AEW now has fans with nostalgia for the early years, 2019-2021. That's great. But I wish those fans would admit it instead of saying AEW was "better" then. That's not true. AEW was newer from 2019-2021 & that's what those fans actually miss.
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People are often more excited when something is new, flashy and different from the crap they’d been used to before it. Newsflash is that never lasts with anything program/company that lasts. The excitement is still there if they pay attention to it. They just miss the shiny, new feeling.
After learning Kenny did wanna work more TNA shows during the little partnership but wasn't allowed even as champion, that's when I fell out of AEW. I didn't like that.
Everything is exciting when it’s new. If you take off the nostalgia glasses, the roster and product is 1,000x better now than it was 4 years ago. Just about every aspect of the tv product has improved tremendously.
It was the same with TNA back in 2002-2008. There was a lot of bad stuff but it was ignored because it was new and it was an alternative. Yes, there were some great things but WWE also had a mix of good and bad too.
For me, I think a full, hot crowd adds a lot to the show. It's currently missing that week to week. PPVs still feel great and have great energy. The shows weekly miss that added fire you get from a full energetic crowd, and you can see that from the Hammerstein shows that it makes a good show better
Lol are we sure they are actually aew fans. Cuz we see that stupid shit every time there's momentum. A bunch of rando accounts and essays from voices of rasslin waxing poetic about " when aew was good"
I saw people longing for 2018 WWE before I left Twitter. At least 2008 had decent moments and it was over 15 years ago so the memberberries kinda made sense.
Aew had a lot of stuff back then that I didn’t like. But we would also get 20 minutes of a great Punk segment, a 20 minute BD match, Belt Collector omega and sometimes an FTR match. That was enough to keep me around for 2 hours.
Precisely. I'm watching through older AEW stuff starting with DoN 19. On the verge of Full Gear of the same year now, and while it'd good, I honestly prefer the pace and vibe of the modern product.
I love early AEW and went to the 1st Dynamite, but they obviously has a thin roster and needed to find their footing. Those Dec 2019 shows with the initial Dark Order stuff are bad imo. By January 2020, they got it cooking.
I love those early years too, but I don't think I've enjoyed a year of AEW in totality like I have 2024.Its had its issues, sure. No product is perfect. But they've had some fucking amazing shows and matches this year. Revolution and All In '24 I think are 2 of AEW's best shows to date.
I also think 19-21 is a moment frozen in time because of how unique the pandemic made wrestling. It was one of the only live outlets we had for a long time. It kept fans sane in an insane time. We romanticize times like that.
Fans miss good storytelling that allows them to suspend their disbelief and get caught in the moment. Cody/Dustin, Punk/MJF, Starks on Collision, Page's long journey to the AEW belt, etc.
When the backstage drama is more exciting than the in ring drama, there's a problem.
What would have made it better? The intended effect was made. Swerve drove Hangman insane. Intensity set it apart from sanitized 'blood feuds.' The term had lost meaning in wrestling.
And their eventual continuation and team up will mean more because of it.
I’m nostalgic for a time in the past when AEW was, subjectively, better. Not simply because it was in the past but because of things I can point to that made the show a more engaging viewing experience for me.
sean aint no way! ur telling me that people are nostalgic for a time when they were younger? NO WAYYYYYYYY. anyways the music that was coming out when i was 14 is so much better than the filfth of today
I can’t wait til AEW drop on Max. People will go back, rewatch, and get a nice dose of reality.
And I’ve been watching since the first episode of Dynamite and am well aware of this.
It's a strange thing when a company starts out and is fresh and hot and then a pandemic hits and changes everything. They got through the pandemic amazingly.
One thing I also like to point out when people discuss how they've changed over time is that, with a few exceptions, their roster started out with mostly indie talent that only fans of indie wrestling knew. It took time to build their roster with names that were known stars.
Whatever adjective you wanna attach to it, I still miss watching 10 minutes of full roster Dark Order sitting in the back room of Daily’s pining for Hangman.
I think its also that over time, you forget the middle of the road stuff and are left with only the stone cold classics and the what were they thinking level bad stuff.
Even the Attitude Era was wildly uneven week to week.
I watched Raw with my high school friends every week in 1999. Watching it years later, what junk. But I still have a soft spot for it, even after 2000 blew it away.
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Outside of the Tag Division and the use of Jericho, most of AEW now tops that of 19-21 in terms of TV product.
Fans miss good storytelling that allows them to suspend their disbelief and get caught in the moment. Cody/Dustin, Punk/MJF, Starks on Collision, Page's long journey to the AEW belt, etc.
When the backstage drama is more exciting than the in ring drama, there's a problem.
I found a cheaper agenda you can push on Walmart's website.
And their eventual continuation and team up will mean more because of it.
Like I understand nostalgia, I have it from the 2006/2009 WWE, but come on... You have to be objective at one point.
In a few years there is going to be a steep narrative shift when wrestling fans realize what they missed out on the past few years.
People are sick as hell of Cody by the time he left
Punk was even worse they were sick of his antics
And I’ve been watching since the first episode of Dynamite and am well aware of this.
Translation: Back in day I was younger, not as wise and had less frame of reference.
That's pretty much every nostalgia comment about every possible subject of every possible era.
It boggles my mind why people think their take is somehow special. 😄
Even the Attitude Era was wildly uneven week to week.
Tried to do a rewatch of the 98/99 era a few years ago with some friends and we could barely get through. Minus the main event scene, it’s ROUGH.
Best (North American) wrestling company that year. Retrospectively at least.