I feel terrible. A while ago, I wrote about how AEW got me back into wrestling, and it's true! It did. I had been tired of the PG era of WWE and had given up on wrestling altogether. This was around 2022 or so.
But, the WWE of today is not the WWE of 2022, and the Vince McMahon era is over, while the Triple H era has been in full swing for a while now. That's why I feel like I might bail on AEW and jump ship to WWE. It's complicated, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Let's talk.
Why I Might Bail On AEW For WWE – None Of The AEW Storylines Have Been Interesting For Months!
What in the world has happened to AEW? It seemed like only yesterday that MJF, who I once called the best thing to happen to professional wrestling in years, was feuding with Wardlow, or that CM Punk was going to war with Jon Moxley (which had me hoping for a CM Punk heel turn at the time). But, where are we now? Hook teaming up with Chris Jericho? The Young Bucks playing up their EVP status? Why the hell would I want to watch that unfold?
Honestly, I can say that I’ve been falling asleep to AEW for months now. Here’s what usually happens: I turn on AEW Dynamite, sit through an extremely long promo, doze off on the couch, and then wake up for the last match, to which I usually just shut off the TV. And this shouldn’t be!
Do you know what I recently watched the other night? WrestleMania 40. That’s right. Even though I haven’t really been all that invested in the WWE for years now, I got on board again during ‘Mania season to watch Cody “finish the story.” And, finish it he did! In fact, both nights (though, Night 2 was infinitely better than Night 1) really delivered. And I’m excited to see what happens next!
For example, it’s not just Cody Rhodes’ story that I want to see progress, but also Damian Priest, who cashed in his briefcase at the perfect moment against Drew McIntyre! Or the future of Sami Zayn as the new Intercontinental Champion after defeating Gunther.
I feel absolutely NONE of that enthusiasm for AEW. Well…mostly none of it…
Why I’m Having Trouble Letting Go Of AEW – Kazuchika Okada And Will Ospreay Are Arguably The Best Wrestlers In The World Right Now
There were a lot of questions about where Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay would end up after their time in New Japan Pro Wrestling, with a lot of people speculating that the WWE would snatch them up. Well, Tony Khan (with his seemingly bottomless coffers) wound up acquiring both wrestlers, and I couldn’t be happier. Both “The Rainmaker” and Will Ospreay are two of my favorites right now.
I’ll tune in to AEW just for them. It bothers me that neither of them really have much of a storyline behind their characters so far, but I will never not watch a match featuring either superstar.
It really sucks that both Kenny Omega and MJF are currently sidelined, as I’d really love to see Ospreay and Omega battle again, since they always put on five star matches together, and it’d be cool to see MJF take on Okada. But, I will never abandon AEW completely if they have matches featuring Okada and Ospreay.
I just wish they would do something with Mercedes Mone already…
Why I Might Bail On AEW For WWE – The Women’s Division Has Been Awful Forever, And It Doesn’t Look To Be Improving
My favorite era is (What else?) The Attitude Era. Nothing was more exciting than that period of wrestling, and I’m happy that the WWE has been veering more and more in that direction. Everything was better back then. Well, everything except for how they treated their female talent, as it was actually a really dark period back then, because women would often have to endure shameless “bra and panty” matches.
Knowing what we know now about Vince McMahon, given the allegations, it’s little wonder why we got matches like that back then. But, there have been several steps in the right direction over the past few years, and the WWE now has a thriving Women’s division. It sucks that Asuka still can’t catch a break at WrestleMania, but that just goes to show how seriously the WWE takes female wrestling, as we’re all well aware that Asuka has lost every outing at the big dance. That’s because we’re all paying attention to her career. We’re all invested.
Charlotte Flair is still out of commission, but Bayley and others have picked up where she left off, and have thrived on TV.
The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for AEW, which has struggled to put together a compelling storyline for any female wrestler since the promotion debuted. And, it’s not like they don’t have immensely talented female wrestlers in their promotion. Ruby Soho, Hikaru Shida, Riho, Saraya, and several others are all amazing, but they don’t really get to display how amazing they actually are. And, when the hell are they going to get Mercedes Mone’s storyline off the ground? What is taking so damn long?
Yes, “Timeless” Toni Storm has been a surprisingly interesting gimmick, but I’m really tired of such seemingly slapdash booking when it comes to the female division. Honestly, besides Okada and Ospreay, the only other wrestler who has me even remotely interested in AEW is MJF.
Why I’m Having Trouble Letting Go Of AEW – I Am Eagerly Awaiting MJF’s Return
I mentioned earlier how I love MJF, and honestly, if he were to suddenly show up on Raw or Smackdown, then I think I’d jump ship completely to WWE, since he’s really the last compelling storyteller that AEW has right now.
You know, I didn’t love when they paired him up with Adam Cole, even though that was a pretty popular gimmick. I also didn’t love when they turned MJF into a babyface, since he’s always shined more as a heel. But, I still really enjoyed his run-ins with the Bullet Club, and I’m happy that he lost his title belt to Samoa Joe, since I’ve always been a fan of his (though, I’m not a fan of his current storyline, unfortunately).
However, if MJF were to come back to AEW, which he likely is, since I’m pretty sure he’s still under contract, then that could definitely reinvigorate my passion for the promotion…IF, that is, they know how to utilize him. Because that’s just it. The booking has been so piss poor there lately, that I don’t even know. Can they put MJF into another interesting feud when/if he comes back? It’s hard to say. Which leads me to my last point.
Why I Might Bail On AEW For WWE – There’s Really No Telling AEW’s Future At This Point
When Cody Rhodes left AEW, it didn’t really seem like the beginning of the end. Was it shocking? Sure. Rhodes, after all, was one of the architects of AEW. So, for him to leave, it really did send shockwaves throughout the industry.
But, hey; we were still getting some great storylines and matches. And we still had CM Punk! Until we didn’t… Then, there was Jade Cargill’s departure. When Cargill left, that really did seem like the death knell to the push for female wrestlers at AEW. And, well, yeah. AEW seems to be in dire straits right now.
I said as such when I wrote that AEW might be in trouble, and things don’t seem to be turning around anytime soon.
Look, I love that AEW got me back into wrestling, but now that I’m a reinvigorated fan, I really find that I’m now more interested in the WWE. I feel crummy about it, since AEW still has some excellent matches, and their PPVs often top those of WWE. But, I find that my interest in watching Dynamite (I don’t even bother with Rampage or Collision) is flagging exponentially.
But, we’ll see. If you’re a fan of AEW, do you find that you’re also losing interest as well? For more news on all things wrestling, be sure to swing around here often.
