Has AEW Lived Up To It's Hype?

So we are now 7 weeks into the weekly AEW Dynamite show and 1 PPV down, so I thought it was about time to see if AEW is living up to hype they created when first announcing their intention to start a new wrestling company with a weekly show. My personal opinion is not so far, what they have given us so far I do not feel has been anything special. In the this article I am going to list the reasons why I do not believe they are living up to their own hype at all. A New Type of Wrestling show From the start, the AEW executives, the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega specifically promised us new type of wrestling show, one that would be less about entertainment and the promise of a more sports based show. However this so called new style of wrestling looks more like Cirque De Soleil, their style of matches relies a lot on cooperation between the competitors with all their flips and tricks, but I can see that a my local circus or various tourism attractions. I am not saying its not entertaining but I do not truly believe I am watching a fight. Its too obvious I’m just watching a well choreographed show and for their claim that they will be delivering a more sports based show just seems like a complete lie. Every match is the same Literally every match is pretty much the same they all do same moves and because they all the same moves and those moves become less and less impactful each time. typically if we see the lower card talent doing the same moves as the top talent, if everyone dives out the ring every match then its not special. I mean does every match need to have a dive? Its not just that though, there are other moves that used to be out and out finishers but now are just delivered a normal move, how many different variations of a cutter/RKO does their need to be, the death valley driver is used by Shaun Spears as finishing move but others use it as if it was a suplex, how can be finisher for one person but just a low level move for another. Wins and Losses Matter Another promise AEW made and keep reminding us they made was that Wins and Losses would matter and there would not be any 50/50 booking, but so far due to the way they have booked their matches most of the guys are being booked 50/50, go on check the stats. Its not just wins and losses every match is booked 50/50, no one is particularly dominant in a match. If we look at Darby Allen, Kip Sabian and Joey “Jelly” Jannela have come off matches with Cody, Hang Man and Kenny respectivly, in which they were booked competitively and although they did not win they booked as if they were on par with them. Because of this they have failed at getting these lower card guys over, but they have also lowered the aura of those supposed top stars. I mean who is going to be next to challenge Jericho based on their wins a losses no one stands out as the next challenger. To add to this they are now stating that the stats will reset which in long term planning makes sense so up and comers will not have the long term losses caused by jobbing in the early part of their careers. Small Roster Okay I know I sound like Vince, but it’s no wonder Jim Corentte now refers to All Elite Wrestling as All Petit Wrestling, when the 3 biggest members are actually on the female roster. Nyla Rose, Awesome Kong and Aja Kong. Where are the monsters on the male roster? I think adding a couple of bigger guys could open a new avenue for AEW as they will be able to put on different styles of matches so not every match will look the same. The reason Cody and Jericho have been so good is they wrestle a completely different style compared to every other match on the recent PPV. We’re also now seeing just how small the talent roster is, currently beyond the tag team division there really isn’t any depth to their singles roster and just how little talent they have in female division. The Future Look its not all doom and gloom, and I know they have a very loyal following of fans who will support them no matter what and will defend them till they’re red in the face. They can put on entertaining matches with all their high spots and you can see they at least trying not just to be spot monkey matches and they’re trying to add story and drama. But so far in my opinion they have not lived up to the hype so far. I am not saying I dislike AEW, on the contrary, I do enjoy watching Dynamite every week and will continue to do so, what I am saying however is that they have failed to live up to hype they created. I am sure the show will improve week to week hopefully with new signings to the roster and learning from some of the early mistakes. The future is still bright…. Andrew More