La Zona Muerta

A number of ill considered, kneejerk takes in regards to punitive / protective actions AEW should take in the industry, decidedly less lukewarm than usual, fueled by the events of this weekend, in no particular order.

1. I hate the WWE ID program, not because I’m against indy talents having a pipeline to WWE (altho’ I don’t LOVE that) but because it means WWE has finally thrust it’s slimy tentacles into the indy scene. I tried HARD to avoid shows that had WWE ID talent this weekend and it was impossible. I don’t care for the WWE Performance Center; I think it’s been largely a failure and responsible for injuries to guys and gals due to WWE’s hidebound, inflexible training regiments… but Tony Khan needs to open the Elite Academy (or whatever you wanna call it) and start bringing in talent from the indies and sharpening them, like knives. WWE is very much drawing a line in the sand with the insidious nature of their WWE ID program, creeping in like kudzu… so form a DIRECT, TANGIBLE link with positive indies like Deadlock, DEFY, West Coast Pro, Prestige, Mystery Wrestling and on the Japan side of things, DDT and TJPW (I think Dragon Gate is a little too much it’s own thing, too iconoclastic to bother “officially” aligning) and places like CMLL and any satellite lucha offices like the Crash (I don’t know enough about the scene right now to know which way the Crash will turn) with your “dojo” and get “graduates” dates at those places. FORM YOUR OWN “TERRITORIES” IF WWE IS SO INTENT ON EXPANDING EVERYWHERE. I mean, AEW already employs Dustin Rhodes, KATSUYORI FUCKING SHIBATA, Christopher Daniels, BRYAN DANIELSON, FOR GOTCH’S SAKE and other cats like that… get something official happening in the training department and go from there. Good for the industry, good for AEW. GET KIDS THAT ARE ALREADY IN AEW WHO NEED REPS TO WORK THESE SHOWS. PAY THEM WELL. COVER THEIR MEDICAL.
2. Do weird stuff, stuff that seems bad / monopolistic at first but again… a line in the sand has been drawn. Buy, I dunno… HIGHSPOTS, to name a name. Get someone in there to ACTUALLY manage their inventory (might I suggest Mrs Convoy… but she wouldn’t want to move to North Carolina. Maybe a brisk trip), but more importantly… on their gear / ring selling side of things? Offer HUGE discounts on gear for newbs breaking in or aligned partners with the caveat that hey, since we are getting you good gear at a huge discount, maybe you look at working in the AEW affiliated side of the indies / Japan / Mexico. Since we are providing your ring canvases and turnbuckles at a good price, maybe you stay away from booking WWE ID people. Let GCW and Beyond do that. Maybe similarly officially buy out Pro Wresting Tees and again, offer cheap merch for newbs and people affiliated with your network. I realize that seems draconian, it seems like what WWE would do (they wanted to buy FITE when All In aired on it) but THIS IS WAR.
3. REWARD LOYALTY, both on the wrestler side and the viewer side. Create discounts for return / repeat ticket buyers. Doesn’t have to be huge. How does that work? I dunno, I’m blueskying here. You turn in a ticket stub for a special redemption code for the next tickets or whatever. Reward kids grinding in the DEFYs and WCPWs and whatnot with ROH work. Good ROH work leads to jobber work on the AEW proper shows (or again, your PARTNERS). Good jobber work leads to more opportunities at the big show. INCENTIVIZE LOYALTY SO THESE DWEEBS DON’T KEEP POINTING AT THE WRESTLEMANIA POSTERS THAT ARE POSTED UP IN THEIR BEDROOMS. Bring back the meet and greets. Make sure the workers are compensated for doing them and make them understand they the more they participate in that sort of stuff, the more they build their own brand. Not on TV this week? MEET AND GREET.
4. Not enough work for your roster? Incentivize going to CMLL, NJPW. Believe me, they both need the help right now. Someone doesn’t want to go? Bonuses. Buy up PWG… I don’t know if that’s ever going to be a going concern again… and make it a super indie showcase with a tentpole event three or four times a year you can monetize like the ROH PPVs to showcase your academy peeps, indy friends / partners and foreign partners, that way you’re not competing with the indies, you’re bolstering them. Give Super Dragon the book for life if he wants to come back to the business. You already have deep roots there with the So Cal guys in the company. Buy the tape library, clean it up for the early stuff, obviously. Get it out there on Honor Club and hopefully MAX one day (*cough*). Hey, maybe buy up SHIMMER and do something similar with an all women’s indie supershow a couple times a year. Let people put their money where their mouths are in regards to women’s wrestling.
5. Start doing weekly auctions on Twitch or YouTube featuring an AEW talent and related items. Used gear, chopped up canvases, programs, art prints, all sorts. During the pandemic, current AEW and former Highspots employee Jake Manning hosted one (or more) of these EVERY WEEK. It kept Highspots solvent thru the pandemic. It got people connected to the wrestlers who came on the show. WE HAVE RULES, WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY. It’s free publicity, free goodwill and most importantly, CREATES A COMMUNITY. THAT’S THE REAL ‘RESTORE THE FEEELING.’
6. The big guys in CMLL / NJPW? DOUBLE CONTRACTS. They get an AEW contract when they sign for the big money in Japan or Mexico… so if their home company can’t compete… the two of you, TOGETHER can. Make it so you don’t have to worry about TKO swooping in. Use (sigh) Rocky Romero to coordinate working out these deals on all three sides. LOCK DOWN THE BIG NAMES TO BOTH THEIR HOME MARKET AND TO AEW. IT’S WIN WIN.

I dunno. Good ideas? Bad? More trouble than they are worth? You tell me below.