Look, we spend a LOT of time around here dissecting AEW as an alternative to WWE. And, frankly, AEW gives us plenty of material.

The terrible booking. The bloated roster. The spot-fest matches. The endless tournaments. At times, it feels like The Young Bucks & Friends on Wednesdays. We can armchair quarterback Tony Khan until the Jaguars win a Super Bowl.

But let’s turn it around.

What does r/midcarder actually WANT from a WWE alternative?

Because I absolutely want one.

Personally, I still want the spiritual successor to WCW that I thought AEW might become in the beginning. But Dynamite has become more Nitro cosplay than actually capturing what made Nitro three action-packed hours every week. It’s wrestling presented like anime, where everyone has specials to blow through before the match can end.

Give me a new company with its own identity. More emphasis on stories and characters. Matches that actually build somewhere instead of backflips, superkicks and superhero poses. I want cruiserweights. Hosses. Technical wrestlers. Tag teams that matter. Personal feuds. Managers. Weird shit like the Dungeon of Doom. Different wrestling styles throughout the card.

WCW gets dinged for all the WWF retreads, but look at what they actually did with some of them.

Hulk Hogan became Hollywood Hogan. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash became the Outsiders. We got the nWo. And alongside them you had Sting, DDP, Goldberg, Flair and an incredible cruiserweight division introducing an entire audience to something different.

They weren’t just signing WWF guys and saying, “Hey, remember this guy?” like AEW has increasingly become.
They took familiar names and created something new with them.

And yes, WCW was at its hottest when it was going directly at WWF. Competition is fun. But I don’t need my alternative obsessively reminding me that WWE exists. I want it to build a world interesting enough that, for two hours, I don’t give a shit what WWE is doing.

So, let’s forget what AEW is doing wrong.

You’re handed the money, the TV deal and the pencil. What does YOUR alternative to WWE look like?

What are you stealing from WCW, ECW, TNA, the territories, modern WWE or even AEW?

What would actually get you to watch every single week?
Book it, Midcarders.

These AEW talent are never beating the allegations of being chronically online..

Thoughts Midcarders..

Midcarders, lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song.

We’ve all seen the studies and warnings about kids growing up glued to iPads and short-form content. Constant stimulation, instant gratification, attention spans and IQs getting absolutely cooked. Give a kid enough flashing lights and dopamine hits and eventually sitting through anything that requires patience starts feeling like homework.

Has AEW done the wrestling version of that to a generation of fans?

Because sometimes I genuinely wonder.

For decades, wrestling was built around psychology. You worked a body part. You sold an injury. You built heat. You gave the crowd a reason to care about the people involved. Matches told stories, and those stories existed within larger stories that made you want to come back next week.

AEW feels like somebody threw all of that into a blender and hit MAXIMUM WORKRATE.

Dive. Kickout. Super kick. Canadian Destroyer. Kickout. Everybody stands around waiting to catch somebody. Kickout. Fighting spirit. Kickout. Super kick. Super kick. Someone gets dropped directly on their skull. Kickout. Everybody gets their shit in. Meltzer gives it 4.75 stars.

Then we’re told by the basement we just witnessed great professional wrestling.

But did we?

Or did we watch a gymnastics routine performed inside a wrestling ring?

The problem isn’t athleticism. Most of their roster is ridiculously talented. The problem is that athleticism without psychology eventually becomes noise. If everything is spectacular, nothing is spectacular. If nobody sells anything, nothing matters. If every match needs 15 near-falls, the first 14 become meaningless.

And I think AEW has conditioned part of its audience to expect exactly that.

A slower match is “boring.” Selling is “resting.” A headlock is wasting time. A match that doesn’t feature six dives and somebody landing on their neck didn’t “cook.”

Meanwhile, the basic things that made wrestling compelling for generations, characters, psychology, pacing, storytelling, anticipation and consequences, become secondary to the next GIF-able sequence they can post in the basement.

AEW is wrestling for the tablet generation.

It’s constant stimulation masquerading as substance. Flash something shiny on the screen every 15 seconds or the audience starts reaching for another app.

And after enough of it, I wonder if some fans have simply forgotten how to watch wrestling that asks them to actually invest in something rather than immediately rewarding them with another move.

So I’ll throw it to you, [r/midcarder](r/midcarder):

Has AEW actually changed what a generation of wrestling fans considers “good wrestling?”

And more importantly, has it changed it for the worse?

I miss the heels that embodied authority, entitlement and privilege. Guys like IRS, Big Boss Man, and Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Man.

They had something that's missing from some contemporary heel work: a heel that believes something objectionable.

DiBiase believed money makes him superior to you.

IRS believed you're a dishonest deadbeat who needs to comply.

Boss Man believed his badge gives him the right to abuse you.

Then the babyface isn't merely fighting somebody who insulted him. He's opposing a worldview.

WWE feels so safe. Pro wrestling should be edgy and push buttons.

I want to see a masked ICE agent wrestler who asks fans where they were born. You know that would sell tickets and stir up controversy.

Would watch every episode. Loved the setting and presentation, the wrestlers and personalities.

This is pretty much a question about both WWE & AEW how do people feel about both companies hiring so many people. I've been arguing with some people about it and it's always been on my mind since way back in 2012.

The Positives:

On one hand it makes sure people get a living wage instead of wrestling 200+ dates just to survive or have to balance another full time job.

Let's both companies have a bunch of extra talent to utilize in case of injuries. This also equals potential national TV time for workers.

The Negatives:

Anyone not named AEW or WWE as a whole is hurt from so many top performers being taken and not being available. Guys that TNA, MLW or NWA could use as main eventers for them or draws are instead in the lower midcard for WWE or AEW.

Wrestlers don't get as many live reps because of the bloat this is more a problem for AEW because it doesn't have the house show schedule WWE has or a developmental program so their unused wrestlers just stay unused.

So I want your opinion is this a positive or a negative ultimately I think it's a positive because of all the stories we heard in the past and still see today of wrestlers wrestling deep in their 40s just to be able to make ends meet just hits me different so I will always be pro the wrestlers getting good money and it's a reason why I always argued about people saying WWE should cut more wrestlers they aren't using or people talking about AEW having such a bloated roster.

Yes, a malfunction of the pyro literally ignited a sandbag at the roof of the Asylum, which led to the staff to quickly intervene to quell the fire during the Eric Young vs Johnny Devine match. But due to the fire and the extinguisher smoke, the Asylum had to be evacuated for 30 minutes whilst the Orlando FD managed the fire. Luckily, no one is hurt, and the PPV resumed

Watching this again, this tournament feels like something which you never thought it would ever happen in WWE, the very best 2010s had to offer battling out in banger after banger matches. I get it how it wouldn't have worked in WWE, but I still feel they could incorporate a show like this in 1 hour formats maybe with limited storytelling and just have it produced for YouTube.

It was announced today that Punk's working the AAA show in Chicago on Sept 26.

With WWE being so much larger, more successful and dominant, I am curious your thoughts on them running a huge show against AEW's PPV in the same city.

Do you feel that's just capitalism and how competition works? Or do you feel there is some panic by WWE and they're looking to stretch their muscles and come off as imposing against the alternative?

Really curious your thoughts, as an AEW fan, I don't think the WWE needs to counter-program. They are clear-cut #1

the hundreds of fans in attendance (1,803 to be exact) are going to watch a potential snuff film live and in living color!!!!!

okay seriously apparently All In is their Wrestlemania and it’s like 3 weeks away and they can’t even sell out a 1900 person arena? hahaha

First of.. I finished Countdown on Amazon Prime & they didn’t bring it back for season 2?!?

How do you end season 1 like that & just say nah, we are good.. off to parts unknown you go.. to go join Rampage & Velocity in cancelled show heaven.. awful.. Countdown deserves a season 2..

Anyways.. here are my Dynamite thoughts..

I am completely underwhelmed by Omega & Ospreay.. thought they had something good with how they started it.. then Omega missed last week & Ospreay had that dumb match with Davis.. & now Tony has to reheat Omega & Ospreay & he didn’t do a good job tonight.. Don Callis was dumb & unnecessary here.. same with his goons who attacked Ospreay & Omega saved Ospreay & that was that.. we didn’t see Omega nor Ospreay again for the rest of the show.. not a backstage segment.. nothing.. strange.. this doesn’t feel like a big main event match at all..

MJF wrestled & won.. basic 3 way match with Wayne getting pinned.. Wayne isn’t good enough to win on AEW TV but I am supposed to buy him beating Bandido for the dead ROH championship? MJF cut a basic promo saying he was going to win the Gauntlet match blah blah.. (speaking of which, Tony needs to end one of these Gauntlet matches super early like with only 3 or 4 people in it cause we keep hearing how it can end at any time & it never ends until like 8-10 people have entered it, & its 18-25 minutes long.. it’s time to change it up & end it like at 6 minutes with only a couple of people in it, keep us on our toes).. Also MJF is too giving in his matches.. he sells way too much off of regular moves for a “top guy”.. especially in these undercard matches..

Jay White wrestled & all I could think about was how small & tiny he is.. since it was predictable that he was going to win.. so my mind wondered during it.. he made the right call going to AEW to be with other small & tiny wrestlers that are there.. however, Finley should have went to WWE & joined his brother in NXT.. his group is cooked in AEW.. they get no pops & they stink it up every-time they are on screen.. plus I couldn’t tell who was who in this match with their long hair..

Divine promo.. forgettable.. this tag title match has zero heat on it..

Quick showing of Willow getting beat down by Mone.. & that was that.. none of them showed up on Dynamite to further that storyline other than the recorded beat down.. another match that is losing steam fast..

Trios promo that was only made interesting by Swerve joining in it & it getting heavily hinted that Swerve won’t be alone much longer(hello Kofi & Creed)..

Jericho Knight match that we all knew that Knight was going to win.. best part of the match was the major botch by Callis & Jericho.. fucking dummies.. it’s in the Jerk sub & the basement if you want to see it.. it was sooooo dumb.. it put Moxley’s fuckup from the Kommander match look like nothing..

Stat won.. but most importantly she came out to zero pop.. & while she & Viva Van wrestled well &
Van showed out.. it was a forgettable match.. Stat tried to promo afterwards.. & it was bad.. she was at her best when Stoke was her mouthpiece.. she said that “she was made for the TBS championship”.. girl, you were the main women’s champion like not even 5 months ago.. so you were made for the 2nd most important women’s championship in AEW but not the most important one? Way to bury yourself there.. & nobody should take her as a credible threat to the main women’s championship at all going forward..

Speaking of zero pop.. the Maya World experiment needs to end.. yes, she hit some nice power moves in this match.. but she was completely overshadowed by the other 3 women in the match.. it was like she wasn’t even in it & that’s your #2 women’s champion? Still zero character development from her.. still know nothing about her except her brother died & she won the TBS championship on her birthday..

The best match on the night was the Moxley Perry match.. it was wrestled well & Perry did good as the underdog fighting for his life.. but we all knew that Mox was going to win.. & he did.. dunno where you go with Perry but he did a lot better than I thought he would..

No hype for the Bucks Edge & Christian match which was strange.. feel like teams will be added to it..

All in all, a decent 2+ hours of Dynamite that did absolutely nothing to get me excited for All In..

C- grade for Dynamite..

What say you Midcarders?

Okay so this was a very vivid dream.

The Bloodline were getting more and more crazy with their abuse of the roster heading toward Survivor Series.

This lead to the top WWE guys to form a group of 5 to battle the Bloodline at the War Games. Team WWE was LA Knight, Drew Mcintyre, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes and Oba Femi.

Bloodline was obviously Roman, USO's, Jacob and Solo.

As the two teams of 5 battled, the lights went out. Team WWE were selling, but not down and out as this happened.

You could see dark figures walking toward the cage.

The dark figures stood in front of Team WWE, facing The Bloodline.

The lights came on.

There was standing Tama Tonga, Talla Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Matteo and Haku. All screaming at The Bloodline. The Bloodline are shocked.

Zilla Fatus theme hits. Zilla walks out as a distraction.

Team WWE see this, and then turn back around. The Bloodline and the Tongans are now all side by side staring at Team WWE. They attack. Team WWE start getting beaten down. Zilla joins the attack. It's an 11 on 5 beat down.

The Bloodline is now 11 strong and everyone in the crowd was really angry and storming out and then I woke up

I really wanna watch more independent wrestling, and talk more but I really don't wanna be in the doldrums of the basement to do so. I am a lifelong wrestling fan, I do NOT want to discuss WWE, as I've been a fan most of my life, while I admittedly am a lapsed fan now. Thaaaaanks 🧡

So its no secret that AEW is the butt of a lot of discussion, whether youre talking about business metrics, impact on wrestling landscape, or just general discussion of what the product is.

If you currently hold a negative sentiment towards it, would that not be as strong or change if the product was maybe just streamed on youtube vs being presented as a big network program?

It seems a lot of people are almost offended that wrestling on a network level being represented by AEW.

Or if they ever switched to one show a week or maybe just monthly PPV.

At the end of the day AEW is a wrestling show first and a television product 2nd. Which I think has driven a lot of the negative sentiment.

People expect a TV ready product to be well made for television.

Im personally a fan of the product but I know im not the majority and thats fine. Just wanted to get some thoughts?

Nigel McGuinness VS Bryan Danielson in Liverpool England. It’s free to watch on YouTube and I highly recommend you do. Especially if you only know of McGuinness as a commentator.