All Elite Wrestling is heading into a new year, and just like the past year’s in the young company’s existence, this is an important one. 2025 saw AEW have some major shows and important business announcements, but the company continues to quickly plateau after some of these moments and developments. AEW is heading in the right direction, but there’s an opportunity to continue to improve. Especially in today’s pro wrestling industry, where an alternative is needed more than ever. Looking ahead to 2026, here are 3 things that AEW needs to do to continue moving the proverbial ball forward.
Continue with the partnerships
AEW has done an excellent job building coalitions with other major promotions in wrestling. Their partnership with NJPW and CMLL has led to some amazing showcases on weekly television and PPV. There is a conversation to have about whether these partnerships are truly helping the other companies, as more stars from those organizations make the jump to AEW. But, leveraging the fanbases of multiple promotions continues to help expose the product to new fans. AEW isn’t going to take fans away from WWE, but what the company can do is build its fan base on the backs of other organizations that are looking to do the same.
Find the mix between great wrestling and entertainment
AEW is “where the best wrestle” and that is a hard to debate point. The company continues to put on some of the best wrestling in the world. AEW World’s End is set to feature Konosuke Takeshita versus Kazuchika Okada which has the potential to be one of the biggest of the year. AEW finds a way to put on great matches each week, leveraging several of the talented performers on the roster.
However, that hasn’t translated into a growing viewership both in-person and on television. There’s something amiss with AEW programming and some point toward the ability to build the types of storylines that lock people in week after week. This doesn’t mean to do less wrestling, because that’s far from the case. Instead, find a way to build that mix which generates long term investment and fan growth. There’s something there that is just quite missing.
Find a way to embrace the mainstream
This isn’t about the mythical mainstream fan. Instead, this point looks toward crossover opportunities that can bring in a fan based on the interests in popular people across society. Hate it or not, WWE does an excellent job generating headlines and attention with some of the personalities who are brought in. While that has led to its own issues at times, there’s a space where this can work. AEW has brought in mainstream stars in the past but developing a consistent strategy to leverage those crossovers would continue to help.
The wrestling business needs AEW. Competition is a vital part of any industry. As AEW heads into 2026, here are some things the promotion can do to continue to build on what was a strong year.