10 things AEW is doing right? As The Simpsons' Ralph Wiggum would say, “That’s unpossible.” Nevertheless, it’s true and WrestleLamia will show you ten things AEW is doing right, and that could help elevate it out of the slump it’s in.

WrestleLamia knows that AEW isn’t the thriving upstart promotion it was in 2019 and 2020. In fact, we recently produced a video “The Sad Decline of AEW.”

However, the company hasn’t gone belly-up yet and the following ten items suggest some hope if Tony Khan can utilize these elements to stage a comeback.

The AEW Continental Classic

The AEW Continental Classic Tournament is a good example of AEW’s willingness to try something different to create a fresh platform for its wrestlers. AEW’s greatest strength has always been the quality of its wrestlers and its fanbase’s love for solid wrestling matches. Whether or not you think AEW has too many titles, the Continental Classic is an energetic idea that will combine New Japan Pro Wrestling’'s Strong Openweight Championship, the Ring of Honor World Championship, and AEW’s new “Continental Championship” into one belt.

The idea is to create a belt that can be defended in three promotions and build interest in all three promotions. This is a tournament that many American fans haven’t seen due to it being based on points rather than sudden elimination. It’s not only created some exciting match-ups but utilized the points system to make it harder to guess who will make it to the finals.

Using Big Men Better

AEW is finally utilizing its big men as more than enhancement talent. Wardlow’s recent renewed push, along with Big Bill and Ricky Starks capturing the AEW World Tag Team Championship, suggests AEW finally realizes that booking capable big men is different than Vince McMahon’s traditional booking of big men where he pushed anyone with a physique, regardless of talent. AEW pushes talented big men whose push isn't based only on their size.

Solid Pay-Per-Views

AEW hasn’t let up in ensuring its pay-per-views overdeliver. While critics bemoan the shows for running too long (imagine that, a promotion that delivers quantity and quality), AEW features many matches that mean something in AEW's storyline world. The promotion also avoids filler such as repetitive or meaningless hype videos.

The biggest example of fans’ satisfaction with AEW's shows can be seen by how AEW has increased the number of shows without any noticeable drop in buy rates. $49.95 is a big price for shows, especially when fans know the WWE offers its premium live events on Peacock for roughly $9.95 in addition to the WWE Network's content.

The Devil Mystery

Wrestling fans love surprises and mysteries if they’re well-booked and have a strong payoff. So far, The Devil mystery has kept fans guessing and provided them with some excitement any time the masked man or his minions show up. While the storyline’s reveal will determine whether or not it was praiseworthy, so far, there have been no signs of it failing.

AEW’s Tag Division

AEW’s tag team division was one of the things that made AEW stand out from the WWE. AEW has treated its tag team championship as a main event caliber title and brought in many talented teams to compete in it. While adding the Trios Championship hasn’t created as much excitement as the traditional tag titles, the potential is there, and recent developments suggest AEW is working to build it up.

“Captain Charisma” has never looked better or been so involved as a key player in AEW. He excels at playing that guy you want to punch in the face, and he also has added a sinister layer to his character where he knows how to manipulate people into doing his bidding, even when it’s obvious he’s using them. While Cage’s storyline is sometimes predictable with the number of people who turn heel and join him (such as Wayne’s mom), his overall work is a highlight.

Swerve Strickland

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AEW has finally started booking Swerve Strickland right. Swerve has been in the company since March 2022, but despite winning the AEW World Tag Team Championship with Keith Lee, he seemed an afterthought until he began feuding with Sting and Darby Allin earlier this year. Things kicked into high gear during Swerve’s brutal feud with “Hangman” Adam Page (including their incredibly bloody Texas Death Match at Full Gear). Now, Swerve finally seems like the main eventer fans have always seen in him, whether he remains a heel or turns babyface.

The Don Callis Family

Manager Don Callis is a reminder that there’s always room for managers in professional wrestling, as long as they know how to talk and raise the fans’ blood pressure. Callis can do both and he’s a rarity in today’s wrestling world—a manager who can play a chickensh*t one moment yet do something violent that reminds you not to underestimate him. The beauty of Callis’s character is that he fulfills the traditional heel manager role—taking wrestlers who aren’t quite there on the microphone or never will be, and serving as their scumbag spokesperson. The result has been that Callis has taken some talent that was lost in the crowd and AEW and helped them stand out.

MJF

AEW Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman remains the center of the AEW Galaxy and incredibly, he’s found a way to work as a babyface by continuing to play a scumbag by qualifying things by saying he’s the fans’ scumbag. MJF has shown his versatility in doing this while changing nothing about his in-ring style. AEW has developed some interesting stories for MJF too, most of all his friendship with Adam Cole. Despite some major obstacles in the storyline (chief among them Cole’s recent injury), MJF and Cole have kept it thriving.

Time Management

Is two hours enough time for a wrestling show in a company that seems to have a cast of thousands? No. However, AEW makes the most of things with Dynamite and its pay-per-views, incorporating a healthy number of matches, forwarding storylines through interviews, backstage segments, and videos, and keeping things moving so fans aren’t reaching for the remote. AEW still has to work on making sure it utilizes its biggest stars more (especially on Rampage and Collision) but fans never have to worry about endless hype videos or a bare minimum of matches.

Is AEW firing on all cylinders? Unfortunately not, and it’s also dealing with a WWE that’s enjoying a long-awaited renaissance. Nevertheless, AEW has some strong things going for it. What do you think? Are there any highlights we didn’t mention? Do you disagree with any of our picks?

Image Credits: AEW