The ONE THING AEW Does Better Than WWE

The gang are back to talk about the things AEW does better than WWE.

For more awesome WWE, AEW and other wrestling content check out: https://whatculture.com/wwe
Listen to our daily wrestling PODCASTS: https://whatculture.com/wrestleculture

Follow us!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatculturewwe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatculturewwe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatculturewrestling

#WWE #AEW #Wrestling

Phil jamers what one thing does aew do
better than WWE
nothing having watched wrestling and
mainly WWE of course for a quarter of a
century now at least I can’t believe I’m
about about to say this and the fact
that aw has made me like this again but
heal authority
figures we were kind of done with um
what
200 it and they just kept no no we’re
going to have uh that’s not Vince
anymore we’re going to have Bishop do it
or we’re going to have uh you know the
Authority or things like that there was
a general consensus within the industry
of right when they finally decided we’re
just going to have Postman Pierce and
subsequently the likes of Nick oldis and
William Regal and stuff within WWE this
before aw came along and even when aw
did come along Tony was just sort of
executive in terms of like yeah that’s
the big match I’m not going to pick a
side or anything there you like okay
we’re probably going to have about a
decade here without authority figures
and uh yeah it’s more than
overdue and now the Young Bucks have
made me think hey hey he authority
figures you all right because I I I
thought they were done if I’m honest the
young book it’s not completely done
they’re always going to be you know have
their fans within aw but I was kind of
sick of them and I was just indifferent
towards them at that point they they’re
great wrestlers of course but this
reinvigorated version of themselves
obviously pairing with Ard kind of helps
CU he’s mint too but just being bellan
like at time of recording they’ve just
on AW Dynamite said Renee you’re really
good at your job but you should smile
more you can’t say that they’re
wandering around going we’re EVPs we get
the the running order of things or we’re
EVPs what you should dress a bit smarter
or things like that they’re brilliant
this is the role that they were
designed to play and um I just think
that they’re perfect and they’ve they’ve
made me enjoy heal authority figures um
and I think that’s one of a of’s genuine
best achievements in the last year
[Music]
oh no I’m being cous it’s wrestling um
it’s pro wrestling and I understand that
some people at the very M mention of
that they will think well yeah that’s
what all of this is I personally
disagree with that and there’ll probably
be another chatty face that we’ll be
able to expand upon that point but yeah
it is pro wrestling right now uh aw um
in the signings of Kaz grard of will
Osprey and potentially of Mercedes man
when she puts the boots on uh has once
again I think owned the U mantle of
being the destination for the best
professional wrestling in North America
um that’s not to say that WWE doesn’t
have great matches cuz it does far more
than it used to not least because those
matches are informed by more logical
stories and by more over characters but
I think um pound-for-pound whether or
not you judge it on Dave Meltzer star
ratings are you absolutely disavow that
ratings scale and you want to sort of
find your own love about a pro wrestling
match Bell to Bell I think aw has it you
know I’ve named those three but that
discounts everybody else on that massive
packed roster there is never not an a W
wrestler you wish you were seeing
wrestle more now that’s partly because
the roster is so big and TV Tim is at
such a premium but I just think when you
are going to be doing match of the Year
lists at the end of the year it’s if you
including North America you know I can’t
pretend that my scope like goes really
outside of aw in WWE as much as I know
it should um but the things that tend to
uh certainly fill those lists are more
from aw pay-per-views aw in what most
people consider its worst year in 2023
was still putting forth these
pay-per-views that match for match could
touch anything in any company’s Prime
Year to my personal tastes do I always
necessarily find that as entertaining no
do I find it easier to sleep on great
matches when they’re not necessarily
informed by hot crowds bigger Stars
bigger promos this the bombass that like
a version of a flavor of wrestling that
I enjoy is there no I don’t think
matches the be all and end all in pro
wrestling and I know that will scan a
sacr but a does and should matches are
ultimately what keeps a as the
alternative and it is important to be
the alternative we are currently as I
record this in a period of time that I
can never remember before where WWE and
awe fans are satisfied on almost equal
level for the first time and I think a
lot of that is because WWE is being the
best version of itself and aw with a
very wrestling forward mindset is doing
the same so not only do I kind of think
that now I applaud that and I want to
see the Gap get wider I’ll shoot
Brothers It’s not possible to love both
companies equally nor should it be do
you love Coke and Pepsi equally no you
probably prefer one Tony KH cause it a
challenge a brand for a reason and
currently the best way to challenge the
brand is to put forth matches even if
they don’t draw ratings even if the
houses aren’t quite as big or even as
hot and in some cases they are I think a
wrestling forward philosophy is aw’s
best course of action 100% of the time
ah see I do have one it’s not just
nothing of course they’ve got something
uh what a better than WWE is pure chaos
and I’m talking like mad run-ins and
things at the end of matches beatdowns
uh not just the sort of Stadium
stampedes and um Anarchy and the Arenas
of the world although they are pure
chaos and hugely entertaining as well
but like just the sort of chaotic feel
and nature to the show itself the kind
of chaos that the Attitude Era kind of
thrived in where you kind of never know
what’s going to happen like things cut
from the action to Backstage things
um like it never gives you time to
breathe between matches cuz you’re
always on to something else just that
sort of energetic chaotic vibe to the
show I think they do way better than WWE
has done in a really really really
really long time and it just adds that
kind of excitement and like oh god what
the hell’s going to happen next kind of
thing to sort of dynamites and
everything like that and it’s just yeah
that energy that’s kind of intangible
and you’re like oh God where is this
going they just they nail that every
single time so the one thing that I
think aw currently you better than WWE
is believable violence now yes this is a
WWE roster that currently has somebody
like Gunter on it and and Sheamus and
dream iing tell you people like that so
they definitely have people there that
can produce some pretty physical Affairs
that you go you know what yeah I believe
every single chop every single boot to
the face that that dude’s going to beat
me up that that that feels real like
that that is there in WWE but when
you’re thinking of certain stipulations
like you’ve got like a last man standing
match or a a steel cage match a ladder
match these kind of things when you see
you just see the difference between like
an aw environment and a WWE environment
WWE just feels very it still feels very
polished and very performative which
wrestling is that that’s absolutely fine
like you can have people just really
taking their time to set up certain
moments and everything does feels it
does feel rehearsed at times within WWE
and that is fine that’s absolutely fine
doesn’t really take anything away from
my enjoyment of WWE because I know what
to expect but when you when you look at
aw it just feels frantic there’s an
energy to it where you just feel like
these people everyone involved here
wants to kill each other they if you see
like a Texas Death Match or a blood and
guts match it’s it’s ridiculous it just
feels like War you feel like you’ve just
stumbled in and you’re in a war zone
there’s blood everywhere it’s something
that you’re not necessarily going to get
IND like the blade in all that kind of
stuff if blood does happen it tends to
be Hardway and accidental within WWE
because that’s just the way they do
things over there in the land of sports
entertainment whereas in aw there is
that freedom to really craft genuinely
quite authentic feeling fights within
within that landscape so for me if you
are looking for that if you’re looking
for stipulations that feel real and you
can really feel the heat and the
animosity and you feel like the people
involved are willing to probably kill
themselves to to hurt the other people
I’m talking to you dabby Allen jumping
off ladders and smashing your body
through glass and bleeding down your
back if you’re looking for that aw is
the place to go right now that is just
the way it is I’m not being funny I
think it goes without saying that match
quality it’s more emphasized they
evidently care more I think that’s a
apparent so self-evident that I won’t go
into it what I do think aew succeeds
that where WWE doesn’t is the granular
detail within storytelling if you look
at the recent introduction of Kuchar
aard the EVPs in January had settled
into these EVP roles at the time and it
was just thought to be a bid they were
throwing around threats of I’ll find you
I will penalize you if you you know
upset me in any way or I deem you to be
acting unprofessional I will find you
they on the
uh uh Dynamite before Revolution
threatened to find Eddie Kingston This
is key at Revolution itself they came
out in a card esque robes with business
cards floating down from the ceiling
that was a bit of foreshadowing not many
people got it at the time kuch Ricardo
debuts but before that Eddie Kingston
and this is key in a character tradeit
he would absolutely have he holds on to
the se you can readily imagine he spent
a week seething about the idea of these
Pricks are trying to find me he’s held
on to that anger that is a character
trait of his so he goes out on the uh
Revolution after Dynamite on the
dynamite after revolution rather and he
gets the money and like he actually
would pays it in advance he goes F off
do that and then he tries to beat them
up a Cara comes out coin drop and you
think oh two versus two now there’s an
ally no there’s a bait and switch
there’s a swerve and this wonderful
scene after which by the way they’ve
already detonated this narrative big
bang and told you you’re going to get
aard Omega 5 BS versus Omega and page 2
and the first really meaningful accard
versus hangman page match after all of
that Eddie Kingston has been beaten up
the fines which have been established
all the way back in January the money
gets picked up so Matthew Jackson to use
his god-given name on his passport just
gently trickers it all over gazra rard
to mimic that iconic New Japan entrance
that level of detail foreshadowing doky
Easter eggs I don’t really get that in
WWE I think what tends to happen and it
probably works better for them is that
if they have a character namely Drew
McIntyre just to use an example they
will tell you via Exposition over and
over and over again that character’s
trait that’s how the car uh the the
audience relat to that character and
what you often find is that when they do
the verbal back and forth they just
volley the exposition and the premise of
the traits of the character back and
forth and after some number of weeks I’m
kind of let get to the pay-per-view l so
I think aw is better it’s storytelling
and Granny lale I am so sorry I will see
you all I’m going to go with real
feelings which sounds a little OD but I
mean it’s not storyline self I mean real
world stuff um talking tribute shows
retirements I don’t think WWE really
does a bad job of them but it’s a weird
mixed message thing with WWE obviously
less so now but under the Vince regime
where you couldn’t even say wrestling uh
they only ever really celebrated
wrestling in their form on their terms
it’s their Hall of Fame whereas a is a
bigger wider celebration of the sport of
the industry whatever yeah um so WWE
stuff good AWS though is just remarkable
obviously the Brisco tribute uh Brody Le
is one of the most incredible wrestling
shows it just how could you get through
that in one piece is incredibly uh
emotionally effective and just a
wonderful tribute and everything they’ve
kind of done since with minus one and
all that stuff’s really nice um and more
recently slightly different but Sting’s
retirement the tour they made a big deal
of not just the end the end point the
final match the retirement itself but
leading up to that going through this is
going to be Sting’s last match in this
place in this place and it felt like
yeah just this giant celebration of a
wonderful career that was almost
snatched away during his time in W had a
sort of false retirement there and I’m
really glad that we got what we got but
yeah aw just does that stuff with so
much feeling um so if you’re a big
wrestling fan they do it right they do
it for you
well said there something I think aw
does better than WWE and yes we’ve done
the alternative video before everyone
goes crazy I suppose is that when
they’re trying to tell a super serious
intense storyline because of the way
that the program Dynamite or Collision
Works you can be a bit more real and a
bit more edgy not Adam Copeland and a
bit more gritty with it just for example
like do I think you should swear all the
time no do I think you should bleed all
the time no keep doing this do I think
you should do crazy over the top street
fights all the time no because the law
of diminishing returns we all know this
we’ve talked about it but if you do have
a payoff to a I don’t know six- Monon
program whatever it is and you know that
you can put them in a lights out match
and they’re going to take things to the
point you’re like this is kind of
freaking me out then I suppose
essentially you may be able to get a
better result or a better feeling in
your tum tum when you look back across
the whole thing I suppose it’s not the
best example but it’s why it almost
worked but didn’t for reasons we’ll talk
about between Kenny and mega and John
Moxy like when they announc oh we’ll
just do a barbwire exploding death match
so what do you mean you’re going to do a
bar wire exploding Death Match I mean
it’s more of a Japanese concept I
suppose than one we regularly see here
in America but it’s from a brain point
of view maybe go oh my gosh these two
really hate each other and maybe
someone’s going to die now of course in
practice this didn’t work as intended
but go and listen to all of the players
talk about this they know it was a
mistake they know they made an error
they wanted a big firework display and
instead they got sparklet like why do we
fool Bruce so we can learn to to pick
ourselves back up again and of course
WWE will do this like they do have I
quit matches and hardcore matches and
from time to time don’t know why this
one popped into my head you can get
something like Randy Orton versus Mick
Foley from no way out or whatever it was
backlash I can’t remember now but at the
same time when you do sort of compare it
to what aw could potentially do you know
that they’re just more willing to push
the boat out and now of course you can
argue that’s a good thing or a bad thing
because what if some of your audience
doesn’t like it and what is TV
Executives going to think of it I get it
it’s a conversation to be had but from a
purely storyline perspective itive if
you can really build something up like I
say to the point where it feels like
they’re going to kill each other you can
actually then just have a match where
they try and kill each other and you can
just randomly do it on Dynamite like
Nick Cage versus Jericho where they were
doing the whole pizza cutter thing now
that was too much for me it’s why I’m
glad that we got that Domino’s advert I
think it was a Domino’s advert or Pizza
Hut whoever the flub it was right
afterwards cuz it made me laugh and in
that moment I definitely needed some
humor cuz I don’t need to see somebody’s
forehead get cut open like a pizza
cutter but this sort of opens it up to a
brand new chat I guess is that wrestling
should be whatever the hell you want it
to be and that could be different on a
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Saturday Sunday the worst version of a
Craig David song ever but I do think
that’s important I think if we just got
again just popped into my head the Brian
Danielson versus Shabbat type match all
the time eventually you get bored of it
and if we had a Roman Reigns versus
Curry Rose match all the time you’d get
bored of it I think the coolest thing
about wrestling is that you can tune in
on any given day as said and you just
don’t know what you’re going to get it’s
what Gump was talking about but yeah
they do have their more adult content I
suppose sometimes I want that sometimes
I don’t sometimes I just want goofy
wrestling for life which is the main
reason I went on that rant thank you
goodbye pay-per-views specifically the
pacing and the layout of pay-per-views I
think that um I a lot of people argue
about this stuff online that’s partly
why I chose this as a topic because I
want to see that fire in the comments
section but uh for me WWE pay-per-views
are extremely poorly paced that’s not to
say they’re good or bad they’re just
sluggish the thing is if you’re if
you’re watching them live you get the
EXC I like the excitement in the buzz of
following online and logging on to
Twitter and seeing what people are F and
watching it with your friends and stuff
that’s excellent but at the same time
the problem with these WWE pay-per-views
is that even though they only have like
five or six matches on which I’m in
favor of uh they have like 30 minute
gaps between the and it’s like if you’re
into that kind of thing I I’m not going
to argue with you that’s great but for
me I don’t want to see 15 minutes of
adverts like and the problem is it’s all
for peacock and stuff right so that they
can feed their adverts in the partners
in and we get slightly different adverts
to the US viewers they get commercials
and stuff we get like old WWE video
packages so it’s like uh what is going
to happen when Bobby Lashley finds out
about Lana and Rusev and it’s like my
God that’s four years old what is this
it’ll play like a Braun strowman
vignette and he’s not been on TV for for
a year the poor injured man I hope he’s
back soon um yeah the the pacing of the
WWE shows just really guess to me if it
was bang bang bang bang bang match brief
video package entrances but it’s never
that the video packages are always 5 to
10 minutes I’ve already watched the TV I
don’t need to be reminded of what
happened the entrances are super long
they’re big they’re sluggish I don’t
find them a pleasurable viewing
experience unless it’s the next day and
I can fast forward through that crap aw
pay-per-views on the other hand have
more matches they might be a little bit
longer in runtime but it’s all action
it’s just go go go even when Tony KH
goes insane and adds 15 matches to a
show I know that he’s going to zip
through everything and to me that’s good
that’s what I want I don’t need the 15
minutes of sitting around between
matches to get to the next one I don’t
want that I don’t enjoy that
particularly I’ve watched the weekly
shows to get to this point so I don’t
need a video package long in in in ring
entrances ring entrances easy for me to
say are all good and well but again I do
not need that as long as they’re cool
and memorable they don’t need to be long
focus on the action focus on moving from
one thing to another line your card up
in a way that makes sense and in a way
that flows I think aw does that
extremely well and I know you all
disagree with me one of the things that
aew does better than WWE is its use of
Legends now given that we’re still
relatively early into the WWE
stewardship of Paul ve this is something
that couldwell change over the next few
years but for the longest time WWE has
historically been pretty darn awful of
how it would use or not use names of the
past in aw though they’ve realized the
importance of honoring Legends in a way
be fitting to their careers and for the
roads they paved the paths they’ve
carved of course sting is the obvious
name that jumps out with a stinger
positioned as a top guy a special
attraction and someone allowed to retire
on his own terms helping to erase the
memories of that WrestleMania loss of
Triple H and the unfortunate neck injury
there suffered against Seth Rollins
which temporarily ended Sting’s career
away from sting though that the
wrestling world is forever a better
place when Jim Ross is in it um for WWE
though they long seen zero value in Jr
as an onscreen presence um while clearly
Jim still had and has plenty to bring to
the table uh you’ve got Ricky steambow
Diamond Dallas Page Bret Hart the rock
and roll Express Dennis condry William
Regal even Baron von rashki while they
obviously all weren’t used in the same
way as sting all still felt like big
deals when they were used by aw uh plus
you’ve got veterans like Brian Danielson
and Christian Cage who’ve been allowed
to do some of their very very best work
of their careers even Jeff Jarrett
although it’s still very much waiting to
see with Adam Copeland at this point as
of this recording you’ve got Billy Gun
and Dustin rad as another two had a nice
Resurgence aw has also been keen and
some would say maybe too Keen given that
it takes TV time away from the company’s
own bloated roster it’s been Keen to
honor International Legends such as
Satoshi kajima Yuji Nagata Jun aiyama
and murder Grandpa himself minur zuzuki
or just a general respect given by aw to
New Japan or a AAA or even honoring Owen
Hart with the Owen Cup tournaments sure
more could have been done with an
Anderson tly Blanchard Jake Roberts Mark
Henry but there’s far more hits than
misses for aw when it comes to their
Legends even in the case of The Hardy
Boys who are these days both
unfortunately broken down aw have done
their best to keep Matt and Jeff’s
featured TV stars as and when they’ve
been available maybe even too much with
aw possibly overestimating what the
hardies are these days capable of in
ring and well yes his presence on TV
currently feels like a tired one for
various various reasons aw still saw
enough value in the veteran Chris
Jericho to make him their inaugural
world champion and so often the focal
point of their early programming
realizing the name value and overall
package that that Jericho still brought
to the the table back then the Ric Flair
one yeah Ric Flair is a notable
exception to the rest with nobody
needing to see Ric Flair on weekly TV in
2024 again for various reasons but all
in all aw has done a far better job in
how it’s used its Legends the legends of
the business than WWE historically has