Add another chip to my 2024 bingo card of unexpected surprises as All Elite Wrestling delivers their weekly “Collision” show to the Huntington Center on the first Thursday of October. The promotion, well into in its fifth year of existence, has gained a sort of grassroots following amongst the sect of wrestling fans looking for more thrills than words and theatrics; and they have plenty of both to spare.
Since its inception, AEW has garnered a reputation for its in-ring action, which has gained both praise and repudiation from fans and critics for its excessive nature. The promotion folds in the good, bad and ugly of its influences such as New Japan, ECW and the territories of yesteryear into a hardcore, high-flying show ordered to serve the most ardent fan and newcomer alike.
“It’s focus is definitely more on what you see in the ring, rather than backstage,” said Russell Axon – a longtime fan of the sport who didn’t hesitate to show me his digital tickets for ‘Collision’, saved on his Ticketmaster app. “I’d say the best part of the show is the storytelling – the most vital, yet underrated part of any wrestling show – happens in the ring. It all happens in front of you.”
That action is brought to you by a roster featuring the likes of Maxwell Jacob Friedman (arguably the best heel in all of wrestling right now), the soaring Will Ospreay (whom some call the best in the world), longtime veteran Brian Danielson, aka the ‘American Dragon’ and current AEW World Champion, fan favorite Swerve Strickland and three-time Women’s Champion, ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm.
As its popularity has grown, AEW’s weekly shows have expanded into three time-slots, thanks to Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros: ‘Dynamite’, which airs Wednesdays at 8pm, ‘Rampage’, airing Fridays at 10pm and the upcoming ‘Collision’, which is a taped show on Thursdays and airing on Saturday at 8 pm.
That said, unlike WWE’s ‘Raw’ or ‘Smackdown’ shows, for instance, AEW offers a more “open-door policy,” as Axon called it, “where its top stars are able to perform on any show on any night instead of being relegated to a single faction of the promotion.”
“That’s one thing they do which keeps the fans excited,” he followed up with, “they honestly don’t know who or what they’re going to see.”
As good as the fast rise in popularity and programming is for AEW, the company runs the high risk of over-exposure; of running thin on ideas and promoting a seemingly overloaded (and heavily criticized) roster while sustaining that popularity. Any judge of wrestling history can connect this major obstacle as linear to the roadblocks which took down WCW (World Championship Wrestling).
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From 1988 to 2001, WCW was second fiddle in the rankings and ratings to WWE (then known as WWF). But for a bright and shining 83 weeks, the company was tops in the industry when the Nielsen ratings came in, due to its flagship program ‘Monday Nitro.’ This was at the height of the vaunted ‘Monday Night Wars’, when the WWF finally cleared the weeds of its poor creative choices and smashed over audiences in what is now known as ‘The Attitude Era’ – arguably the most celebrated and beloved era in the company’s history.
Although the race for ratings isn’t as red hot in these days of social media and the lack of needing to watch what happens live or be left behind, there is the necessity on AEW’s part to avoid those old pitfalls in order to escape the same song and dance.
“AEW has that same underdog vibe that WCW, and even TNA had, during its heyday,” Axon said. “It has a deep pool of both established and upcoming talent which are very exciting to watch. But, like WCW, its bloated roster and inconsistent booking means that a lot of that talent may lost in the shuffle, especially in the women’s division. That points back to lack of leadership. That needs to be shored up.”
Shortcomings withstanding, AEW has made a name for itself by utilizing the eye-splitting theatrics that includes the aforementioned high-flying and hardcore in-ring tactics. With, for instance, Will Ospreay’s gymnastic skillset and the blood and guts approach witnessed at the ‘All Out’ Pay-Per-View when ‘Hangman’ Adam Page was dropped onto a cement block before sticking Swerve Strickland with a hypodermic needle and crowning him with a steel chair, the company promises to pull no punches to how far they wish to expand the proverbial envelope.
Such antics has driven fans to one side of the aisle or the other. Look at any comment section via Instagram or X and this sort of tribalism rears its ugly head, with the fans applauding the pushing of the envelope and detractors deriding the approach as phony and worthy only of an eye-roll and a head shake.
“I feel it’s a part of fandom,” said Shawn Jones, a fan of the sport and the company in particular, “fans are always going to gravitate to what they enjoy and when you have people saying that it’s not as good or less than, they’ll get more defensive and offensive towards the product entirely. Fans forget though, less than five years ago, there was still one company dominating everything. Now, it’s likely the most profitable it’s been in our lifetime, as far as the trickle-down effect into the other existing promotions.”
“The whole sport is extremely hot,” he added. “It’s the old cliche, but there’s something for everyone; depending on what they’re looking for.”
As a reborn fan of the sport, I’ve found there seems to be no middle of the aisle when it comes to AEW; i.e. you either think they have the greatest tag-team in the ‘Young Bucks’, or, like my pudgy 43-year-old Polish co-worker, you swear you’re “tougher than both of those dummies put together.”
Either way, what AEW does deliver is an adrenaline rush that guarantees you’ll get your money’s worth. With its share of high-spots and near-pinfalls, you’ll remember that ‘2 ½’ is a real number as you yell out the referee’s count.
Tickets begin @ $15
Showtime begins @ 7:30 pm
huntingtoncentertoledo.com/events/aew-collison
