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AEW FAIRWAY TO HELL WAS AWESOME, AEW SHOULD LEAN INTO UNIQUE, CRAZY LOCATIONS MORE OFTEN

Professional wrestling has always thrived when it breaks routine. Arena shows are the backbone of pro wrestling television and stadiums are the hallmark of the largest events, but the moments fans remember most, discuss and become nostalgic for are often the ones that feel unpredictable, the episodes that look different, sound different, and carry an intimate atmosphere that couldn’t be recreated anywhere else.

That’s exactly why AEW Collision: Fairway to Hell ruled.  It fn' ruled.

In an era where weekly wrestling television can sometimes blur together visually, Fairway to Hell felt refreshingly experimental. The golf-course setting instantly separated it from the standard “lights, ramp, barricade, ring” presentation fans see every week on every pro wrestling show.  It gave AEW something wrestling desperately needs more often: environmental identity.  

The concept worked because it embraced chaos, especially during Darby Allin vs. Pac with all its hardcore nuttiness without abandoning the core of what makes wrestling entertaining. The setting created an atmosphere that was part event, part spectacle, and absolute pro wrestling nuttiness.  Fans weren’t just watching matches, they were watching wrestlers interact with an entirely different environment. That novelty matters.

One of the biggest strengths of wrestling historically has been location-based identity. WCW had the beach aesthetic of Spring Breakout with a pool floating in the water.  FMW did that eons before, with explosions in the water.  WWE transformed from arenas to larger-than-life stages for WrestleMania. ECW made the 2300 Arena a literal character in their TV series and later, made NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom feel mythical. Even cinematic matches during the pandemic era proved that wrestling becomes more memorable when the environment itself becomes part of the storytelling.  Hell, fans still show up at the Hardy Compound seeking a view, not that they should be doing that, but that's another story.  

The reality is that when pro wrestling is presented somewhere different and unique, it invokes immediate iconic imagery and just drills right past the mundane into the fun zone.  I was there when Lex Luger slammed Yokozuna on the deck of the U.S.S Intrepid in July 1993.  It wasn't the greatest event, but the atmosphere and setting are what made it what it was and the footage still looks damn incredible and fun.

Fairway to Hell tapped into that same intersection of fun and incredible.

The visuals alone helped. Open space providing a contrast between wrestling intensity and country-club aesthetics. It created a weird tonal collision that somehow fit AEW’s personality perfectly. AEW at its best often feels like controlled unpredictability, and this event leaned into that identity instead of sanding it down.  More importantly, the show felt fun.  That’s an underrated word in modern wrestling discourse. Fans analyze ratings, match quality, business metrics, and booking philosophy constantly, but sometimes the most important question is simple: Was it entertaining in a unique way?

Fairway to Hell absolutely was and I want to see AEW, when they can, lean into those sort of environments.

TNA's Nic Nemeth joked he wanted to see AEW in Casa Bonita, the infamous Mexican fantasyland restaurant made immortal by South Park.  Having visited the place, I say, "F*** yeah, I want to see that!"  Darby Allin taking a plunge off the same waterfall Eric Cartman leapt from?  Yeah!  

I once attended a WWE Shotgun Saturday Night set up downstairs under Madison Square Garden in Penn Station.  Why can't AEW do that, or close down Times Square? 

Why couldn't AEW have a Casino Battle Royal on the Las Vegas strip or Freemont Street?

Why couldn't they invade Beantown's Boston Common? 

Why can't they invoke the grittiness of The Warriors with a showdown on the Coney Island beach?

Weirs Beach is an incredible summer town in New Hampshire with the world's largest arcade Funspot (as seen in King of Kong), a drive-in and the incredible Lake Winnipesaukee.  Imagine a cinematic bout fighting across those locations?

Imagine Kris Statlander standing tall in Roswell, New Mexico?

How about the Von Erichs in the Fort Worth Stockyards?

AEW has always presented itself as an alternative product, the challenger brand. The company’s willingness to try different match concepts is part of what helped it establish its identity in the first place. Special location broadcasts are a natural extension of that philosophy.

Not every experiment should become an annual tradition, but the willingness to try them keeps the product feeling alive.

I envision a world where AEW runs a boardwalk with all the carnival rides and blinking lights being the background that makes the show feel alive and different.

WCW once held a monster truck sumo match on top of Cobo Hall in Detroit.  Not that it was amazing as a segment, but the idea of filming something on a rooftop with a glorious skyline could be a great visual, as seen in the recent Karate Kid: Legends film.

No one has ever done a pro wrestling broadcast from a snowy ski resort.  Imagine Darby Allin snowboarding towards his opponent?  Imagine the Death Riders brawling as the snow becomes speckled with red dots from the bloody conflict?

AEW Double or Nothing will be in Queens in a few week, but imagine if their battles took them out to the Unisphere or any of the other World's Fair icons?  

As long as this all feels unique, organic and fun, it could work on different levels.   The biggest reason Fairway to Hell worked, for me, is that it didn’t feel corporate-tested into oblivion. It felt like AEW trying something because the idea sounded entertaining.  Sometimes, you just have to shrug and say, "OK, what the hell" and dive in, and that's how it felt with this past weekend's Collision.  Spontaneity matters, because it feels real, gets the blood pumping and becomes a moment that bonds the audience with the product they love.

We live in a world where everyone seems to be trying to build a brand online to invade our algorithms.  99% of it is fake and forced.  Pro wrestling fans can tell when something exists purely for branding synergy versus when a promotion genuinely wants to create a memorable atmosphere or is doing something out of love of the game.

AEW’s identity has always been strongest, in my opinion, when the company embraces experimentation rather than a generalized presentation.

The wrestling industry often overcorrects toward sameness because consistency is safer, but when is history made playing it safe?

Fans remember where things happened almost as much as what happened.  That's why fans make pilgrimages from all over the world to see a beat up old former warehouse in South Philadelphia as often as they do Madison Square Garden.

This past week's Collision was an event with pizzazz and personality.  That’s why Fairway to Hell ruled and why AEW, when the timing is right, should dive in, with all its heart and soul, into similar locations and insanity.

Those sort of journeys are exactly what professional wrestling can be in its most fun, wacky moments.

We need more fun in our pro wrestling.

So, AEW, let me know when I'm booking a flight to Casa Bonita.  Sopaipillas on me!

Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.

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