The Official 2025 AEW Wishlist (From an AEW Sicko!); Also, the debut of TKW: Mailbag!
ひさしぶり! (long time, no see…)
All Elite Wrestling in 2024 has been a much better viewing experience than their 2023 run. Of course, if you listen to the narratives, the AEW is mere days, no, HOURS away from death. It’s a mess backstage in AEW! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!
If you’re Eric Bischoff, Stevie Richards, or many other Temu-quality wrestling podcasters (JDFromNY needs a good therapist right now), AEW is the only thing keeping these old-farts relevant. Like many, it’s pretty easy to jump on the ‘AEW BAD’ trend. Newsflash, dumbasses: It’s not bad. It’s actually subjectively good. Proof to come later…
Because truth be told: Many terminally online wrestling fans would rather actively hate AEW than even try to enjoy it. And second truth: Most fans don’t care.
Casual, online, etc. Most of us don’t care that deeply about the financials of companies we have no stake in. The backstage drama, the “burials” of wrestlers (which don’t really exist), the outdated narratives many fans hold onto — most of us don’t actually care. We have better things to do…
You know it’s true.
Meanwhile, myself, and plenty of others are quietly enjoying the AEW product, including NJPW/Stardom/TJPW/etc. over on Bluesky, coming off a hot World’s End PPV. Anyway, I’ll keep the AEW circle jerk short for the sake of brevity:
Contrary to popular belief, AEW is doing pretty well right now. Shocking, I know. It’s as if a company that still does 2-4k for weekly shows, Top 5 for TV ratings on their flagship night, and has multiple TV deals around the globe (now including streaming on MAX) is actually a success.
They have cemented themselves as a strong #2 promotion, and the numbers prove it. But I want to drive this next point home — even coming from a sicko like myself — AEW has their share of issues I’d love to see fixed. I’m sure WWE has issues as well. No promotion is perfect, and no promotion should be treated as such — even if you can still thoroughly enjoy it without it being booked to perfection.
But facts are facts, and leaves is plants. But before we jump into this list; a friendly reminder…
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A Friendly Reminder About AEW’s Success
In 2024, AEW signed a multi-year multi-million dollar deal with WBD which keeps them on broadcast television and live streaming on MAX. That means 110 million MAX subscribers will now have access to AEW on a weekly basis. While it’s unrealistic to assume all 110 million subscribers will tune in, it’s still a feat in itself to have that much exposure — what they do with it is a topic of a further conversation.
For a second-rate Indies t-shirt company they’ve:
-Inked a half-billion dollar TV rights deal
-Sold over 10,000 for Grand Slam in Australia in 2025
-Had multiple million dollar gates in 2024, including 10k+ tickets distributed for Revolution and Full Gear
-Drew over 50k for All In: London
-Has already surpassed $1 million in ticket sales for All In: Texas
-They will be profitable in 2025, according to multiple sources
-Tony Khan was named the #1 Dealmaker by Variety magazine
(I’m sorry, I’m going to trust long-established Variety magazine, as well as Forbes, who have both sung the praises of AEW and Tony Khan, over some toothless and terminally single and miserable wrestling fans online.)
Remember, this is a #2 promotion. Expectations should be reasonable. Stop relying on something Chris Jericho said 5 years ago about competing with WWE for ammo to fill a broken narrative.
He was wrong. Can we move on now?
AEW is doing their best at being an established alternative while tip-toeing the line of trying to appeal to some casual viewers while also not caving into just looking like another version of WWE.
For all intents and purposes, based on pure numbers, this is a successful company. Can we all acknowledge that?
By the numbers, they are no WWE. No shit. But it is possible for two successful wrestling promotions to exist in this day and age.
Embrace that as a great thing, not some weird competition.
With that all said, let’s get to this Wishlist, from me, an AEW “sicko”. These are things I truly believe AEW needs to do in 2025 to make next year their best yet.
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Don’t Stop Booking for the Sickos
We brought you to the dance, we’re buying your drinks, and we’ll probably put out at the end of night. It’s an achievable goal to create new fans and bring them into the fold by showing them something different from what they know from a legacy wrestling company like WWE, but TK must remember to remain the alternative AEW has been for over five years now.
The minute Tony Khan loses the plot and the product starts to resemble WWE is the minute he loses his core audience. Because why would any established WWE fan want to see a lesser version of the product they already watch? Why would any casual fan do the same?
It doesn’t make sense.
You draw in new fans by being different and trying things outside of the box. You appeal to casuals not so much in booking, but in characters — and we’ll get to that soon enough. But keep booking dream matches and bangers, keep pushing the envelope, and stop placating to a WWE fan base that will only give you attention until their own product quality starts to dwindle (see: 2019).
They aren’t a loyal base, but fickle as shit.
Point being, keep AEW as the sports-focused wrestling brand. There is a reason they take up most of Sports Illustrated’s top matches of 2024.
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Establish a Hierarchy – Establish a Soft or Hard Brand Split
Yes, this is possible.
AEW has too many “galaxies” right now.
So after making winning the world title his goal throughout 2023, Swerve Strickland suddenly doesn’t care about the championship being hijacked by Jon Moxley? I get it — his feud with the Hurt Syndicate and Ricochet is good stuff, and you have to change up the world title scene; but it still convolutes things a bit. A guy like Swerve can headline his own brand at this point with his own featured feuds.
Simply put: You have enough talent for two major shows.
Collision will air on MAX in January. That means folks who are maybe too busy to tune in on Saturday nights can now do so anytime they want. This is a huge deal, as it helps accomplish two things:
-It can make Collision feel like a major show (it still does not at the moment compared to Dynamite).
-You establish a hierarchy with more talent spread between two shows.
Who is in AEW’s men’s main event scene? Ospreay? Mox? Swerve? Page? White? MJF? Cole? Darby? Lashley? Okada? Copeland?
Who is in AEW’s women’s main event scene? Mone? Nightingale? Storm? May? Statlander? Britt? Hayter? Thunder Rosa? Shida?
These are all main event worthy talents.
Split them up. Create new and exciting feuds while establishing your stars per brand will keep the AEW galaxy a little easier to follow and will highlight your main event talents that much more. It freshens everything up.
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Lace Your A/B-Plots Through the Weekly Shows
This is basic TV storytelling. AEW does well enough, but they have room to improve here.
If the Death Riders have “taken over” AEW, then have them take over. Don’t book them in one, maybe two segments per week. What happened at New Year’s Smash with the final Rampage segment (ever) should have happened months ago, or something like it.
This is where TV production needs to be considered, much like a weekly sitcom. You have A-Plots, B-Plots, and sometimes C-plots with your longer shows. The same can be said for pro wrestling.
Example % of showtime:
50% given to A-Plots (top men’s and women’s feuds | 2 main event feuds for men/1 women)
30% to B-plots (secondary men’s and women’s feuds | 2 feuds for men/1 women)
20% given to C-Plots (one segment each | various)
This helps in establishing said hierarchy and importance of certain feuds within the galaxy. It’s not all jumbled together as much and limited to one segment per story. And the best part? You can still keep your bangers. You can keep your high-profile matchups — you just include more of what the main plot of the promotion at that time should be. Again, this is where a brand split may help a little so everything isn’t forced into one weekly show.
This is a no-brainer. This is what maintains your core audience and makes the product a little easier for casual fans to follow. 2025 is a great time to start…
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Women’s Tag Team Championships
There’s enough talent here.
There just is. The Vendetta, The Outcasts, Hart & Blue, Fire & Ice, the list goes on. This is perfectly doable. I don’t need to say more here.
If AEW goes to a full-on brand split, then this actually would work.
You could even bring back ThunderStorm, or even create new teams. Shida and Riho are two former world champions that could use a fresh coat of paint, and since Tay Melo will be returning soon (to Stardom, no less), why not reform TayJay? We all love Anna Jay, but she’s better as a tag team wrestler than a singles right now.
Hell, with the loss to Mercedes and recent awkward confrontation, reuniting Willow and Kris for a run as Women’s Tag Champions is fire.
This is doable. Make it happen.
Besides, the AEW Men’s Tag Team Championships have taken a backseat lately, and that’s an entire article in itself.
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Run Smaller Venues
This is already in the works.
Reports are that AEW is planning to run smaller venues in 2025, and why not? You aren’t selling even half of your 10,000+ seat arenas, so why even give internet trolls the ammo?
WCW was doing less than 1,000 per week before they got hot in the Nitro era, and they still did great PPV numbers. There’s no reason AEW can’t do the same, and they usually do between 2-4k on a weekly basis as is per show. The AEW crowd is always a louder and hotter crowd than WWE’s (mostly casual) fans — and that showed up on TV with a smaller venue. It was an amazing crowd at Hammerstein during the holiday shows.
Let’s continue run smaller venues for weekly shows and save larger venues for PPVs.
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Copeland and Cage Team Up for One Final Run
They already sell a workout system together, am I right?
In all seriousness, one final run with the duo would be well received in AEW. It doesn’t need to be for the tag team championships, but a final run against the likes of FTR, Kings of the Black Throne, and hell, perhaps their final match against The Young Bucks?
Cage is great in his current role as the Father everyone loves to hate, but that won’t last forever. When that naturally winds down, we need to see E&C in AEW, and 2025 is an opportune time. I could see this happening in late 2025, and maybe even 2026 — but the slow burn should begin in 2025.
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Market More Wrestlers to Kids
This is for the casuals, but also for the kids. Lean into stars that do well with children. It’s not uncommon to see kids with Darby facepaint at AEW shows. In the same light, it’s not uncommon to see kids in the crowd wearing sunglasses and denim jackets in support of Cassidy.
Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, Will Ospreay — kids eat this shit up.
The way they’re marketing Bandido’s return as of late gives me a similar vibe. If TK starts to naturally push characters that kids can get behind, then that only likely translates into more viewers. Willow Nightingale, Thunder Rosa, Danhausen, Hologram, even Swerve to an extent — these are all easy-to-book characters that children and adults can enjoy. Get them on TV more.
They’re basically live-action cartoon characters, and that makes money. AEW can keep its core image of a New Japan/WCW/PWG hybrid, but with a dash of animation sprinkled throughout.
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Push Harley Cameron to the Moon
Everything she touches turns to gold. You don’t have to put a championship on her, but just feature her on weekly television in a semi-prominent spot.
I would love to see her in a feud with Mercedes Mone, where we know she isn’t going to win, but everyone gets behind her anyway. Fans have truly taken to her lately, and she could probably turn Saraya face at this point.
She’s improving in-ring, she has great stage presence, and can work an audience. 2025 is Harley’s year. Hell, even if not Saraya, an ‘odd couple’ team like with Thunder Rosa or even Hikaru Shida would be a joy to watch.
There’s nothing more to say here. Push Harley fucking Cameron.
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Kyle Fletcher Wins a Major Championship
The kid is hot right now. His momentum should bleed into 2025. Whether it’s the Continental Championship, the International Championship, or the TNT Championship — get him a title.
Even though he came up short in the C2, there’s no shame in losing to Will Ospreay. He hasn’t lost momentum.
This is AEW’s secret weapon. He’s got a great look, fantastic in-ring, and can cut a promo. Fletcher is a triple threat, and I’m practically begging for a Fletcher/Omega feud down the line.
There is greatness in this young talent, and TK needs to make sure 2025 is the year of the Protostar.
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Mercedes Mone Wins the AEW Women’s World Championship
I don’t care what anyone says — Mercedes Mone is easily one of the best wrestlers of 2024. She’s put out quality matches against Nightingale, Statlander, Hazuki, Momo Watanabe, and Stephanie Vaquer.
She usually always delivers in her matches, and always gets a reaction from the crowd.
This is where bad internet narratives get in the way of reality. Sports Illustrated literally has Mone’s matches ranked #1 and #2 (do yourself a favor and watch her instant classic with Hazuki).
In fact, most ESPN and Sports Illustrated have AEW matches towards the top of their lists, especially for women. You can figure that one out for yourself as to why…
Regardless, Mone is money, and after May loses the title to a face, Mercedes is perfect to capture the women’s world championship. A world title run would be a joy to watch.
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More Women on AEW TV
Just to reference above, do you notice a trend with the top ranked matches for women’s wrestling?
https://www.si.com/fannation/wrestling/features/the-10-best-womens-wrestling-matches-of-2024
Same with Newsweek:
https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/20-best-pro-wrestling-matches-2024-2003451
AEW Women simply have better matches.
Anyone who thinks the WWE women can hold a candle to the AEW women’s roster is bullshitting themselves. I don’t say this to knock on WWE (I know; Giulia, Vaquer, Rhea, etc.), but Levesque is not giving his audience the best he can right now with the WWE women’s division.
It means that this is a weakness that can be exploited to feature the best women’s wrestling on the planet on AEW TV.
Sans STARDOM and TJPW, of course. How they missed Mayu vs. Syuri is beyond me, but I get that most U.S. fans don’t watch STARDOM.
Toni Storm, Mariah May, Willow Nightingale, Mercedes Mone, Kris Statlander, Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, Julia Hart, Mina Shirakawa(?) — these are names you can build multiple high profile feuds around.
Storm vs. May is a legitimate contender for storyline of the year across all wrestling, up there with the likes of Punk/McIntyre, Hangman/Swerve, and dare I even say Cody/Roman.
Bottom line: More women, please. They’ve earned it.
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TKW Mailbag
And now the debut of TKW mailbag!
I get flooded with millions upon millions of emails, tweets, skeets, messages on ICQ, singing telegrams, and sometimes smoke signals, because fans just HAVE to know my opinion on EVERYTHING.
Yes, I am that important.
Millions. No, billions of readers. Every week. Asking me my opinion. On….stuff…
….
I’m kidding. Nobody emails me. What person in their right mind cares about the opinions of some random wrestling internet columnist?
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In all seriousness, I am not important. I’m just a fan. I’ve enjoyed myself more away from writing about wrestling and simply engaging with other like-minded fans on Bluesky than putting out opinion pieces as if people should actually listen to me.
And of course, everyone wants to feel needed and relevant — as if their opinion matters. It really doesn’t, though, at least not in numbers. Jim Cornette can bash AEW all day and night and it hasn’t hurt their TV deal, some metrics are actually up from 2022, and they have some momentum right now.
My opinion doesn’t matter, either — at least not in the sense that it’s worth heavy engagement for the sake of my own validation. Everyone is one person, and what you think as a fan is just as relevant as what Eric Bischoff or Dave Meltzer thinks.
Who matters is who is actually in the business. They matter. The ones actually doing it, be it AEW, WWE, or other. It’s important not to forget that.
As for me in 2025 — I’m just an AEW fan. You might see me here and there — but I’m just going to happily enjoy my favorite wrestling brand without the negativity some platforms bring. I recommend you do the same. Make it a New Year’s Resolution, even…
See you, space cowboy…
-TKW
tokusenwrestling@yahoo.com