We’ll know if AEW can dethrone WWE in 2020, not 2019

Double or Nothing was a very successful first show for All Elite Wrestling and has the entire wrestling world wondering if AEW can dethrone WWE.

Throughout its long history, World Wrestling Entertainment has always been better when there was competition. The Attitude Era, which is when WWE peaked, was so successful because of the rivalry with WCW. Now, 20 years later, wrestling fans are hoping that AEW can bring out the same fire.

All Elite Wrestling, spearheaded by Cody and Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks and billionaires Tony and Shahid Khan, debuted its first pay-per-view during Memorial Day Weekend, dubbed Double or Nothing, to massive critical and financial success.

The initial response from the wrestling community is that AEW just shifted the entire landscape of professional wrestling and that WWE is in some serious trouble. It is not that wrestling fans want to see WWE crumble, it is that wrestling fans want to see change. 

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WWE still has a massive following and despite how much criticism it can get online, still churns out great moments. Heck, just look at NXT since Triple H took over. NXT is the best part of WWE and is more in-line with what wrestling fans want to see: quality wrestling and storytelling.

That is why AEW has been so well-received and because of Vince McMahon’s stubbornness, many people think that WWE will not make the necessary changes and AEW can rise to the top. We still have a very long time until that happens and quite frankly, we don’t even know yet if AEW can reach WWE’s level.

This might seem crazy to say after Double or Nothing was such a massive success but we are not even close to knowing if AEW can reach that upper echelon of financial gain and widespread popularity.

Will it be insanely popular with the die-hard crowd? Absolutely. Will it make a lot of money? You bet. But whether or not it can compete and actually dethrone, WWE will not be clear until 2020.

Why? That is when AEW’s weekly episodic contract with TNT kicks in. That is when AEW will be tasked with the same challenges that WWE is tasked with every week: producing a weekly wrestling show that feels fresh every single week.

Of course, AEW is going to put together great matches in nearly every single match when they only have to book a show a month. If WWE followed the same formula and just focused on the wrestling, then they easily could thrive in this format with how much talent is on the roster.

The real challenge is producing something every single week that won’t give too much away, but can advance storylines at the same time. Can it be done in a better manner than WWE? Absolutely. Does that mean that AEW will crack the code? Not necessarily.

There is no reason that AEW cannot succeed in this format, but we truly will not know until we see it. How will the fans respond when The Young Bucks can’t put on the same spot-fest match every single week because it will get repetitive? How will the fans react when not every match is an instant classic?

There are plenty of wrestling promotions out there that put on great pay-per-view events with great wrestling. There is only one wrestling promotion that has been able to produce a weekly show for 30+ years on national television.

Right now, it is that weekly format that is arguably dragging WWE down; fans are overexposed and there is just too much to consume.

Can AEW thrive in that format, which is becoming harder and harder to do? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.