I don’t think most people are expressing themselves properly when they talk about AEW hiring “WWE Rejects” or at least that’s not my issue. It’s not that they came from WWE or what position they held there beforehand but how they are used by the company they now work for. Many people bought into AEW because they were excited to see AEW talents. Guys that were tearing things up outside of WWE, guys that weren’t of the mainstream, guys who railed against the machine. People wanted to see the unordained become stars. It was an underdog story.
Take Kenny Omega for example. The fanbase believed he was the best in the world, a master in the ring and as a performer. This was a man who could carry a company as it’s top star like John Cena in the WWE. Kenny was surely going to be the man to carry AEW on his back right? No. Instead he’s booked to lose his smile before becoming a tag team guy. The ball is then given to former WWE icon Chris Jericho to run with, then to former SHIELD member and WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose. It’s almost like there’s a prerequisite to holding the main title in AEW. It might not be the case but it seems that way.
Still, it’s not that way across the board is it? What about the midcard?
Well, the tournament to crown the new midcard TNT Champion was won by AEW EVP, son of Dusty Rhodes, only member of The Elite to work for the WWE and multi-time WWE Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion Cody. Not the big monstrous newcomer from NJPW that people were excited to see return to America, instead they go with the mainstream guy. The safe bet is given the title.
There’s so many more examples and I could go on but this is exactly the issue TNA had. Did all the WWE guys they hired suck? No. Should they not have worked there at all? No. It was the positions these talents were put in that usurped the homegrown stars people wanted to see. That was the core issue. That’s what made huge TNA fans turn their backs on them, a guy being from WWE isn’t a big deal but them coming in and beating all the talent fans were really invested in and wanted to see just because of their WWE tenure certainly is. That’s when the middle fingers really went up for the “WWE rejects”.
That is the same issue AEW is currently facing. People wanted to see the guys who were all in on AEW from jump street have success and that hasn’t happened. They’ve seen their favourites take less of a role in exchange for pushes for the talent from up north or come in and immediately lose to someone with more WWE tenure. It’s becoming what the detractors feared and nobody wanted. Now is the time where it’s essential to break that pattern and buck the trend, now is the time to about turn and do something different like everybody thought you would. Bet on yourselves and let the AEW guys run with the ball. If not it might not be long before you inherit something else TNA had to scratch and claw to get rid of, “lolAEW”.
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