Dear fans: Wrestling brand loyalty is not a virtue

The WWE vs AEW war has been officially raging since All Elite Wrestling was initially announced on January 1, 2019.

There were hints of it before, with rumors about trademarks being filed and members of The Elite leaving Ring of Honor Wrestling. But once AEW was something tangible, the conflict really picked up.

For many fans, there is a hope that this will end up like WWE’s feud with the new defunct WCW. Famously, the two companies had their flagship shows go head to head on Monday nights, resulting in the infamous Monday Night Wars. During that time wrestling changed, for better or worse and had a return to contemporary pop culture relevancy.

But with that comes an all-too-expected result: a form of corporate tribalism among wrestling fans, split between WWE and AEW, with no likelihood of peace between the two.

It’s not everyone, certainly. I know many people including myself just excited about the prospect of what AEW will bring to TV starting this October and how it will affect the world of wrestling at large. But for those who have drawn the battle lines, it is not just about wanting to enjoy their respective companies.

It is about attacking the “enemy” corporation, defending their own against all criticism and taking any small sign they can and extrapolating it into proof that, within 3 to 5 years, only one company will be left standing.

This is relegated to wrestling, of course, where there are many long ongoing splits between fans of particular brands. Video games had their console wars, computers have Mac vs PC and let’s not talk about sports rivalries or make-up brands. But wrestling is what we’re talking about because, one, this is a wrestling website and two because despite both AEW and WWE claiming they are not against one another or in competition, they very clearly are.

It’s also because of the new discussion that comes from WWE’s Seth Rollins taking to social media to proclaim WWE has the “Best pro wrestling on the planet. Period.” while referencing the under-performing Stomping Grounds show.

He butted heads with several other wrestlers on Twitter and the whole thing likely would have blown over … except in the midst of all this, Sports Illustrated aired a podcast where Rollins had some choice words for his former stablemate Jon Moxley, known in WWE as Dean Ambrose.

"Ambrose can do what he wants. He’s a big boy, he’s got his big boy pants on. He can go out there and say whatever he wants, but the bottom line is not everybody’s equipped to handle the rigors of WWE and the schedule and how it affects you mentally and emotionally. And Ambrose gave everything he had to the company for the entire time he was here.He put his heart and soul into the travel, into the schedule, into the injuries, into the work in the ring and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, he took his ball and he went home, or he went elsewhere at least. And I think it’s a little presumptuous of him to get on a podcast and talk down about the company that gave him such an opportunity."

While there’s always the question of how much of this is and isn’t a work (it is wrestling after all), Seth’s comments didn’t sit right with a lot of fans.

A day later, WWE announced they would be breaking ground by streaming the Evolve 10th Anniversary show. The companies have had a working relationship since 2015, but this is the first time an Evolve show will air on the WWE Network live, with a card featuring many Evolve alum who now work in NXT.

The timing, however, feels a bit odd, as that particular Evolve show will be airing directly against AEW’s Fight for the Fallen, a charity show for the victims of gun violence.

Cue renewed hostilities. As if they ever end.

All of this is very rote corporate competition. There’s nothing particularly revelatory here, just the fact that both WWE and AEW are companies who are fighting for the same viewing audience.

While WWE claims they aren’t worried about AEW, any savvy fan has known that’s bluster and can see it in moves WWE has made in recent months. AEW claims there’s no ill will, but has taken its fair share of shots at WWE. Of course, both companies are going to try and whip up their fanbases.

But folks, I need to say this very plainly here:

Brands are not your friends.

I repeat: Brands are not your friends.

Brands have no emotional connection to you.

Your brand loyalty is not a virtue and it does not make you better than anyone else.

It needs to be said because, again, it is a problem that exists in the world at large. Brands want your money. They want your attention. They’re going to do whatever it takes to get those things. The marketing techniques that companies will use to manipulate us, to a high degree of success, when explained can sound like supervillainy.

It’s no shock that in the age of social media, one thing brands want to do is try to get you to see them as friends. As fellow users on whatever site you’re browsing. They appeal to what’s called our “lizard brains,” the impulsive, illogical part that drives us beneath all of our intelligence and logic. If the brain is an M&M, the lizard brain is the chocolate part: it’s not the part you’re aware of most of the time, but it’s the most substantial piece.

The lizard brain doesn’t want to be hurt. It just wants emotional satisfaction. It’s greedy and self-centered. So when a company is using social media and the idea of being your friend, the idea of a wrestling “universe” that you can be a part of and belong to and feel a sense of community with, that’d ping the lizard brain pretty hard.

Lizard brain also jones pretty hard for contrast. So company versus company is also pretty appealing to it. Possibly why despite all their outward claims, WWE and AEW are making it clear they are in competition and implying you have to choose one or the other.

But we aren’t just our lizard brains. We have the capacity to see when we’re being manipulated. And we don’t have to fall for it.

I am not saying you can’t prefer WWE or AEW. I’m not even saying you have to care about either, if that’s what you want. I’m certainly going to be okay with people liking both, since that’s where I’m sitting right now. I’m absolutely not going to say you can’t criticize one or the other for their product or for business decisions they have made or may make in the future.

What I am saying is that blind loyalty to a brand, to the point that you ignore their faults completely, is foolish. And that attempting to appear morally superior because of the wrestling you consume is pointless. There is no purely moral consumption in wrestling. Or in life. Human beings are flawed and messy and so are our enterprises.

We are living in a time where there is so much wrestling out there. Just about anything you want from wrestling can be found, either in a major company like WWE, AEW, NJPW, Stardom, you name it, or somewhere in the indies.

Look at the line-up of shows that were taking place during WrestleMania Week 2019 and you get an incredible cross section of serious and fun and weird. Some of the best technical wrestling was taking place while at the same time Orange Cassidy ran a show that featured a “We want dodgeball!” chant.

And that’s what we should be celebrating. That all of that great wrestling is out there and now we have more choices, another major company doing their thing and becoming accessible to people who might not be able to or want to pay for a streaming service. That talent we love and champion are going to get exposure and money. That more jobs behind the scenes are being created.

It doesn’t have to be all sunshine and daisies and get along, but it also doesn’t have to be throwing insults and wishing a company the worst without regard for how many people will be affected by it going out of business. Critique and even complain if you need to, I’m sure not going to stop, but don’t posture it as “us against them” or forget that no company out there is perfect.

Wrestling isn’t a brand. When it’s done right it’s the best thing there is. So let’s do what we can to make it the best it can be, no matter where our loyalties lie.