Reviewing AEW’s Historic 2019 and How It Changed Wrestling Forever

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To be a true alternative, AEW recognized how important it was to provide fans a roster full of fresh faces never-before-seen on a national stage. Using The Elite, Jericho and Moxley to draw fans in, the company became a breeding ground of new stars plucked from indy promotions across the globe and given the opportunity to showcase their abilities on a stage they had once thought unattainable.

One of the first competitors to really benefit from the increased spotlight was “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela, who battled Moxley in an unsanctioned, Lights Out match at Fyter Fest in June. The match, a brutal and violent one, housed the unforgettable moment of Janela launching himself off a ladder with an elbow drop that drove his opponent through a table.

The Dark Order, formerly known to California indy fans as Super Smash Bros, made an immediate impact upon their arrival and set themselves up as one of the unstoppable forces in the tag team division.

The arrival of AEW’s Dynamite television show brought with it the formation of Jericho’s Inner Circle faction, which included young Sammy Guevara. The self-proclaimed ‘Best Ever’ and, later, ‘Spanish God’ took Cody to the limit in the first match in the show’s history, then stood alongside the AEW world champion to close out the broadcast.

Perhaps no star represented the breakout mentality than Luchasaurus, whose size and athleticism combined to make a compelling performer who immediately captured the attention of fans. Along with Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt, two other young stars seizing an opportunity to showcase themselves to a new audience, he formed Jurassic Express, an immensely popular trio of competitors looking to make an even bigger jump in 2020.

As the year came to a close, though it was Maxwell Jacob Friedman, known more simply as MJF, that had the wrestling world buzzing. A virtuoso heel whose devotion to his character is something straight out of the 1970s, he set himself up for long-term success via a heel turn on friend Cody and a rivalry that is likely to culminate in a high-profile pay-per-view showdown that will only keep his star burning bright.

Santana and Ortiz, Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc and the dynamic Private Party are other young stars who saw exposure in significant matches and segments as AEW sought to present as many fresh faces as possible to its welcoming audience.

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October 2 marked the beginning of the Wednesday Night War, a battle for sports-entertainment supremacy as AEW introduced the world to its weekly broadcast, Dynamite, and WWE counter programmed with NXT on the same night, at the same time. The first shots in the proverbial war created genuine excitement among fans across social media.

Dynamite demolished NXT on night one, drawing 1.4 million viewers to its opposition’s 891,000. It was a monumental victory for the upstart company and evidence that there was a fan base eager for something different than the WWE product it had been force-fed over the last 18 years.


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As the year came to an end, NXT drew closer with AEW before handily defeating the company on December 18. While that would seem to indicate fans have navigated back to the WWE-owned program, that show featured two high-profile title bouts while AEW closed out the show with one of its lesser star-studded efforts.

Competition has historically created a hotter, more must-see product and greater creativity from both sides. Hopefully, the back-and-forth nature of the ratings war as the year drew to a close with spark greater consistency from both shows and even more fun for fans seeking the very best in professional wrestling.

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One thing AEW brought back to the national spotlight was a renewed emphasis on so-called ‘blood and guts’ wrestling.

Beginning with the brotherly battle between Cody and Dustin Rhodes at Double or Nothing, then moving on to the aforementioned battle between Janela and Moxley at Fyter Fest, the company showed no hesitation in providing fans a bloody, violent product when the situation called for it. At All Out on August 31, Havoc, Darby and Janela competing in a Cracker Barrel Clash that was as fun and creative as it was violent and barbaric. 

The company set the bar even higher with a match that split the audience and left some genuinely uncomfortable watching. At Full Gear in November, Moxley and Omega brought their rivalry to a close with an unsanctioned Lights Out match that included glass, tables, chairs, and an overabundance of barbed wire, including a bed of the weapon that inflicted pain on both competitors.

Moxley won that match but the reaction to the match differed depending on the opinion of those asked. Some looked at it as a hardcore classic, others were turned off by the sheer brutality involved.

As 2020 approaches, it will be important for AEW to emphasize that particular style of wrestling only when the story calls for it. Overexposing it or crossing the line too much will lessen the effect or turn off the audience, neither of which can be afforded as the company continues to establish itself.

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If there is one issue with the AEW product that needs to be addressed sooner than later, it is the inconsistency within the women’s division. Rankings and rules appear to change on a whim, as do pushes for individual talent.

Riho, the current AEW women’s champion, has been the only real consistency. The Japanese competitor upset Nyla Rose to win the title and successfully defended against the likes of Britt Baker and Emi Sakura before disappearing from television to honor commitments in her home country.

That led to AEW officials introducing the likes of Shanna, Jamie Hayter and Kris Statlander. It brought back Hikaru Shida for a series of broadcasts and heated up Baker in time for her to sit atop the AEW rankings.

Unfortunately, the division proved messy, with no real rhyme or reason for anything to happen. Sakura jumped the line and received a pay-per-view title opportunity at Full Gear on the strength of one victory on an obscure episode of AEW Dark. Baker and Shida traded the top spot in the rankings, despite the latter missing months of ring time with the company. Statlander signed with AEW and immediately picked up a few wins, including those over Shida and Baker, to earn the top spot in the rankings.

Instead of her championship opportunity occurring on the January 1 episode of Dynamite, as advertised, company owner Tony Khan revealed on Twitter that prior commitments would keep Statlander out of the match. Instead, Shida, Baker and Rose will challenge Riho for the title in a four-way, with the winner facing Statlander a week later.

Why even announce the match if Statlander was known to have prior commitments that would keep her from competing? And how badly does that title look when the top contender would rather compete somewhere else than fight for it?

Those small inconsistencies, coupled with a lack of character development has hurt a division that has a ton of talent but not enough continuity for fans to really buy into it in the manner they have the singles and tag team divisions on the men’s side of things.

Fix that and the company’s product would be even more engaging.

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In 2019, AEW exploded onto the wrestling landscape, forever changing the industry by providing fans and wrestlers alike an alternative to the watered-down and, at times, passionless WWE product. The hard work and dedication of a management team made up primarily of wrestlers have made for a show that fans can invest in and stars they genuinely care about.

Late in the year, Dynamite felt as though it went off the rails one more than one occasion, with unfocused rivalries or too many competitors doing too many things, resulting in a messy and frantic show rather than the focused broadcasts they produced earlier in the run.

Shoring that up and figuring out exactly what it wants its women’s division to look like, and who should star in it, are the two biggest tasks facing AEW management as the new year arrives.

While their fan base enjoys them, and social media certainly gets a kick out of them as well, lessening the little jabs at WWE and NXT and focusing on its own show, its own stars and its own storylines would benefit the company too. After all, why waste the breath reminding fans there is another product they could be watching at the same time?

The AEW product provided the complacent wrestling industry a much-needed punch in the gut, proving that McMahon is not the only billionaire with the means to provide fans a take on the art form. Now, it must take the next step by looking at things in the long-term, booking things out months at a time and providing that coherent storytelling fans are not always getting elsewhere.

If it can do that, AEW Dynamite should be back on top of the Wednesday night ratings war in no time and force greater urgency from WWE as the battle for the hearts of wrestling fans everywhere rages on.

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