How AEW Can Become a Viable Alternative
“When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer”
This reminds me a lot of Vince McMahon.
Over 30 years ago, Vince started picking apart the territories by signing away such superstars as Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage among many, many others.
Upon purchasing WCW and ECW in 2001, The Chairman effectively did away with all of his competition. There were no more worlds to conquer.
In the early 2000’s Vince literally separated the brands in an effort to compete with themselves, until Smackdown actually surpassed Raw as the A show and this strategy was essentially dismantled.
While TNA attempted to raddle the foundation, they barely made a peep and made the fundamental mistake of not focusing on homegrown stars and differentiating themselves from WWE.
Recently, NJPW has gained a lot of International momentum but has failed to gain a sizeable market share in America. ROH has Sinclair Broadcasting backing them but suffers from a lack of mainstream stars. Impact has completely reinvented itself but remains a niche promotion.
Suddenly, a new promotion has seen an organic rise to likes we’ve never really seen before and yet, they haven’t even successfully run a show yet. They experienced an MGM Grand Garden Arena sell-out in just four minutes after general sale tickets were released. The company is also backed by a legitimate billionaire with incredible business savvy along with a long-term vision for the company. Couple that along with impressive network connections and a great roster of talent and we have something potentially very special on the horizon.
All Elite Wrestling is quickly taking the world by storm, but there remain many unanswered questions and unknowns. If you’re a true wrestling fan, it’s within your best interest to remain optimistic and hope that this promotion can become a viable alternative to WWE. At this point, it’s much needed.
But in order to achieve that status and live up to expectations, there are several things they need to do:
Major Distribution
First of all, the product needs to be readily available. With WWE available on WWE Network. USA Network and even HULU, AEW will need to focus on how they distribute their weekly television program along with each of their PPV’s. According to both Tony Khan and Chris Jericho, they are expected to land on a major network in the fall. Unlike many other wrestling promotions that are seemingly difficult to locate, the issue of availability would be immediately rectified and also lead to dozens of potential sponsorship opportunities.
Remain laser-focused on their own product and not WWE’s
One of the many downfalls WCW and TNA shared in common was their obsession to compete with their own product without focusing on long-term sustainability. While WCW booked on a week-to-week basis, WWE was booking on a month-to-month basis as they knew where they were heading. My question, why compete with Coca-Cola when you can carve out your own niche that could potentially steal market share?
Much like any successful company, they need to plan out a proper long-term roadmap and most importantly, execute against it. Take the time to build and develop characters and storylines. While it’s highly likely that they will keep their finger on the pulse of the industry, it’s important that they truly listen to their fans and not become fixated on competing with WWE or attempting to coax major stars to come over.
Produce a Better Product
Easier said than done, but if they avoid overly scripting the talent, create straight forward engaging storylines with a true conflict and resolution, focus on high production quality and most importantly place a heavy emphasis on a great in-ring product, AEW has a realistic opportunity to be a far better product than Raw or Smackdown.
They would also benefit from a condensed show as at 3 hours, Raw has become a chore to watch.
WWE NXT has proven to be so successful based on several of the elements I listed earlier.
Create a Positive and Thriving Working Environment
President and Owner Tony Khan has noted that talent will enjoy a fair work/life balance with time off and respectable salaries. Cody and Brandi also mentioned that health insurance along with employee benefits will become a reality. In the world of professional wrestling, everything I just mentioned is quite foreign and virtually unheard of. I’ve worked for tech companies where they threw around the bells and whistles in order to attract new talent, but it wasn’t practical.
At the end of the day, it was merely sizzle, but no steak.
Time off, a respectable salary and health insurance is almost enough for most WWE performers to jump ship. Remove the big egos tied with WWE along with the chaotic last-minute changes and suddenly, all of those perks I just listed sound attractive enough to go take a chance.
All it takes is one major name or two to say, enough is enough, I want to be happy and suddenly we will witness a seismic shift in culture.
Establish and Maintain Strategic Partnerships with Other Promotions
If All Elite Wrestling shows a willingness to work with other promotions around the world, it will be an excellent way to exchange talent and differentiate themselves from WWE.
They have already established partnerships with AAA in Mexico along with Oriental Wrestling Entertainment in China. Extending a hand to NJPW seems like the next natural step.
Let’s not put the cart before the horse by claiming they will become an immediate competition to WWE. That would be unfair and unrealistic. It takes time and patience, so we owe it to AEW to take some time to grow and establish themselves, but the least you can do is be supportive.
Remember, All Elite Wrestling’s success not only benefits the fans but the wrestlers and everyone else associated with the professional wrestling industry too.
Double or Nothing on May 25th will be the start of their journey and I frankly cannot wait to join them for the ride. It will just take some time before we get to the end destination.
