Right now AEW is very much the number two promotion for professional wrestling in America, providing legitimate competition to WWE for the first time in years. That is a role that Impact Wrestling attempted to fill for some time, and while the company never quite reached that level, they have had some successful periods.
At the same time, Impact Wrestling has also made plenty of mistakes along the way, and while it has made things hard for them as a promotion at points, it does give Tony Khan some clear lessons to learn from. There are positive takeaways and obvious situations to avoid, which is something that Impact has provided.
10 Don't Sign Washed Up Talent
AEW has signed a lot of former WWE stars when they have become available, and so far the vast majority of them have ended up working out. Tony Khan has brought in exciting names who were perhaps not used to their best in WWE, or big stars such as Bryan Danielson which has helped the company.
However, the risk with signing anybody attached to WWE is that some can be washed up and past their best. That is something Impact Wrestling learned as the company brought in almost everyone they could, but many simply weren't good enough, and it hurt the product overall.
9 Don't Stay In One Location
Impact Wrestling spent the vast majority of its history being taped from Universal Studios in Florida, which is where AEW now films all of its AEW: Dark shows. However, the fact that it didn't move around and tour, or put on shows in bigger arenas always made the promotion feel small.
While AEW stuck around in Daily's Place a lot due to the pandemic, they have been a touring promotion which has helped. However, there are certain markets they are burning out such as Chicago, so the company must continue to hit other locations.
8 Tap Into UK Audience
The United Kingdom has some of the most passionate fans in the world, and they are always willing to give other promotions a chance. That area of the world proved to be one of the most successful places for Impact Wrestling, which is why the company would tour there and put on big events for those fans.
It is something that AEW should copy, especially since WWE rarely puts on big shows in those countries. AEW has a huge audience in the UK, and if the company can keep tapping into it there's no reason they can't enjoy success from that.
7 Focus On Non-WWE Names
While there is no doubt Tony Khan is going to push some of the major former WWE Superstars that he has signed such as Jon Moxley and Saraya, it is important to not only focus on those people. Doing that instantly brings comparisons to WWE, while it also creates disgruntled attitudes with other wrestlers.
However, this is something that Khan has to try and avoid, particularly since the controversy surrounding CM Punk as of late in AEW. He has a lot of talented stars who don't have WWE exposure, and the focus should be on them just as much.
6 Don't Push Too Many Titles
A big problem that Impact Wrestling suffered from was having too many titles, which watered down all of them in the process and made them feel worthless. The company kept creating different ones with specific rules, and fans quickly stopped caring about them because of that.
This is an issue Tony Khan does need to address as AEW already has too many titles, particularly since all the Ring Of Honor ones were also added, which has led to the likes of the TNT Title starting to struggle for television time.
5 Create A Training System
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One of the reasons that WWE has been able to sit so far ahead of the competition is because of the brilliant training system the company has in place, with the Performance Center being a huge draw. This is an easy way to bring in hopeful young stars to train them up, helping to make the next big star.
This is something Impact Wrestling never created, and it stopped them from making fresh talent on their own. It's something AEW needs to do, especially with how many experienced names they have that could go on to become brilliant coaches, as it would consistently bring in fresh faces.
4 Don't Compete Head-On With WWE
The Monday Night War was a brilliant time, and having two major shows on the same night was exciting for a lot of fans. However, WWE is now so much bigger than all other promotions due to their years of experience that going head-to-head against them can be a very risky decision.
Impact Wrestling attempted to go onto Mondays for a while to try and actively compete against the competition, but it made them look foolish. AEW would be better off sticking with the days that they have established and continuing to grow their specific audience instead.
3 Push Women's Wrestling
Something that Impact Wrestling has often done better than every promotion in the world is push women's wrestling. The Knockouts division for the company has been a key part of the show throughout its history, long before WWE started creating its revolution.
It worked in the favor of Impact because it gave them something unique, and brought a specific section of fans to programming. That's something that AEW has struggled with in its first three years, and is a big takeaway that Tony Khan should take from Impact to try and copy.
2 Keep A Consistent Broadcaster
A big reason for Impact Wrestling not retaining its success is the fact that it changed broadcasters so many times, and it was rarely featured on an important channel. That stopped the promotion from being watched by a lot of other fans, but so far that is a lesson that AEW has learned from.
The company has been able to push itself by getting great television deals to this point, which is why a lot of people are aware of AEW, even if they're not wrestling fans. That is something that they need to continue, and if they can, then there will be a consistent success.
1 Be Unique
Something that Impact Wrestling has always attempted to do is being unique in comparison to WWE, pushing different ideas to capture the attention of fans who might be bored with what is happening there. The company has often had different gimmick matches, and while not all have worked, the difference is something that fans enjoy.
Of course, they also had the six-sided ring for a long time, and that is what caught the attention of many people. While AEW doesn't need to do that, Tony Khan should continue to do things his way with his own ideas to offer a different product from WWE.