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COMPARING AEW TODAY TO WWF IN THE 90s, DOES WWE NEED A RUSSO, AEW PUSHING YOUNGER TALENT IF BIG NAMES COME IN AND MORE

By Dave Scherer on 2021-08-07 10:08:00

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Do you think you can draw a parallel between the names you mentioned today (Punk, Bryan, Wyatt etc) leaving WWE and going to AEW, and names like Jericho, Austin and Foley leaving WCW to go to the WWF in the 90s and becoming huge stars and integral parts of arguably WWF's creative peak and mainstream importance in the Attitude Era?

Depending on whether AEW can get close to WWE, oh yeah we may be able to make that comparison down the road.  The difference would be WWF was THE promotion, then fell on hard times before reclaiming it’s spot at the top.  In this scenario, if AEW overtakes WWE it would be due to a colossal dropping of the ball from WWE.  If it happens, it would probably be the best thing that could happen for the business because Vince McMahon has been on a largely boring autopilot for the last decade.

With AEW doing well over 1 million viewers for 4 weeks in a row they are rolling. I I have also noticed that 18 to 49 coveted demo they are catching the once flagship WWE Raw. Do you foresee in the near or distant future that AEW, a 2 yr old start from scratch company, catching RAW or Smackdown in this demo? Scary for a company that is not competition.

Of course, it was ridiculous for Vince McMahon to make that comment about competition, it was pure hubris.  Mike Johnson and I talked about this a lot on our show on Wednesday if you want to give it a listen.  In a nutshell, with Monday Night Football returning soon, yes I think there’s a decent chance AEW could catch WWE in the demo.  I hope that they do, as I said above.

Tommy End, Andrade, possibly CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Adam Cole, Ruby Riott, Kendall Windham and Ric Flair. This is a partial list of the talent that AEW is rumored to be adding or has already added. Toss in New Japan guest stars including Tanahashi and you've got a roster of TV talent mighty enough to measure up to WWE in star power. That's not even counting other names like Christian Cage, Paul Wight and Mark Henry already in the mix as wrestlers and announcers.  Problem is what happens to guys like Jungle Boy, Brian Pillman Jr. Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin et al when all these big names start showing up? Talents like Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss who supposedly are in a feud now haven't been on TV in forever. I've been critical of AEW but one good thing they have is a young roster of talent who were given time to shine. Will having a ton of WWE guys end up making AEW into WWE light and bury the younger talent who were really getting the limelight?

I think that the young talent will rise.  Keep in mind, Rampage is coming soon.  That’s another hour of TV.  I believe if AEW brings in older, established talent, they will still keep their eye on developing the younger workers.  It’s a win-win to me.

Given what's going on in the WWE, does Vince need a new Vince Russo?  Despite how Russo ended up, the fact is that Vince Russo was the only person who went to Vince McMahon and said, in effect, "The reason we're doing badly is because the product we are putting out stinks, and we need to overhaul it."   Isn't that exactly what Vince needs?  Someone who will go to him, tell him the bald truth about the product, and propose a new direction for the company?   

A lot of people try to get that message to Vince, delicately of course.  The only reason it worked when Russo did it was because WWE was losing badly to WCW.  That led to Vince leaving his comfort zone.  The second he won the war, he went right back to delivering the product he likes.  Russo wouldn’t be able to do today what he did in the nineties.  Vince doesn’t need to listen now.  He did then.

I saw that Drake Wuertz is running for office in Florida.  Would you vote for him?

Uh, no.  I am a Centrist so I choose the most competent and intelligent candidate in each race when I vote (and sometimes that means the lesser of two evils).  I don’t know who Wuertz is running against and yet I already know I would vote for that person over him.  To me, people like him are part of the problem in this country, not part of the solution.

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