AEW: How constructive criticism will help All Elite Wrestling grow

Last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi arrived with quite a bit of hype. Like a first round draft pick playing his first game in the big leagues.

Whether you were excited for the tribute to the Memphis’ Legends of Wrestling, the latest happenings in the Dark Order saga, or Jon Moxley’s decision to join or reject Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle; this episode had the potential to boost AEW’s momentum ahead of its Revolution pay-per-view next month.

It had its positive moments, that’s for sure.

Even though I telegraphed Moxley cracking a champagne bottle over Le Champion’s head like a professional boxer fighting someone who learned the sweet science by watching YouTube videos; I still popped for it.

Adam Page not paying back Private Party the $12 he owes them and spiraling deeper into heel territory which looks like it will culminate with a full turn at Revolution? Loved it. Also enjoyed the match he had with his soon-to-be estranged fellow Elite member Kenny Omega.

Hell, I even enjoyed seeing ‘Leaping’ Lanny Poffo on my television screen for the first time in ages.

While it’s great to see ‘The Genius’ again, it was the highly anticipated match between number one contender Kris Statlander and Riho which really helped create the hype around this episode.

On the positive side of things, there’s the continuously brilliant work Riho is doing in the squared circle as she faces off against bigger and stronger opposition every week. Her ability to act as a constant underdog while squeaking out victories using her agility, ring prowess and veteran presence is akin to legendary diminutive wrestlers like Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio.

Across from her stood Kris Statlander: a strong, athletic and dynamic behemoth who looks to be the future of AEW’s women’s division. Statlander might be a bit of an oddity, character-wise, but there’s no denying her skill set.

What seemed like it could have been a clean contest between two of the division’s – and professional wrestling’s – brightest young stars wound up serving as a platform to set up the unveiling of Luther as the new member of the Nightmare Collective and set up a tag-team match for next week.

A squandered opportunity to build up this oft-criticized women’s division.

This was to be expected from the moment Brandi joined the broadcast booth and proceeded to berate Excalibur about his personal hygiene.

Sadly, what started off as a well-worked match fizzled out the minute Awesome Kong and Mel walked down the ramp.  As you can imagine, the Internet – and yours truly – did not appreciate the Nightmare Collective’s skulduggery and the horrendous finish that followed.

While I could use the rest of this piece of content to over-analyze everything that went wrong with the final part of Riho and Statlander’s match, I think the keyboard warriors of the world have already said everything that needs to be said.

What’s crucial to AEW’s growth – and something they evoked in their unique selling proposition – is their ability to listen to their audience. Whether that’s the arena’s audience or its myriad of fans all over the world playing head booker and buying merchandise.

The Internet will always be the Internet and there’s no way to please everyone.

Having said that, when the majority of the audience dislikes a particular angle, it is imperative to listen. It is also vital for us, as an audience, to share our constructive criticism in order to help All Elite Wrestling grow into something we can all enjoy.

There will likely come a time where we won’t enjoy the direction AEW is taking. Boring angles, botched finishes and unwarranted pushes.

Without sounding too pessimistic, there are ebbs and flows to every business. Sometimes, they are unnoticeable drops in performance and sometimes, they destroy the very fabric of an organization.

The least we can do is mitigate that risk by having open discussions free of toxic behavior.

The type of behavior that sees us focus on ratings instead of providing feedback on the product. The kind of attitude that has us scold fellow wrestling fans when they are merely sharing their opinion.

Again, it seems as though the All Elite brass have their ear to the ground and their fingers on the pulse. Their willingness to listen to fans is a rare commodity and is something that should be applauded.

This business has long-relied on crowd reactions to determine how they should book their events. All Elite Wrestling is merely implementing this method in the digital age and will master it in due time.

In order to achieve that, it will need our help.