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This article is the opinion of the writer and does not reflect those of Sportskeeda Wrestling
It all began with a Tweet, a social media post that cast aspersions upon the possible success of independent wrestling.
Long time pro wrestling journalist - and polarizing figure in sports entertainment - Dave Meltzer was asked on the social media giant if he thought a small, independent promotion such as Ring of Honor could ever sell out a ten thousand seat arena.
Meltzer's response was not exactly overwhelming in its enthusiasm.
One man in particular took exception to Meltzer's less than supportive assessment of the independent wrestling scene, and his name was Cody, son of the legendary American Dream Dusty Rhodes.
History tells us All In was an unparalleled success for indie scene wrestling. But Cody and the Young Bucks wanted more.
AEW was born in the frosty morning air of Tokyo Japan, when the Elite gathered together in the snow to announce its formation. With PPVs, a weekly telecast, and the eyes of the industry firmly entrenched in their product, AEW looks to be a dark horse on the rise.
But are they doing everything they could be to get ahead of the competition? For every fantastic AEW moment there seems to be a misstep.
Here are three things AEW is doing right, and three things they could improve upon.
#3 Doing right: MJF and Cody's feud
Perhaps one of the most intelligent things AEW did was to snap up indie darling MJF for their roster.
The youngster has a poise far beyond his limited time in the industry, and is definitely a star to watch. One is reminded of a young Ted Dibiase, mixed with Dynamite Kid for good measure.
MJF seemed poised to be an ally of Cody's but that turned out not to be the case. Rather, MJF turned on his would be benefactor, and now the two are heated rivals.
By booking MJF against the face of AEW, they are legitimizing the newcomer while building toward an exciting conclusion of the feud. Look for MJF to eventually establish dominance, as he has the most to gain from the feud.
One thing is obvious; AEW is handling MJF the right way.
#3 Needs Improvement: The undercard angles
While AEW has done a good job of booking their main event scene - the build-up between Moxley and Jericho has been phenomenal - there seems to be some lacking in the undercard.
While the main event might sell tickets, sometimes it's the undercard that will reverberate with the fans the most after the show is over. It happened at Wrestlemania III, when everyone was talking about Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat and Macho Man Randy Savage's mid card title bout rather than the main event match pitting Hogan vs. Andre.
Since the lower to mid card is so important, it's vital that AEW give greater care to its booking than they have thus far. Chuck Taylor and Trent as the Best Friends are over with the crowd, but have yet to develop a really good storyline or angle.
This is true of several of the other lower card acts, such as Private Party and the Lucha Brothers. If AEW wishes to remain competitive, they must book their lower card with greater care.
#2 Doing Right: Longer and more competitive matches
Over the years, pro wrestling matches on television have tended toward growing shorter and shorter.
Some matches can be over in as little as five minutes these days. While this allows for more content and more advertising, it's not always the best approach when you want to tell a story in the ring.
In order to tell a story, wrestlers need both time and space to do so. It can be very tricky to tell a compelling story in a five minute or even ten minute match.
All Elite Wrestling has not shied away from presenting longer, harder hitting matches of a very competitive nature. Take the recent example of the thirty minute Iron Man match between Kenny Omega and PAC on Dynamite. While some might cringe at the idea of such a long segment in our modern, short attention span world, it should be noted that 'binging' on a television series is considered quite normal, meaning a person might view hundreds of hours of the same content in short span.
AEW allows for its fans to 'binge' on excellent, long form wrestling matches, which is working well for the company.
#2 Needs Improvement: The heat machine known as Orange Cassidy
In the modern pro wrestling world, there's enough interest and fan knowledge that you're starting to see 'meta-wrestling' gimmicks.
Meta wrestling, simply put, is a gimmick centered around certain aspects of the business itself. It's not a new concept, but one that has grown more popular. During the Attitude Era, DX claiming they wanted to get fired so they could join their friends 'down south' was a meta wrestling gimmick, because it required real world knowledge of the contractual situations of DX's friends Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, and the infamous 'curtain call' incident.
But the most meta of all meta wrestling gimmicks has to be Orange Cassidy. In an industry dominated by apoplectic posturing and over the top shenanigans, Freshly Squeezed Orange Cassidy stands out by being the exact opposite; Unenthusiastic, lazy, and almost bored in his execution of all moves, including diving over the top rope. In fact, he seldom bothers to take his hands out of his pockets at all.
Orange Cassidy is over with a capital "O," but AEW seems intent upon keeping him as a sidekick to the Best Friends. This could be changing with a possible feud against Pac, but AEW could be squandering an opportunity to create wrestling's next big star.
#1 Doing Right: Chris Jericho
Many fans had mixed feelings about the announcement of Chris Jericho signing with All Elite Wrestling.
On the one hand, they were excited about the prospect of the long tenured, multi faceted performer strutting his stuff in an all new promotion. On the other hand, there were fears that Jericho could be the herald for a whole slew of aging talent, turning AEW into a mockery of what brought WCW down back in the late 1990s/early 2000s.
But as it turns out, Jericho has been fantastic in AEW. From his formation of the first great heel group of the new era, the Inner Circle, to his hilarious yet compelling interview segments, to his penchant for referring to himself as 'Le Champion' Jericho was everything you could ever ask for in a top heel champion.
Best of all, long time wrestling fans are finally getting to see a full fledged version of Jericho's somewhat comedic Lionheart character from his days as Cruiserweight champion in WCW.
The Painmaker is arguably having the best run of his entire career right now in AEW, and for that the promotion is to be commended. Jericho may have lost the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at Revolution but it was his title reign that helped establish All Elite Wrestling.
#1 Needs Improvement : The Best Bout Machine?
Flash back to 2018, and Kenny Omega was unquestionably the biggest pro wrestling star in the world.
Thanks largely in part to his five star matches with Okada the Rainmaker, Kenny Omega became a huge blip on the sports entertainment match. John Cena tweeted a picture of Omega--just a picture--which fueled speculation he would soon be joining WWE.
But the rumors of Omega being a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble never came to pass. Instead, he chose to sign with All Elite Wrestling. Omega cited creative control and his desire to continue wrestling in other promotions as his main considerations for choosing AEW over WWE.
Omega joined AEW, but while he has had spectacular matches, he's been kept out of the main event scene (rumor has it this is what Omega wants at this stage in his career.) However, this might be a mistake. Kenny Omega could be this generation's Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair, but only if he's treated like the prestige act he is.
Keeping Omega further down the card or in tag team matches is a waste of his potential, and could hurt AEW moving forward.
There you have it; Three things AEW is doing right, and three things they might need to improve. Questions or comments? Please leave them after the article, and as always thanks for reading.
