10 Reasons Why I Love AEW

For the first time in 15 years, there’s a weekly pro wrestling show that I can’t wait to watch.

Not since the emergence of John Cena and Batista in 2005 have I been counting down the days to a wrestling show. AEW Dynamite debuted last October and, after a bumpy end to 2019, has hit on all cylinders in 2020. Despite a pandemic, the show has truly hit its stride this summer and I could not be happier.

When I finally gave up on WWE about seven years ago, it was depressing. I grew up in Connecticut. I passed Titan Tower frequently. That was the company that introduced me to pro wrestling, which I have been obsessed with going on three decades now. It gave me Macho Man Randy Savage, and the Rock. I’ve been to Raw, to SmackDown, and to Backlash 2000 when the Rock won the World Title and I’ve never heard the arena in DC louder.

But years of forcing “entertainment” and booking against fan’s wishes pushed me away. While I still watched wrestling on YouTube, I wandered aimlessly without a connection to the current product. Then Dave Meltzer gave Omega vs Okada six stars in January 2017 and I fell in love with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Like many other American wrestling fans, I started following the Elite, with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and Cody (Rhodes) becoming stars outside of the WWE machine. When AEW launched with those four as the cornerstones, along with Chris Jericho, I was cautiously optimistic. I wanted it to work. But I knew that Vince McMahon’s had a monopoly on big-time pro wrestling in this country for 20 years for a reason.

When I went to Capital One Arena last year for the first edition of AEW Dynamite, I had no idea what to expect. Nearly a year later, it’s blown past any and all of my expectations for a multitude of reasons.

1) Letting New Stars Shine

If AEW had only relied on their Elite cornerstones and Jericho, I don’t know if it would’ve worked. Instead, the company has introduced a plethora of new, young stars and, most importantly, let them shine. WWE has been constantly teasing fans with new wrestlers who never get that moment to shine, seemingly always pushed aside for tired acts.