5 Things AEW Does Better Than WWE, And 5 Things WWE Does Better Than AEW

AEW – Tag Teams & Factions

While there’s definitely an argument that AEW may have too many factions, and people who argue that do often have a point, there’s no denying that they’re handled much better than in WWE.

With the exception of a couple in NXT, and what seems to be one building around Roman Reigns, WWE doesn’t even have any.

Factions are very useful when it comes to finding spots for people you want to feature, and again, while AEW may be crossing that line a bit, it does mean fans are getting to see plenty of exciting faces and match-ups.

Take the split of the Hurt Business for example. It came out of nowhere, and for no reason whatsoever. The group made Bobby Lashley feel like an even bigger deal, and it gave Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander, two exceptional talents, something to do.

Can you imagine if next week Don Callis randomly decided to tell the Young Bucks that Kenny Omega doesn’t like them anymore, then the next week they drop the Tag Team Championship, then the week after we get Matt vs Nick?

Not to mention how AEW regularly presents its tag team division as main-event level, while WWE very much disregards it with teams constantly splitting or forming out of nowhere for no good reason.

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WWE – Better-Structured Shows

One of the best things about AEW Dynamite throughout the course of its history has been the fast-paced action and you can pretty much guarantee the shows are never going to be boring.

However, in recent months, things are getting just a little bit out of hand and too rushed. Fans can’t enjoy stuff if they don’t have time to.

Just a couple of weeks ago we saw the end of SCU. One of the most successful and popular tag teams in the history of wrestling outside of WWE, and before fans could even say “oh, that’s a shame”, the show had cut to a backstage segment.

While Raw does feel like a slog a lot of the time because it’s three whole damn hours, everything on the show has time to breathe, be recapped, and viewers get chance to at least comprehend what’s happening.

AEW needs to slow down just a little, leave more breathing space for video packages, bringing fans up to speed, and letting big moments really sink in.

Even Roman Reigns’ entrance takes a whole few minutes every week and makes him feel like a massive star. AEW does do that on pay-per-views, but even on weekly TV, it should feel a bit less rushed.

AEW has also had a problem with repetitive segments and storylines. Even just a couple of weeks ago, a short while after SCU had split up by losing a match, the Inner Circle were faced with doing the same.

For AEW there needs to be better communication, formatting, and timing ahead of shows.

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AEW – Prestigious Championships

One of WWE’s biggest problems is its championships. Not only are there too many, but they also don’t mean anything.

They’re passed around willy-nilly and we very rarely see lengthy reigns that actually mean anything. Not to mention the champions constantly losing non-title matches to set up matches for said titles, which is lazy booking 101.

You can argue that, right now, the titles are in a better state than they’ve been for a while, especially the main ones, but the damage has already kind of been done.

It remains to be seen whether Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley have really added prestige to the champions, or just to themselves.

Each title in AEW feels important, whether it be because of who’s held them, how long they’ve held them, or even just how they look compared to WWE’s mostly toy-like belts.

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WWE – Keeping Fans Caught Up

This one was already kind of mentioned before, but it deserves its own entry.

It’s very important that viewers understand what’s going on, or there’s no way they’re going to care about it. While WWE can go a bit overboard sometimes, the company at least makes sure fans are able to comprehend what’s happening and why.

AEW Dark and Elevation are great. They have plenty of great matches, give upcoming talent a chance to show what they can do, and it’s more content for fans to enjoy.

The problem is, when there’s significant character development or even feuds starting that spill over onto Dynamite, TNT viewers need to be told what’s going on.

After SCU announced they’d break up if they ever lost another tag match, they basically disappeared from TV, but were on Dark every week instead. That’s a major storyline that should have been given more attention.

Even if it’s just splicing in three or four short highlights of Dark/Elevation throughout Dynamite of anything important that fans might need to know to understand things in the future.

Yes, ‘rewarding’ fans that watch all the shows is great, but it also alienates those who don’t. And it’s impossible to grow if that continues.

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AEW – Talent Creativity

Possibly the biggest problem WWE has it that it’s one man’s vision, and that man is pretty much never willing to change his mind.

This often means talent isn’t able to get over even if they’re very clearly capable of doing so.

AEW doesn’t have that problem so much. While there does need to be quality control, things like Darby Allin’s self-made videos are one of the main reasons he’s so over.

If wrestlers have no say in what they’re doing, it must be very difficult for them to enjoy it, which in turn makes it difficult for them to be good at it.

From having a say in the direction of their storylines, to not having to cut scripted promos, wrestlers do their best work when they don’t have every single thing laid out exactly how it must be done.

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WWE – Wrestler Safety

Wrestling, in case you weren’t aware, is a little bit dangerous, and at some point, every wrestler is likely to pick up at least some kind of injury.

When that does happen though, the company needs to take care of its talent and safety should always be top priority.

This is something that AEW has constantly struggled with throughout its history, and even just a couple of weeks ago Orange Cassidy was knocked out during a match and it continued for a good few minutes, despite the previous criticism the promotion has received for doing the very same thing.

WWE has had its hiccups in its past, that’s for damn sure, but nowadays things are handled in a much better and more professional way to protect the wrestlers and company itself.

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AEW – Working With Other Promotions

One of the things that wrestling fans dislike about WWE is its seemingly pompous “we’re so much better than everybody else” attitude.

WWE barely ever acknowledges the careers of its wrestlers prior to them signing, giving them a completely clean slate, new name and new identity.

AEW, on the other hand, not only acknowledges wrestling outside of itself, but also fully embraces it, working with the NWA, NJPW, AAA, OWE, IMPACT and more throughout the two years it’s been around.

This is great for fans (and ultimately business) because it gives us the chance to see matches we never thought were possible.

Wrestling in general is only going to get better if more wrestlers and promotions have a spotlight shined onto them.

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WWE – Has Roman Reigns

Is this one cheating a little bit? Probably, but oh well.

There’s just been something about Roman Reigns for the last few months that has clicked perfectly.

Having Paul Heyman by his side, even if Heyman rarely does anything. Having Jey Uso as loyal backup whenever called upon. Reigns is presented as the biggest star in wrestling right now.

Everything so far in this ‘Tribal Chief’ era has come together as a package and there’s barely been a bump on the road so far.

You can’t help but imagine that, with WWE, at some point a certain someone will get his grubby hands all over this, but so far, with Reigns and Heyman having an influence on the direction, it’s all gone smoothly.

The one person with that freedom gets over. How crazy is that?!?!?!?!

His size, his presence, everything about Reigns presents him as a top star, and AEW does not have anyone on that same level yet.

In the future, sure, you look to someone like MJF who at some point is bound to be on top in a similar way, but no-one in AEW right now compares to Roman Reigns.

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