Franklin: AEW Is Not Just A T-Shirt Company

When businesses refuse to change with the times, the die. Is AEW showing the wrestling world how to evolve?

In early February, AEW held an elaborate press conference in Las Vegas to hype their Double or Nothing Show. The whole night was memorable for a handful of reasons, yet it was a sentence from Cody that has been ringing in my ears since. Dressed to the 9s and looking more like a hotshot comic book hero out sans disguise than a wrestler, he approached the mic and asked: “if not us, who? And if not now… when?”

Recalling it still makes my heart race, and I am reminded of all the seemingly invincible companies that have fallen throughout American history. Sears, not Wal-Mart used to be the undisputed retail king. Now, look at them. Remember Blockbuster? What about Pan Am airlines? Kodak and Polaroid? You were probably bemusing the fall of Toys R Us on social media when it collapsed a few years back, but when was the last time you actually stepped foot in one? When was the last time you had actually given them your business?

Borders, Tower freakin’ Records and General Motors, all blown aside. Replaced. Forgotten.

As I list these companies, I realize they all have another thing in common. One thread that binds them all into a combustible package. They all built a sizable lead over their competition, grew complacent and refused to change with the times. Failed to innovate and remain creative, thus cutting themselves off at the legs.

That sound like any company you know? If that doesn’t scream WWE, I don’t know what does. I don’t know Vince McMahon. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the same state as him, let alone in the same room. Yet we can figure out certain aspects of owners by looking at how their companies do business. Think about Tesla. We know what they are about because Elon Musk is so prominent in our news feeds and headlines. What about your favorite sports teams? The owners’ willingness to spend and take risks is a direct reflection of their values as a human being.

WWE is stubborn, constantly bucking against what fans want to see, seemingly because it just can. All the while, the company tells us that (feel free to read this in Triple H’s voice in your head) we the fans don’t know what we want, only they do. We don’t understand “the business” and Vince, he’s been in the game longer than anyone.

He’s the only Game in Town for a reason. Well, not anymore, pal.

Decades ago, the idea of titans of the industry falling would have been laughable. But times change. So do people, and what they want to see out of their entertainment. Gone are the days of laugh tracks and segregated comedy shows. Recall the countless empires that have come and gone; the ruthless dictators that seemed immortal, only to have their outdated ideas get recontextualized and swept to the side.

Vince is supposed to be more irreplaceable than these humans? Get real. Maybe in his own mind, but the reality will be cold and taste a lot like black and gold.

AEW has the flexibility and size to respond to crowd reaction with haste. While the WWE can’t seem to tell a good story to save its tanking ratings–to save its life–creative from the upstart will come from the performers themselves. The guys and gals who’re feeling the response will get to react to it, free from the worry that has crippled the WWE and their ability to tell compelling stories.

Many have said that All Elite Wrestling is just a t-shirt company. That’s already proven to be laughable. Is AEW guaranteed to take down WWE? Of course not. Yet the company seems poised to, at the very least, sweep the leg. And who knows where this thing will go once it’s on the proverbial ground.