Three Secret Weapons WWE could use in its ‘War’ with AEW

WWE has been the sole dominating force in the wrestling industry for decades. Many promotions have stepped up and tried to challenge them but none have really been successful in gaining actual ground – until All Elite Wrestling entered the picture.

In just two years, AEW has rapidly grown as the biggest name in pro wrestling to challenge WWE and they are doing it their way. They’ve proven to be another alternative for fans who’ve grown bored and frustrated with the stale WWE content over the recent years.

So whether Vince McMahon wants to admit it or not, they have a war on their hands with real competition – and this is not one that they can just buy out. He may not have thought of them as serious rivals before. But after AEW snagged CM Punk, Adam Cole, and Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan), you have to think he’s starting to get concerned.

WWE is a powerhouse that understands when they have to adapt and adjust to change and there are still ways they can stay far ahead of their competition.

Production Quality

Right off the bat, the production value in both companies could not be any more different. WWE’s presentation is much more colorful and grand. They have the capability of producing a great-looking show week in and week out.

They have the luxury of building awesome set designs, fancy lighting, visual FX, and pyro! They’re really good at making the wrestlers feel like absolute rock stars – although, they can really ease up on the camera cuts.

But they have a lot of room to get even more creative with their production budget. They can use it to create new, fresh segments or present wrestlers differently. WWE has a clear lead in this area and will continue to serve as an advantage for them moving forward.

WWE’s Women’s Division

Sure, both promotions haven’t been booking their female wrestlers all that well. But WWE still has a huge advantage with having the best women’s division in the industry.

Let’s just look at the names – Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair (after this past Smackdown, that might change), Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Rhea Ripley, and Asuka. The list could go on and on.

WWE’s women’s division is absolutely stacked. What’s holding them back? That’s right, you guessed it: booking. The promotions presentation of the female wrestlers has been so poor, it’s almost disrespectful.

Let’s take the Queen’s Crown tournament (essentially the Queen of the Ring) for example. WWE could’ve used this to build a star but they fumbled it. The results were mind-boggling. Many of the women’s matches didn’t even go over 5 minutes. Throughout the whole tournament, it never once felt like it was a big deal.

We’re not saying that Zelina Vega doesn’t deserve to be the queen. She absolutely does! But it just didn’t feel earned. We know every wrestler in that tournament is extremely talented, but WWE didn’t give the time of day to fully showcase everyone’s abilities. Hence, why this tournament failed to do what it could’ve done.

It’s one thing to have nice things, but what makes them last is taking good care of them. WWE, you have 5+ hours of content in a week. That’s more than enough time to show off how crazy talented your women’s division is.

Diverse Wrestlers

Got to give WWE credit, they have a very diverse roster. They have wrestlers from Japan, Samoa, Australia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, China, and more.

But one of the things people have fighting for is allowing more black wrestlers to get their shine. It’s been a hot topic for all promotions because when you think of the most popular wrestlers today, who comes to mind? What do they look like? Exactly.

When Kofi Kingston won the coveted WWE Championship in 2019, he was only the SECOND black wrestler to earn that title (the first was The Rock). WWE has so many talented black wrestlers on their roster – Bobby Lashley, The New Day, Sasha Banks, Street Profits, Keith Lee, Ricochet, Naomi. Just to name a few.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to see them all. WWE will either mess up their booking, like with Ricochet and Keith Lee, or they don’t get booked at all. It’s a big missed opportunity that is holding them back in a time where fans are strongly pushing for it.

But WWE is slowly starting to realize the effects of having new, fresh faces in the main event picture. In 2021 alone, Bobby Lashley and now, Big E, have won the WWE Championship. Both wrestlers during their title reign absolutely impressed. These wrestlers will help carry the company to new heights.

WWE has all the tools they need to stay ahead of AEW in this wrestling war. They just need to realize the potential in what they already have. Most importantly, they need to allow themselves to take creative risks and give us new things. It helps the product as a whole and develops new stars in the process.