Any pro wrestling fan who knows their history also knows there’s nothing better than a war.
There was arguably no greater era in the quasi-sport’s history than the late 1990s, when Ted Turner’s WCW battled every Monday night with Vince McMahon’s WWE.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent, with big names switching sides seemingly every month; and it drove some of the most creative wrestling television we’ve ever seen, plus legendary storylines like McMahon’s feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin which turned Austin into an icon.
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But when the war ended in 2001, things changed. WWE became wrestling’s undisputed titan, and in the eyes of many, the lack of strong competition has enabled it to slow down, creating fewer modern stars and rely on megabucks deals with TV networks and Saudi Arabia.
WWE is making more money than it ever has but its US TV ratings are sliding, and while big events like WrestleMania and the Royal Rumble still draw massive crowds, it has seen the company focus on part-time stars like Brock Lesnar, or names from the past (like Austin).
Roman Reigns, set to headline his sixth WrestleMania in eight years, is the exception.
WCW’s absence left a gap in the market, unable to be filled by Impact Wrestling (nee TNA), which had stars like Sting, Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle and Christian along with in-ring greats like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe but couldn’t get out of its own way when it comes to booking (creating storylines).
But it was clear as WWE’s TV deals continued to grow that there was space for a competitor. Into that space stepped billionaire Tony Khan, a long-time wrestling fan whose family owns the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and English football side Fulham.
His company, AEW, has taken advantage of several simultaneous factors to grow into the biggest threat to WWE’s dominance since WCW was purchased.
First, by getting a deal with US cable network TNT (and then a more-lucrative second contract in early 2020) the company became financially viable. Then came the talent, with some of the biggest independent stars all coming out of contract at once.
Ex-WWE star Cody Rhodes, New Japan heavyweight champion Kenny Omega and legendary tag team The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), plus emerging star ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, were a great core. But the additions of long-time WWE star Chris Jericho, plus Jon Moxley (nee Dean Ambrose) and more recently Bryan Danielson (nee Daniel Bryan) and CM Punk gave them the star power to grow.
Now many wrestling fans passionately follow the weekly TV ratings, with AEW’s flagship show Dynamite and Monday Night Raw trading the lead in the key 18-49 demographic, though WWE still wins with total viewers and SmackDown (with the advantage of being on free-to-air Fox) is the biggest show each week.
But for so long the war has been one-way, with AEW providing a moneyed alternative for big stars who may prefer the company’s more independent-inspired style of pro wrestling, compared to WWE’s big event spectaculars.
That has now changed with Cody Rhodes, who began his career at just 21 with WWE and spent a decade outside of the main event scene, suddenly departing AEW after they couldn’t agree on a new contract.
It was a massive shock for the entire wrestling world, who thought Rhodes re-signing would be automatic given he helped create the company and has two other TV shows – as a judge on a contest show and on a Rhodes family-focused reality program with partner Brandi – across the networks which air AEW programming.
Four years ago, before the initial ‘All Out’ show that sparked AEW into existence, Rhodes told Foxsports.com.au he left WWE because he “wanted to be able to play my music how I would play it”.
AEW gave him that opportunity, but over the last two years Rhodes and his fellow executive vice-presidents Omega and the Bucks, have taken a smaller role on the creative side, with Tony Khan handling the booking.
This has enabled AEW to narrow its initially-wide vision of what the shows should look like. But while wrestlers are still able to deliver unscripted promos, Rhodes and the like no longer control their storylines (though they had input).
It means Rhodes, who was keen to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father Dusty – who booked for WCW and WWE’s NXT developmental – was no longer fully playing his music to his tune. And, according to reports, it’s this changing dichotomy – along with disagreements over the size of his new contract – that led to Rhodes’ stunning exit from AEW.
Logically the only company that will be able to pay Rhodes what he wants is WWE, and McMahon’s company would love to reverse the trend of big-name stars heading from ‘up north’ to AEW.
It doesn’t hurt that Rhodes would be joining WWE just in time for WrestleMania.
While Rhodes never won the AEW world championship due to a stipulation on a 2019 match he lost to Chris Jericho, he was a main-event draw, building the secondary TNT championship and helping create new stars in the process. TV ratings for his segments were always strong.
If Rhodes does indeed join WWE – and The Miz hinted at the move on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw – the huge question will be how they handle him.
WWE has a mixed track record with big names from other companies. When they bought WCW and began what could’ve been the greatest storyline in wrestling history, as their ex-rivals invaded, an insistence upon WWE wrestlers looking stronger than WCW ones limited its potential. In the end ‘The Invasion’ pitted The Rock on one side and Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle on the other; not exactly a WWE-WCW dream match.
Last decade, when Sting finally made his long-awaited debut in WWE after decades as essentially WCW’s mascot, he lost to Triple H at WrestleMania in a match which ended up recreating the Monday Night Wars including DX vs the NWO.
More recently AJ Styles was quickly brought into the main event picture after years in TNA/Impact, but WWE never perceived that company as a rival.
So will Rhodes head into the main event scene straight away? If he does, it would serve as proof to other AEW stars that the grass can be greener on the other side, allowing WWE to potentially poach them when their contracts are up.
If he instead returns to his previous WWE status – ‘upper mid-card’ would be the inside term, as a wrestler who’s always relevant and may challenge for some titles but rarely main event or contend for the world championship – it could end up working against the company in coming years.
Given the billions in WWE’s coffers, and their decades-long headstart, there’s no threat of AEW becoming the biggest promotion in wrestling any time in the near future. But in the eyes of hardcore critics, the two companies are on contrasting paths and it remains to be seen whether WWE will make changes.
To do so with Rhodes would turn a brewing war into one that can become red-hot, and potentially push wrestling back into the wider public consciousness for the first time in decades.