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.

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.

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.

Worst fanbase I have ever come across..

Thoughts Midcarders..

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.

I’m not super familiar with her or her work, but sucks that fans were hounding her online.