to do differently with WCW. For example, WWE presented their performers in a more cartoonish light, so Bischoff wanted his wrestlers to have a sense of realism about them e.g.The N.W.O.
AEW needs to do the same. WWE has less of a focus on the in-ring action every week, so AEW should make in-ring action their focus. WWE tends to over-script and over produce promo segments, hence AEW should loosen the reins on talent, and let them produce their own promos.