Two points about AEW

By Scott Keith on 29th July 2021

Hey Scott,

First of all I wanna say that AEW has been tremendous overall and, in many ways, what the wrestling world has sorely needed since WCW went under.

Two points, though:

1) Let’s see the crowd! I still don’t understand why WWE has decided to turn the house lights off on their live audiences during promos and matches and, inexplicably, AEW has followed suit. The crowd is just as crucial to the presentation as the talent is.
It’s important to see people in the bleachers reacting just as much as the front-row VIPs. Some of wrestling’s biggest moments were because you could see an entire sea of people almost undulate collectively when they’ve been super immersed into a match or
character like Steve Austin. And if you got super lively, sold-out audiences like AEW does, why darken them, only to pan to their faces after every big move – and barely make their facial expressions out under a harsh blue or red light?

2) Pause and build a little anticipation between entrance themes. This is one of the little things WWE has gotten right, although they have a tendency to overdo it. Going from one wrestler’s theme to another without even a second to take it in is amateurish
and the opposite of “big time.” WCW did this and so does TNA/Impact. Let a wrestler’s entrance presentation “sit” a little bit in the moment before quickly shifting gears.

Thanks for listening.

I absolutely agree about the lights. The NXT show these days drives me nuts as well with the dark presentation. Maybe it’s all the Ebersol era WWF I’ve watched this year influencing me but the brightly lit arenas look so much more big league!