5 Ways All Elite Wrestling looks like WCW, and 5 ways they are unique

Some are already foretelling the death of AEW, like WCW before it, while others assert it will replace WWE as the globally dominant brand. Here are five ways AEW is quite similar to WCW, and five ways it's a completely different entity.

January 1st, 2019; While many people around the world were celebrating the new year with shots of alcohol, a small group of people gathered in the freezing cold Japanese night for a different kind of celebration.

The people were the group of wrestlers known as the Elite, which include The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Adam Page, and others. They were making a bold statement about the formation of an all new wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling.

Before the illumination of their screens faded, fans had already taken to social media and other platforms to alternately celebrate, speculate, and sometimes decry the birth of the new promotion. One thing that has come up repeatedly in the weeks since is the idea that AEW is doomed to follow the footsteps of former WWE Rival World Championship Wrestling. Ted Turner's upstart wrestling promotion was considered a big deal at the time because of the man behind it. Turner had built a media empire and virtually invented the idea of a twenty four hour news network with CNN. He had also turned the Atlanta Braves--long the laughingstock of Major League Baseball--into a World Series Champion team.

Of course, one has but to fast forward a decade and the dream of WCW was crashing down. Due to low ratings, their weekly program Monday Nitro was being canceled off of Turner's own network. The brand was bought by Vince McMahon, who ultimately chose to close it down forever.

Is AEW doomed to the same fate, or will things be different this time? Here are five ways that All Elite Wrestling resembles the old WCW, and five ways in which AEW is unique.

1.Similar to WCW: Funded by a billionaire.

Could the smiling face of Tony Khan one day be as iconic as Vince McMahon's grimace? Only time will tell.

One thing that the All Elite Wrestling detractors point to when comparing the new promotion to WCW is the fact that both companies were funded by billionaires who owned a professional sports team.

While both Ted Turner and Tony Khan are (or at least were) quite wealthy, the comparisons end there. One of the criticisms that many had of Ted Turner was that he really didn't understand the wrestling business. He made decisions like creating a Wizard of Oz inspired wrestler (played by Kevin Nash) because Turner happened to own the rights to the original film. Turner also hired former KPLR St Louis station manager Jim Herd to run the wrestling company. Herd's only qualification for the role was that a program called Wrestling at the Chase appeared on his old station.

Herd famously botched things by firing sixteen times heavyweight champion of the world--also WCW's most recognizable name--Nature Boy Ric Flair, who immediately went to WWF and got a contract.

But Khan is a lifelong wrestling fan, who watched firsthand the rise and fall of WCW. He may not make the same mistakes as Ted Turner did, so this comparison might be a bit unscientific.

1.Different From World Championship Wrestling: Youth driven.

Both Adam Page and PAC are both seasoned and still fairly young.

One of the things that ultimately led to the downfall of World Championship Wrestling was the promotion's over-reliance on established talent.

While it is always good to have veteran performers, and wrestling legends on your roster, having them exclusively be the star attractions and never building or pushing younger talent means the company has no room to grow.

This is what happened in WCW, with stars like Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Hall and Nash, and Bret Hart being given the lion's share of television time while younger talent in their prime languished. The legends were expensive, worked limited schedules, and ultimately were more out for themselves than building an enduring legacy for WCW.

All Elite Wrestling is taking a different approach, however. While they have signed veteran performer Chris Jericho, who is over forty, they are seeking to push wrestling talent that is in its prime. The fact that Adam Page--remember when he was a rookie wiping down the ropes on ROH?--and PAC took center stage at the first AEW press conference that the new promotion has an eye on the future.

2. Similar to World Championship Wrestling: Entering a crowded marketplace.

There are a lot of promotions vying for fan's interest, and dollars.

One of the reasons that Ted Turner chose to purchase Jim Crockett Productions and enter the pro wrestling marketplace was because sports entertainment was red hot at the time.

Of course WWE was the biggest promotion, and had built a global empire based upon Hulkamania and media dominance. However, they were by no means the only show in town.

Verne Gagne's AWA was still holding on, though it had been somewhat hindered by talent poaching by other regional territories. Global Championship Wrestling managed to carve out a niche and featured stars like Sid Vicious before he hit major stardom. Of course, there was the aforementioned JC Productions and their NWA territories, which were probably WWE's biggest rival. And last but not least, Eastern Championship Wrestling--which would become Extreme Championship Wrestling under the guidance of Paul Heyman--had its own niche market.

It is true that All Elite Wrestling is entering a similar, crowded marketplace. In addition to the industry leader, the WWE, there are NJPW, Ring of Honor, Impact wrestling, and various independent organizations all vying for attention, talent, and fan's money. Will AEW be successful as WCW was, at least for a time? It remains to be seen.

2. Different from World Championship Wrestling: Female wrestling talent.

All In featured some of the top female performers in the world, and AEW claims to be building a strong women's division.

One thing that WCW never handled very well was their women's division. In fact, they didn't even have one when they lured WWE women's champion Allundra Blayze (AKA Madusa) and she threw her old title belt in the trash.

Perhaps that was prophetic of the fate of women's wrestling in WCW. Many of the matches they did put on either featured women who were not full time wrestlers, or pitted Madusa against Malia Hosaka...seriously, go check out the archival footage, it happened more than you think.

But it's a new era, and women's wrestling has become fundamental to WWE's business model, and even long holdout Ring of Honor has added a women's division. All Elite Wrestling is set to not only build a strong division for the ladies, but has promised to PAY them equal to men. This is almost unheard of in the wrestling industry, where the pay scales between men and women stars can vary as much as 1000%. It definitely sets AEW apart from WCW.

3. Similar to World Championship Wrestling: Directly challenging WWE

The Monday Night War was one of the most tumultuous, if entertaining, periods in sports entertainment history.

When Ted Turner purchased JC Productions and turned it into World Championship Wrestling, he wasn't quiet or subtle about it. Full page spreads were done in newspapers around the country, and Ted Turner made a point of posing with WCW's first original signing (as opposed to those NWA wrestlers whose contracts he acquired in the deal), El Gigante.

Oh, and he called Vince McMahon on the phone, in person, to inform him he was "in the Rasslin' business!"

So, the shots were fired from the get go, and WCW was intended from its inception to be a rival for WWE's dominance of the industry. While other promotions have risen, mostly they are able to be successful because they offer a different product than WWE. Ring of Honor thrives in its niche market because it focuses on pure wrestling and in ring action. Lucha Underground has set seasons like a regular television program and of course features a very strong Latin influence.

But All Elite Wrestling is looking to carve out a chunk of the mainstream wrestling market, just like WCW before them. This puts them in direct competition with WWE for fans.

3. Different than World Championship Wrestling: Relatively young executives.

Cody Rhodes, Matt and Nick Jackson are all quite young for positions of such high authority.

A big complaint about World Championship Wrestling during the Monday Night War was that they had little idea of what young people actually wanted to view, follow, and consume.

For example, a great deal of time, money, and special effects were put into the debut and career of a wrestler named Glacier, who was 'inspired' by Mortal Kombat's Sub Zero character. And by inspired, we mean so blatant a rip off it's a wonder Midway, who produced the MK series back in the day, didn't sue for trademark infringement.

However, the WWE seemed much better at reading what young people were into, which helped them win the Monday Night War. Part of WCW's problem was that so many of the executives in charge of the program were middle-aged to elderly men.

But in AEW, the people in charge of the promotion are all relatively young. They will have a much better chance of connecting with their audience and putting on shows that will entertain them.

4. Similar to World Championship Wrestling: Wrestler creative control.

Kenny Omega and Pentagon Jr. faced off in a wrestling purist's dream match at All In.

The WWE is a massive corporate entity, and there are advantages and disadvantages to that.

When a match takes place on RAW, for example, it is dissected by up to a dozen different people, including CEO Vince McMahon, and analyzed step by step. This is done to streamline their future matches, to take into account how the live crowd and people at home reacted to the show.

However, it can be very frustrating for a performer to have management constantly interfering with their matches. This was one of the major lures of WCW; Men like Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Kevin Nash were all allowed to book themselves and maintain creative control of their characters and matches. While this was a good thing in Savage's case--the man had a great mind for business, and saw that DDP would be a future star and helped make it happen--it also led to a lot of situations where the company was put in a difficult position. After all, both Sting AND Hogan can't win the same match.

AEW seems to be hinting at giving wrestlers a lot of creative control, and many are saying this will lead them down the same path as WCW. While that remains to be seen, it is true that many wrestlers will feel AEW will be a more fertile ground for their creative impulses.

4. Different from World Championship Wrestling: Their Vice President has worked as an active wrestler.

Cody Rhodes had a stellar career before turning his eye toward promoting.

"He's a groupie with power!"

That is what Arn Anderson once said about then WCW president Eric Bischoff. A groupie in pro wrestling terms means someone who likes to be involved with the wrestling business but has no actual background in it.

Many have said it was Eric Bischoff's lack of experience with the wrestling business that led to so many bad decisions during his tenure of leadership. For example, it was considered standard practice and not the least bit rude for performers in the wrestling industry to approach management about their career direction. But when Eddie Guerrero tried to express his concerns to Eric Bischoff, Easy E responded by throwing hot coffee on Latino Heat. Definitely not a shining example of executive function!

But with All Elite Wrestling, the man in charge is a former--and perhaps current--wrestler himself, Cody Rhodes. In fact, he's a man who has experienced all aspects of the sports entertainment game, the son of a wrestling legend. He may be able to deal with talent in ways that Eric Bischoff never could.

5. Similar to World Championship Wrestling: Banking on an established star.

Chris Jericho at the AEW press conference.

When Ted Turner first put WCW into production, he struggled to garner good ratings or a lot of ticket selling.

Part of this was because he had lost his most bankable star, Nature Boy Ric Flair. So he needed to replace his legend with another legend, and the man he courted was none other than Hulk Hogan.

The Hulkster had been hurt by a steroid scandal, and what he perceived as a betrayal by Vince McMahon. Though Hogan testified under oath that McMahon was innocent of all charges, the WWE CEO still went on an angry tirade against the Hulkster. This set the stage for Hogan to join WCW, where he had the immediate effect of generating ticket sales and pay per view buys.

All Elite Wrestling is also hoping an internationally recognizable and bankable legend will be able to help their promotion. Chris Jericho is in the Hulk Hogan role for the company, and h as a lot riding on his shoulders. This is one way that AEW and WCW are definitely pretty similar.

5. Different from World Championship Wrestling: The wrestling marketplace itself.

It's a different marketplace than twenty years ago for All Elite Wrestling.

In this article, we have covered many ways in which All Elite Wrestling is both similar and dissimilar to the old World Championship Wrestling promotion. But one key difference lies not with the fledgling promotion itself, but the marketplace it is preparing to enter.

Wrestling has changed a great deal in the past decade alone. Wrestling fans often follow their favorite stars seven days a week via social media. This has led to a great deal more 'smart' fans and podcasts that openly discuss non-kayfabe issues with the wrestling business.

Also, the way that wrestling is consumed has changed. At one time, All Elite Wrestling would absolutely, positively HAVE to get a network or cable channel deal in order to exist. Internet streaming has changed that variable greatly. With appointment based television fading out in favor of on demand entertainment, All Elite Wrestling has a much different market to work with--and much more opportunities than WCW had when they first began operation.

There you have it; Five ways in which AEW is quite similar to WCW, and five ways it is uniquely different. Questions or comments? Please leave them after the article, and thanks for reading!