AEW lack of “cool” – It’s now is the promotion of wrestling dorks and geeks

I will admit to everyone on here some personal information that needs to be said; I am not, nor have I ever been “cool” or “hip”. I don’t set trends, I don’t listen to the newest music, I am not a big hip hop fan or collect cards or anything that would make me trendy. And I whole heartedly admit it as I don’t know how to or come across as cool or chic and won’t pretend to be.

I do understand cool and hip and yet, I can easily say that without a doubt the Cosco Bros are NOT Cool and them being on AEW is a sign that AEW has a cool problem.

In an era where social media, influencers and celebrities can help elevate the product and bring eyeballs to the product, AEW working with the Cosco Bros makes about as much sense as Pizza and Orange Juice.

They are a campy father and son duo on Tik Tok that isn’t even a top 50 influencer account and yet Tony Khan has decided not just to have them on the show, but let Big AJ wrestle down the line on an AEW show.

Tony might as well just push the “nerd alert” button when they come back on as it screams of 1988 WWE when you had Doink, Dink, Duke the Dumpster Droese and The Goon. But the bigger issue is that this is another example of a problem that has caused AEW to collapse in popularity over the last few years.

AEW has lost all its cool and hip mojo and now is the promotion of wrestling dorks and geeks.

When AEW first started out they were able to rope some celebrities in who had mainstream appeal and were cool. Mike Tyson, Shaquille O’Neal, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain and Gabriel Iglesias were just some of the celebrities who interreacted with the promotion. While it wasn’t a huge boost for numbers it added some value in having the promotion be a cool alternative to the WWE

But ever since the loss of Jade Cargill, CM Punk and especially Cody Rhodes, there have been less celebrities involved with AEW. And with WWE fully invested with Nick Khan and Paul Levesque in leadership, the celebrities and influencers have gone back to the WWE in drives.

It also has to do with the fact that in general, AEW doesn’t feel cool anymore or hip but more geeky wrestling.

Look at the main roster and tell me how many of the wrestlers are cool or come across as hip or trendy. Besides the majority of the roster being on the smaller side and not physically built, a lot of them come across as dorks. Blame it on the gimmick, the wardrobe, their ring attire or just how they are presented by AEW but they don’t scream “I wanna hang out with them”.

Point out to me how many of these wrestlers are even in the mainstream entertainment, hip hop or social media world. It’s not many and the few that are (MJF, Mercedes Mone, Swerve Strickland) have either been poorly booked, made to look cringe or don’t have the popularity to get big names on their side.

Part of it is that fact that the majority of AEW’s wrestlers (that are not from the WWE) are indy wrestlers who grew up basically in wrestling and have no access or connections to celebrities. They didn’t come from the NFL or college football world, they don’t hang out with actors, none of them are hip with the music scene.

Which is fine but it limits them to basically knowing just wrestlers and coming across as dorks to non-hardcore wrestlers.

If you’re an influencer or athlete/actor who is a fan but not a hardcore fan, who would you rather associate with? Someone who looks half your size and comes across as the common fan or someone who is the same size bigger, looks in great shape and gets pop culture. It’s a no brainer and a big reason why the vast majority of the celebrities/influencers have shunned the AEW in the last few years.

And then there is the owner/president of the company himself, Tony Khan who is the opposite of cool.

I get that everyone likes Tony in AEW and he is a nice guy, is a friend to the wrestlers and a nice boss which is fine. But to many he comes across as just a guy who is not a real people person in how he talks, how he acts and how he behaves when a camera is on him.

He doesn’t have the smoothness, coolness or even suave demeanor that helps attract people in casual conversation. He is not a guy you hear is the life of the party, reaches different groups of people or is someone who is very worldly or interesting. He is a “sports nerd” who loves pro wrestling, is big into numbers and not someone who is the life of the party.

Which is all fine and good but when you’re trying to network and deal with people who are not hardcore wrestling fans, it’s tough to connect with them.

Say what you want about the following people but guys like Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, Donald Trump, Dana White and the Rock understand how to relate with people in general. Especially the celebrity crowd who are looking to find the next big thing or want to work with a cool product.

All of those guys also reach different groups and can almost be comfortable in any situation, any place and with anyone. They have the ability to connect with people, get people’s ear and be able to charm a crowd with a story while talking business. Like them or hate them, you have to hear them as they captivate a room.

Which gets me back to the AEW roster and how they just don’t really captivate or relate to the casual and celebrity crowd they want.

Imagine for example going to a celebrity with fluence and trying to pitch them on working with AEW. That the company is the next big thing and that it will be great cross promotion for each other’s brand. That it will be fun and cool to hang out with them at an event and attach your brand to them.

How many celebrities do you think look at Darby Allin, Daniel Garcia, The Young Bucks and others and think “They are cool”?

Not many and a lot will probably look at Tony Khan and just think… Hard Pass.

For the doubters who say it takes time and that AEW is still new, the argument is guys like LA Knight and Joe Hendry who didn’t need 5 years. They understood how to connect to crowds, reach different audiences and exercised an aura that they are just cool and hip.

AEW lost that with the loss of Cody Rhodes, Punk and Jade Cargill and especially when their contacts left with them. And in the last few years they have had trouble getting it back or developing new contacts.

Which is why the Costco Bros are a huge letdown for them as not only are they not the biggest influencers on the market, but even AEW wasn’t their first choice. AJ has admitted in interviews, his dream was to work with the WWE but they weren’t interested.

But AEW is willing due to desperation and now a Z-list celebrity will be the hope of AEW to try to get them some publicity and hype outside the hardcore wrestling bubble.

It’s a problem for AEW as more and more they come across as the cringe wrestling promotion that nobody wants to associate with. The wrestlers look cheese or small, they thank Tony Khan and AEW as they coming across as “rah-rah”, a lot of them have bodies that are close to average fans rather than athletes, and they look like cosplayers rather than superstars.

At this point something has to be done to change the narrative if AEW ever wants to help get back their cool factor. Wither its focus on different wrestlers, adapt a different tone or style, something rather than what they are doing.

Because right now it’s hipper to appear at a Warhammer convention than it is to be part of AEW.

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