10 Things Fans Get Wrong About Current AEW

AEW has grown over the last five years to become the defined number two promotion in the professional wrestling business, and with that comes a lot of criticism and hate. There are some fans online who do engage in some tribal warfare between WWE and AEW, though there are misconceptions about AEW which get thrown around.

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The following statements are things that fans claim to be the truth about AEW, but there are arguments to say otherwise. It is easy when not watching the product every week or actively seeking out complaints to get some things wrong, and that is the case of both sides of the fence when it comes to fans of either company.

10 The AEW Women’s Division Isn’t Improving

2023 Saw A Lot Of Positive Steps For The AEW Women’s Division

AEW’s women’s division has been one of the biggest points of criticism
2023 saw the rise in new stars
More time has been given to the women’s division

Things are still not perfect for the women’s division in AEW and there is still a long way to go, but positive steps have been made. Defined actual stars have emerged recently such as Toni Storm and Julia Hart, who are starting to feel like potential draws with entertaining gimmicks and presentations.

Storylines have been given more depth, and there are now two women’s segments on TV per show at times, which is better than just one. Of course, there is still progress to be made, but it would be naive to say the division has not improved, because it has.

9 There Are Too Many Championships In AEW

The Issue Isn’t The Number Of Titles, It Is More About The Booking

AEW currently has eight official titles
The Continental Crown was introduced in 2023
Fans have criticized the number of titles in AEW

AEW has five hours of programming per week and a roster of over 150 wrestlers. Eight championships isn’t too much for all that, and it gives wrestlers more chance to shine and get their hands on gold. The issue comes in the booking of those titles, and sometimes champions do sometimes go under the radar.

Right now though, it feels like every championship has prestige and meaning, with the TNT Championship going on a resurgence in 2023 thanks to Christian Cage for instance. If AEW keeps up with this current momentum with their titles, they should avoid the notion that there are “too many”.

8 The Matches In AEW Are All The Same

AEW Promotes More Different Styles Than Any Other Promotion

Some fans claim AEW has the same style of matches
There are more hardcore style matches in AEW than WWE
AEW allows wrestlers to compete with their own style rather than forcing a certain way to wrestle

There is nowhere on the planet that allows the range of styles in their weekly wrestling like AEW does. Death match style, technical wrestling, strong style, lucha libre, and crazy tag team wrestling are among just some of the different styles of matches you can see when tuning in to AEW.

Although some matches do follow the same formula, this isn’t commonplace and it is a mistake made by some critics to claim that AEW doesn’t have variety. AEW PPVs are often the best example of match variety, stipulations, and more.

7 Adam Copeland Has Become Just Another Guy In AEW

Copeland Is On Fire, Having Good Matches, And Is Over

Adam Copeland signed with AEW in 2023
The former “Edge” ended his multi decade stay in WWE
Fans have claimed that Copeland has got lost in the shuffle

Adam Copeland looks like he is having the time of his life in AEW. He is having fun, wrestling a range of different opponents, competing more than he did in WWE (which is what he wanted) and is embroiled in one of the best feuds on TV right now against Christian Cage.

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Copeland is getting big reactions and doing good work, and it is only a matter of time before he either wins the TNT Championship or goes on to have some dream matches. He has not got lost in the shuffle, in fact he is very much finding his feet and becoming a top regular name in the company.

6 AEW Sign Too Many Former WWE Guys

AEW Has One Of The Youngest Rosters And Uses Veterans Perfectly

In 2023, AEW only signed 3 ex-WWE guys
AEW has a roster full of wrestlers who made their names elsewhere
AEW is far from late-day WCW and dark-days TNA

At times it can feel like AEW does sign the wrong people or highlight someone like Chris Jericho too much. However, for the most part AEW has a roster in which youth and talent is prioritized.

When it comes to ex-WWE guys, they have picked and chosen much better as the years have gone on, and they bring in those who are too talented to leave by the wayside. To claim that AEW is becoming like TNA or WCW is ridiculous, because the company still puts focus on homegrown talent and those who deserve to be in the biggest spots.

5 The “Feeling” Has Gone For AEW

AEW Still Has Its Spark And Red Hot Crowds

AEW’s audience is lessening
The viewership in AEW has dropped in recent times
However, the “feeling” is still present

There has been a lot of talk since the firing of CM Punk and other controversies that the “feeling” in AEW has gone. However, when you watch week to week it is easy to see that the fans are still super invested in what is going on.

AEW has the most impassioned and loud crowds, many wrestlers are super over, and the shows still feel special and have a spark every week. If you ignored the online discourse, AEW would look like the hottest show going if you tuned in.

4 AEW Dropped The Ball With CM Punk

CM Punk Was Causing Problems And The Company Rightfully Parted Ways

CM Punk was fired from AEW in 2023
CM Punk joined WWE and his return has been a success so far
It feels like AEW’s loss and WWE’s gain

To suggest that AEW “dropped the ball” with CM Punk based on the fact that he is doing well in WWE is ignoring the real reason why Punk’s run in AEW went badly. He was arguably unprofessional, engaged in backstage fights, and created a very horrible atmosphere.

He will struggle to politic in WWE which is why it will likely work out better there for him. It was the correct call to get rid of Punk, who was a toxic presence regardless of whose fault it was. The product feels better, wrestlers seem happier, and the company has moved on well. Punk’s time in AEW was great overall, but it is better that he is gone.

3 The Quality Of AEW’s Television Has Decreased

AEW’s Weekly Shows Are Still The Best In The World

Dynamite & Collision have brilliant in-ring work
There is hardly ever a bad episode of AEW’s TV
PPVs still have a very high quality every time

When Dynamite or Collision has a slightly weaker week, criticism piles into social media in waves. This creates a sense that fans believe AEW’s product to have decreased in reality. However, there is still no other company on the planet with a weekly show that has the consistent quality of AEW’s shows and PPV events.

As noted, fans are loud, the matches are always great, and there are several stars who are on form right now such as Christian Cage, Swerve Strickland, Adam Page, MJF, Toni Storm, Samoa Joe, and more.

2 There Are Too Many Wrestlers On The AEW Roster

AEW’s Roster Size Allows For A Rotating Cast And Time Off

AEW has over 150 wrestlers on the roster
Fans claim that AEW’s roster is too big
Some wrestler aren’t featured as much

Whilst it is true that some wrestlers on the AEW roster don’t get enough time, there are plenty of wrestlers who do. With AEW’s roster size, it allows for more time off, less damage on the body, and a sense of shows being fresh every week rather than the same stars.

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It will come down to taste ultimately and whether or not some wrestlers do want to wrestle at every available opportunity, but AEW is a great environment to work a reduced schedule and for matches to always feel new. The amount of first-time matches is something that makes AEW feel so special.

1 MJF’s Babyface Run Wasn’t Working In AEW

Fans Were Reacting Big Time To MJF

MJF turned babyface in 2023
He reigned as AEW World Champion for over a year
Some fans claimed that MJF’s run as a babyface was going south

If you tuned it at any point over the last six months for an MJF segment, you’d see someone who was ridiculously over with fans and getting the biggest reactions each and every week. Whilst it wasn’t as good as his work, MJF as a babyface in 2023 was still consistently good.

Even if the storylines weren’t perfect, MJF’s character work was always fantastic. He could be comedic, heroic, and still retained his classic arrogant persona, allowing him to still feel authentic. MJF felt like the face of AEW last year as a good guy.