Five years of AEW: How it change the landscape of wrestling

We just celebrated the 5-year anniversary of AEW, and I thought it was the right time to reflect on the last 5 years and see how much the industry has changed.

Let’s start with where the business was before AEW came into existence. WWE was pretty much the only game in town for wrestlers, as its competitors were too weak to provide any serious competition. By 2018, ROH was the closest thing to competition WWE had, mostly because they had The Elite on their roster. Even then, ROH couldn’t match WWE’s ratings, buyrates, or live attendance.

TNA struggled to sell out 500-seat arenas, MLW was even lower on the totem pole, and the NWA was barely a presence. To say WWE had a monopoly is an understatement. The problem was that WWE’s product in 2018 and into 2019 was terrible. Vince McMahon was trying to be edgy while staying PG, and he was completely out of touch with the current audience. Fans began to rebel against his outdated product.

Then came The Elite, who decided to run a show with the help of ROH in a WWE-sized arena. It was a huge success, and AEW as a company was born from that show.

Now, it’s 2019, and we get a big press conference where Cody Rhodes announces the birth of AEW. Alongside his money man, Tony Khan, and The Young Bucks, they hyped the new promotion. The first major signing was Chris Jericho, which was a big deal since he had previously said he’d stay loyal to Vince until retirement. With that announcement, we knew AEW meant business. Their first PPV’s buyrate was on the level of WWE’s, and the ratings for Dynamite, which started at the end of 2019, were on par with NXT. Both shows tried to outdo each other, which was great for fans who loved watching wrestling.

Then came the pandemic. Let’s face it, if it wasn’t for Vince pulling some strings in Washington, we probably wouldn’t have seen much wrestling during that time. But it might have been for the best, as most wrestling during that period felt flat. The performers did their best, but without fans, it wasn’t the same. Ratings and PPV buyrates dropped, and both companies lost momentum until they were able to bring back crowds in 2021.

Moving on to 2021: AEW was the first to bring fans back into arenas, and it showed. Their shows felt more alive compared to WWE’s Thunderdome product. AEW regained its momentum and made some big signings, like Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. They also added another hour of wrestling with Rampage. While the show started strong, mistakes were made, and now it’s on its last legs, likely to be canceled by the end of the year. However, with Punk and Danielson on their roster, AEW saw significant audience growth, while WWE was still producing its usual product. But nobody knew what was coming next, which would change the fortunes of both companies.

Now it’s 2022. The year started badly for AEW, as one of its founding fathers, Cody Rhodes, left for WWE. This was a huge blow since Cody was seen as the face of the company and the backstage peacemaker. To this day, we don’t know the exact reason why he left, but it’s widely believed that creative differences between him and The Elite forced him out. Even so, AEW still had CM Punk, who was a draw and continued to bring in new fans.

Meanwhile, WWE kept doing the same thing it had been doing for years. Everything seemed fine for WWE, while AEW was about to face a new storm. Hangman Page started a real-life feud with CM Punk over Colt Cabana’s move to the ROH roster after Tony Khan bought the company. Page went into business for himself and cut a shoot promo on Punk. Punk was soon injured after winning the title from Page. Over the summer, The Elite fed stories to Dave Meltzer to get under Punk’s skin, and it worked. When Punk returned, he went into business for himself. By All Out, Punk had re-injured himself, and a backstage brawl ensued between him and The Elite, with Tony Khan standing by. This incident severely hurt AEW’s momentum.

While AEW tried to recover from the bad publicity of the All Out brawl, WWE continued on.

Then 2023 arrived, a year that changed everything in pro wrestling. For the first half of the year, AEW struggled to move past the fallout from the All Out brawl, while WWE remained consistent. Then things started to shift. In June, CM Punk returned to AEW at the request of Warner Bros. Discovery executives, who wanted Punk to be the face of the new AEW Collision show. Meanwhile, on the WWE side, major events unfolded. Vince McMahon returned after being forced to retire, WWE was sold to Endeavor, and Triple H was put in charge of creative. Nick Khan became the head of WWE, while Vince was named the head of the new company, only to be fired months later due to the Janel Grant lawsuit. This led to a significant creative shift in WWE, bringing back fans who had drifted away from AEW or had stopped watching wrestling as frequently.

Meanwhile, in AEW, it was clear Punk wasn’t happy to be back, but he did what was asked of him while trying to get out of his contract. Then All In in London happened, and Punk saw his way out after a backstage brawl with Jungle Boy. Tony Khan was forced to release Punk, which hurt AEW even more, and they’re still feeling the aftereffects, while Punk got what he wanted and is now having a great final run in WWE.

Now it’s 2024. WWE is on fire, doing fantastic business. AEW isn’t performing at the same level as it once did, but they still managed to secure a good TV deal, even though they lost two of their shows. Meanwhile, TNA, which I didn’t mention much earlier, is slowly heating up, partly due to their partnership with NXT.

AEW’s arrival had many positives, as it gave wrestlers who couldn’t get into WWE a place to work and make real money. It also helped other companies get hotter. Without some of AEW’s stumbles, WWE probably wouldn’t have Cody and Punk on their roster. TNA likely wouldn’t be gaining steam or partnering with NXT, and we probably wouldn’t be talking or writing as much about wrestling as we are now.

In the end, this is my way of saying that AEW has been a breath of fresh air the industry really needed. I hope they don’t self-destruct in the next 5 years like WCW did. We need an alternative like AEW, and I hope Tony Khan realizes, before it’s too late, that he needs to adapt to what the product has become over the last 5 years. WWE did, and now they’re the hottest product, while AEW is still trying to regain its momentum.