All Elite Wrestling is already doing some pretty exciting things and there's no point in pretending otherwise. They posted a great rating for their first Dynamite show, they're winning the early stages of the Wednesday Night Wars, and a lot of fans enjoy the fact that they're doing something a little bit different.
However, we can't ignore the fact that there are some aspects of their day-to-day operations that frustrate us ever so slightly. Some of these are petty and others are probably intended to be a bit annoying, but either way, they all count for something in our books.
10 The Subtle Taunts
When Cody Rhodes brings a sledgehammer to a throne that looks a lot like Triple H’s, it’s kind of cute. Then when the jabs and jibes continue (in both directions), with AEW trying to take advantage of Hell in a Cell’s poor ending, it just seems a little bit cringeworthy.
We understand the logic behind it and it’s a smart business strategy, but we just hope it doesn’t go all too much further. If it does, then they’ll be slipping and sliding into WCW levels of pettiness, and nobody wants that.
9 Omega’s Trajectory
Some fans may like the fact that AEW is trying to knock Kenny Omega down before building him back up, but we just feel like it’s being done in the wrong order. Yes, it may be too obvious to have him be one of your top guys straight away, but sometimes, it’s obvious for a good reason.
Omega’s current character arch just makes him feel a little bit worthless amongst the main event scene, and if he’s unable to get the best of Jon Moxley, we worry what that could do for his stock in the long term.
8 Dynamite Stage
This is very nit-picky of us, and we’re going to admit that from the word go. For us, the Dynamite stage just doesn’t really float our boat. The two Pringle tube entrances from Back to the Future feel very TNA-ish, and the rest of the stage just feels a bit generic.
Again, that’s a bit harsh given that we’re still in the early stages of their run as a weekly television show, but such is the nature of a piece like this. Their big show stages give us a little bit more hope, though.
7 The Uncertainty
A lack of patience is a bad trait, and unfortunately, we fall into that category. We want to know what’s going to happen in the immediate future of All Elite Wrestling, whether or not they’re going to be a success, and how they’re going to do it.
Understandably they come across as a pretty secretive company and while that’s all well and good, it leaves fans desperate to know what’s coming around the next corner. In many ways, they’re accomplishing their goal, so bravo to them for continuing to increase their hype.
6 Non-Exclusive Talent
Wrestlers from All Elite Wrestling are going off to independent shows and making frequent appearances. Wrestlers from All Elite Wrestling are competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling on a semi-regular basis. We understand that sharing the love showcases what kind of a promotion AEW is, but we prefer to see some exclusivity.
If AEW is able to offer these guys and girls as good of a wage and we’re being led to believe, then surely there’s no need to let them wrestle elsewhere and risk potential injuries. It’s just common sense.
5 MJF - In A Good Way
For a guy that is just 23 years of age, MJF aka Maxwell Jacob Friedman sure ‘gets it’ when it comes to being an effective heel. He’s a strong in-ring competitor, he’s incredibly witty, and he seems to get better and better with each and every appearance that he makes.
Again, MJF is quite clearly doing his job when we say that we cannot stand him. It’s not X-Pac heat or anything like that, because he’s genuinely making us want to see someone knock seven bells out of him. That’s powerful stuff.
4 Diehard AEW Fans
You’re either AEW or you’re against us. It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as The Nexus, but you kind of get the picture.
The most annoying part about the AEW fandom is that they quite clearly have an us against the world mentality, and it comes across as being incredibly arrogant. We love and respect the fact that they’ve got an alternative to WWE because it’s true, WWE has been letting themselves down quite a lot lately. Even so, we don’t need AEW shoved in our faces. If we want to watch, we will.
3 Being The Elite
Being The Elite was a truly wonderful show once upon a time, mixing the fun of independent stars traveling to events with a little bit of comedic flair being thrown in there for good measure.
Now, it just seems to have spiraled off into something different altogether. It doesn’t feel quite as fluent, quite as spontaneous, or quite as fun. Plus, it feels like we’re going to get to a point where they’re spending more time on BTE storylines than actual Dynamite storylines. Now, it’s just a case of finding a way to make it work, or get rid of it altogether.
2 Chris Jericho
To a certain extent, this is all about the character of Chris Jericho as the AEW World Champion, and we can appreciate that. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Jericho’s arrogance stretches far outside the squared circle.
He thrives on the attention and knows that because he’s so good, he can revel in the success of his late-career resurgence until we all want to throw up. Fair play to the guy, because we’d probably do the same thing, but that doesn’t make it any less irritating.
1 Win/Loss Confusion
When you talk about win/loss records being important and then have Darby Allin face Jimmy Havoc in a number one contender’s match, it just comes across as being a little bit unusual.
We aren’t suggesting that the idea can’t work or that they aren’t trying to head in the right direction, but we just feel like they kind of booked themselves into a corner by even bringing up that idea in the first place. There are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding All Elite Wrestling, though, so perhaps we’re going to get some answers sooner rather than later.