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All Elite Wrestling will be turning a year old in January and it's been one heck of a ride. The company was announced last January, and signed some of the hottest names from the wrestling business. This included Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page, while the hiring of former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho has turned out to be one of the smartest decisions in the promotion's short history.
'Le Champion' has been on fire on AEW Dynamite and has been able to captivate audiences with his arrogant champion shtick. Jericho even has a heel stable that is actually one of the best creations in professional wrestling in 2019.
Most of the matches have been solid with some exceptions. The company has made it their mission to get over as many people as possible, despite their lack of experience. Cody Rhodes' matches and promos have been especially exceptional.
All that has happened has been mostly good, but there has been sore points as well. With 2020 on the horizon, it makes sense that AEW would want to start the year with a fresh start and forget the bad.
Here are 5 Things that AEW wants you to forget in 2020.
#5 Jungle Boy still hasn't won a match in AEW, while Marko Stunt has
As much as Jungle Boy has been hailed as "The Next Big Thing" in AEW, he still hasn't won a match in the company. On the other hand, his teammates Marko Stunt and Luchasaurus have already recorded their first wins.
As much derision and criticism that Marko Stunt has received, most audiences seem to cheer him on. While it's true that his win came as part of a tag team, he still did it before Jungle Boy.
#4 Kyle Rae quit AEW
It's not that long ago that AEW debuted their first major PPV with Double or Nothing. The event actually had two women's matches with the Fatal-Four Way match between Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, Awesome Kong, and Kylie Rae being the first of the two.
It's true that Britt Baker won the match, but it was actually Kylie Rae, whose star shined the brightest. But in a bit of surprise, she pulled out of the next PPV and was replaced by Allie. Speculation became rampant online until Tony Khan himself had said that she asked for her release after All Out.
Eventually, Kylie Rae finally revealed why she left the company and said that no one forced her out. She explained:
I can only speak for myself and what's in my heart. I don't know many rumors and honestly try to stay away from everything, obviously. But here: nobody made me leave. AEW took my career to new levels and I'm beyond grateful for every opportunity and experience that has come along the way and wish nothing but the best.
Tony Khan also said that she left on good terms. This doesn't mean that she's done with the company, as there is still a possibility that she could come back down the line.
#3 AEW Dynamite's audience has dropped 50% since their debut on TNT
After AEW debuted in October, the ratings were released. AEW debuted to 1.4 million viewers and each week has seen a decline in viewership. While they did beat NXT for seven straight weeks, the WWE 'developmental brand' slowly caught up and ate into AEW's viewership.
What's more is that NXT destroyed AEW in their final episode of 2019 when the two went head-to-head. On the December 18th episode, AEW drew only 683,000 average viewers while NXT drew over 795,000 viewers.
To understand how the ratings have steadily declined since the debut episode, take a look below.
- Week 1 - 1.4 Million viewers
- Week 2 - 1.14 Million viewers
- Week 3 - 1.014 Million viewers
- Week 4 - 969,000 viewers
- Week 5 - 759,000 viewers
- Week 6 - 822,000 viewers
- Week 7 - 957,000 viewers
- Week 8 - 893,000 viewers
- Week 9 - 663,000 viewers
- Week 10 - 851,000 viewers
- Week 11 - 778,000 viewers
- Week 12 - 683,000 viewers
While viewership has been halved, it doesn't mean that the ratings have continued to decline. What is most likely happening is that NXT is drawing viewers from AEW rather than the other way around.
All this means is that AEW can improve going forward as TNT's original expectations were actually for 500,000 - 600,000 viewers. It'll be interesting how things develop in 2020.
#2 Britt Baker's NXT cameo
To be fair, this was out of Britt Baker's control. Some would say that as a very prominent member of the AEW female roster, the last thing that the company needs is one of their stars showing up on a rival's PPV show.
Most wrestling fans are aware that Baker is Adam Cole's girlfriend and was there to support him in the NXT War Games match at TakeOver. The camera caught Baker's reaction after Tomassa Ciampa put Adam Cole through a table, from the top of the cage. Triple H said that the director was unaware of who she was and it was not intentional. He said,
"I swear this, the director that took the shot didn't know who it was, he just went to the woman in the crowd who had the most concerned crazy look on her face and he took the shot, somebody next to him told him I'm sure told him and he got off the shot. I don't have a problem with it in any way, shape or form and then to not address it, then it's the elephant in the room that you don't address."
It was also reported that AEW executives did not believe Triple H and even parodied the moment on Dynamite.
In 2020, AEW will probably want to avoid moments like that.
#1 The Dark Order phantom punches botch
While AEW Dynamite debuted with a bang, it's fair to say that their last show of 2019 ended with a whimper. When The Dark Order destroyed The Elite, it didn't elicit the kind of reaction that they wanted.
It seemed like the show repeated itself, but instead of The Inner Circle beating them down, it was now The Dark Order's turn. Truth be told, The Dark Order's vignettes have been fascinating, but the live reaction was little to be desired.
The induction of The Beaver Boys didn't do anything for the group, other than make them look like a modern day version of the J.O.B squad. To top it all, there was the footage being shared of a series of botched punches being given to Dustin Rhodes.
The punches were roasted by the likes of Randy Orton and WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry called for the masked performer to be fired.
It was not a good look for the company and shortly after the clip received criticism, The Young Bucks deleted their Twitter account. It was not how the promotion wanted to end the year and they're probably hoping their fans forget about it in 2020.
On AEW Dynamite's Homecoming episode on January 1st, the company will get their chance to reset and keep entertaining their fanbase.
