5 things WWE should learn from AEW Double or Nothing

Sripad
AEW is here and WWE need to act quick!
AEW is here and WWE need to act quick!

WWE and AEW are officially at war now and things are just getting started. All Elite Wrestling's first ever pay-per-view, Double or Nothing was a success and fans loved each and everything on the show.

Without a question, everything was straight away compared to WWE as they are the biggest promotion in pro-wrestling. And to be honest, a lot of the things AEW did at Double or Nothing were much better than what WWE have been doing recently.

Here are 5 things WWE can learn from All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing:


#5. Give (some) creative control to the wrestlers

One thing AEW proved to the world today is that the roster they have is not just talented in the ring but also creative. Each and every one of them showed their creative side on the show and the top stars, who handled the whole thing, made the whole show exciting.

While it will be difficult for them to keep up at the same level once the weekly shows start, they have shown that they can deliver it when needed. The amount of in-ring knowledge they have is so vast that the possibilities are endless.

The same can be achieved at WWE as well but the management is not willing to hand any sort of creative control to the superstars. From matches to even the promos, everything in the WWE is scripted right now.

With everything almost at the same pace and wavelength, the majority of the WWE Universe knows what is going to happen. But when the superstars have the control, things can be done differently and even if the result of the match is the same, the fans would not feel let down by what they have witnessed inside the ring.

From Cody Rhodes' idea of split-personality gimmick to Moxley's idea of more Asylum matches – these are things WWE should have considered but didn't. Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan have been helping out with the promos recently and both of them have been brilliant!

#4. Properly using the roster

DON
DON.

it is AEW's first PPV and every single one of the stars on the show were bound to demand some limelight. It's a difficult task to hand a share of the limelight to everyone and keep them happy but somehow, AEW did that at Double or Nothing.

WWE meanwhile, have the limelight focused on the top stars and part-timers all the time. Even though the mid-carders and cruiserweights have some stunning matches, WWE always gives them very less time in the ring and drag the matches involving the top stars.

That has got to change. From the Women's division to 205 Stars, everyone needs to feel as an important part of the company and unless they are given enough time in the ring, more and more superstars are going to ask for their release and WWE might eventually find it hard to attract new stars.

#3. Surprise element

Moxley is here.
Moxley is here.

Jon Moxley's debut at AEW Double or Nothing sent shockwaves among the pro-wrestling fans. Not only did it caught everyone off guard, but it was also the perfect way to end a superb show.

The pop Moxley got when he made his way through the crowd to take down Chris Jericho, and Kenny Omega was something else. The last time I can recall such a big reaction in the WWE was when the Hardy Boyz returned at WrestleMania 33.

The kind of surprises we get these days in the WWE are Brock Lesnar winning the Money in the Bank contract despite not being in the match. On paper, the idea is brilliant but when you know that Brock is a part-timer and is hardly going to be on the weekly shows and even when he cashes-in, he's again going to be a champion who never appears week-in, week out.

And to be brutally honest, Awesome Kong's entry into the triple-threat match at Double or Nothing was more exciting to watch than Brock Lesnar winning the MITB contract.

#2. More wrestling, less drama

KO.
KO.

Too many promos. WWE have way too many promos and backstage interviews these days that out of the 3 hours of Monday Night Raw, we see proper wrestling for just 30-35% of the time.

In the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view, it was just pure wrestling. Apart from the small interruption during Bret Hart's segment of unveiling the AEW world championship belt and Brandi Rhodes coming out to introduce Awesome Kong in the match, there was no other time when the wrestlers were on the mic.

Do not get me wrong here, promos are essential but keeping them short and to the point is needed. The ones Daniel Bryan and Sami Zayn have been doing are brilliant, but it should be limited to the superstars who are good on the mic.

Paul Heyman drops some brilliant promos and even Dolph Ziggler's one after he attacked Kofi Kingston was just too good. More of that and more of wrestling will help WWE get those rating back up.

#1. Keeping the fans glued

The 24/7 title looks promising.

The 24/7 title looks promising.

One thing WWE are failing to do is keeping the fans glued for a long time. The shows are long, alright, but still, there is a lot they can do to keep it entertaining. A quick glance at the TV rating for Monday Night RAW in the last week or so and you will see that hundreds of thousands of fans stop watching after the first 90-odd minutes.

The main issue for this is again what I mentioned in the previous slide – too many promos. The simplest way is to add more wrestling, and WWE's new 24/7 title can help in doing that. But then again, we need to see wrestling and good backstage fights and betrayals for it, not just a bunch of stars running behind the champion while he/she finds a place to hide.

AEW did it well last night without a 24/7 title. The matches were entertaining and from there was no movement among the fans from bell to bell. Every single match was giving us some unexpected moves and twists, and that is what WWE need to bring in.

Moving from PG-13 and heading back to TV 14 is one way, but if that step is too big, just make things more interesting and unpredictable.