What a time to be a wrestling fan. After all these years we are finally seeing a rise in competition for the WWE. Don’t take this as a slap at the WWE. I love the WWE and no one will bring down that behemoth. But as a wrestling fan, I want more wrestling. Even more so, I want better wrestling and the WWE will get better because of AEW and NXT’s Wednesday Night Battle.
For today’s column though I want to focus on AEW. And whether or not you think AEW is great….it is good for business.
Worked Into A Shoot #2:
You Should Root For All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling debuts tonight on TNT and I will be watching. I attended All Out in Chicago and was a fan of most things. I wasn’t high on some other stuff. But who cares if I didn’t like everything? I’m a fan of AEW because I’m a fan of wrestling. We all benefit from AEW even existing. In the past, I had pinned my hopes on Ring of Honor or TNA becoming that competition. It never happened. It only happened because the WWE didn’t think enough of Cody Rhodes to keep him happy.
I’m a believer in Cody Rhodes because of his Dad. Dusty was the first celebrity I ever met when I was just 10 years old. He stopped to chat with me and my brother for a few minutes at a restaurant in Atlanta. He didn’t have to but he did. From that moment on, I respected the Rhodes name. That respect has went over to Dustin and Cody over the years. I’ll admit though that Cody’s time in the WWE didn’t enamor me. I honestly can’t think of much except when they brought Dusty back or when he teamed with Dustin. When Cody left the WWE, I was intrigued. A man took a leap of faith and left a comfortable living behind. That’s what Alec Baldwin’s character in Glengarry Glen Ross called brass balls.
A couple of years ago, I took my son to a wrestling show in middle Georgia in a crappy old gym with a crappy ring. Standing in the ring for a meet and greet were Cody and Brandi Rhodes and Pharoah. This craptacular gym was filled with fans in tshirts. Cody was wearing a 3 piece suit looking the part of a superstar. After my son finally stopped playing with Pharoah, we took our seats and we got to see great matches with Cody Rhodes, Donovan Dijac, Trevor Lee, and Jimmy Havoc. What I most walked away from that show was that Cody Rhodes was a star and the world would find out soon.
So what does my respect for Cody Rhodes have to do with my faith in AEW? It’s more than his genes. It’s the old “Shoot Your Shot, Kid” adage. He took a risk and succeeded on the indie scene. Now he along with the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Tony Khan are taking another gamble. Can you imagine the moment they all said “Eff it. Let’s create our own Wrestling league.” Brass balls man.
#AEW pic.twitter.com/UEboDvOc9b
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 2, 2019
I just watched this video an hour ago and man do I love it. But I looked in the comments and saw a few troll posts saying “AEW sucks” or “You shouldn’t have left the WWE.” Why?? Why are you wanting this to fail? Why do you want AEW to bomb? I can’t decide if it’s just the “troll” mentality of the internet or if people are truly this dumb. The more shows we have, the better the product will be. Wrestlers will get better money and hopefully benefits out of it. This is a time to celebrate wrestling. Sure, you can have a favorite federation. WCW was mine for a long time. But…I never wanted the WWE to go out of business.
I’m a huge fan of NXT but tonight I’ll DVR it. I’m watching AEW to show support for a company that is the catalyst for a Wrestling Renaissance. Guys it’s time to kick back and enjoy what you love. Just don’t put down the others. We need all of these promotions to thrive.
AEW 7 Talking Points
7. Can you imagine how excited the talent at AEW are right about now? Some of them would never get a chance in the WWE. This has to be an amazing day. Then you have the superstars who have been in the WWE or could be and they are now the stars of their own company . Has to be surreal.
6. I’m curious what the ceiling is for a talent like Marko Stunt.
5. MJF will be without a doubt the biggest star in AEW within 3 years. Salt of the earth man. When the inevitable MJF-Cody feud happens, it’s going to be amazing.
4. Kenny Omega is the best wrestler in the business when you talk about in ring skills but I’m not sure if he’s the best overall. I’m curious to see his persona and promos as they evolve.
3. Part of me thinks AEW has another talent debut tonight. I’m not sure who, but a “wow” moment is needed in the debut show.
2. I really am looking forward to the tag team focus in AEW. I’m hoping we get a few more teams to head to AEW. Gotta have more depth.
1. Chris Jericho, Thank you.
That’s it for this column! Hopefully I’ll get another one written later this week after Smackdown, NXT, and AEW have all been viewed. Let us know what you think in the comments!