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All In: A Beginners Guide For AEW Newcomers

by jcreneo 19/09/2021 1 Comment

The signings of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson (AKA Daniel Bryan in WWE) have gathered much interest in AEW lately. With all these new eyes on the promotion, there’s no better time to help introduce new fans to the rise and its in and outs.

This beginners guide will give you all the information you need to enjoy AEW and all its shows.

AEW Origins

The origins of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) can be traced back to two very important events in 2018. The first significant event is the dream match between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega that took place at Wrestle Kingdom 12 for the IWGP US title for the Japanese promotion NJPW. The other key event for the formation of AEW was the PPV All In. All In was a PPV promoted by Cody Rhodes with The Young Bucks and was the first event in the United States to sell 10.000 tickets for a non WCW\WWE show since 1993.

These two key events inspired long-time wrestling fan and billionaire Tony Khan (co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C.) with his father Shahid Khan (lead investor) to start AEW.

The Elite

While discussing AEW and its origins, one group of wrestlers is fundamental to its formation, The Elite. The Elite is a faction that the time of AEW Foundation was formed by the likes of Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, and The Young Bucks. Except for Page, all The Elite members of EVPs for AEW.

Who is The Elite? That’s the question you are asking right now. The Elite is a faction that started as a sub-faction in NJPW as part of the famous faction Bullet Club right after AJ Styles left NJPW for WWE and Kenny Omega became the leader of the Bullet Club with the help of The Young Bucks.

The Elite was the first wrestler Tony Khan signed for AEW with Chris Jericho being another of the first wrestlers to join the promotion. Since day one, The Elite has been the face of the promotion since day one and has helped it ample time to build AEW into one of the biggest promotions in the world.

W-L Records and Rankings

One of the things that differentiate AEW from WWE is their match records. In AEW, win and loss records are essential to determine contenders for all the championships. There’s also a ranking that tells a competitor if they are the contenders for all major titles. A key factor about the rankings is the quality of wins, the more impressive the success, the more likely it’ll help be at the top.

AEW wrestlers can also get title matches if they win the Eliminator Tournaments held throughout the year for the different divisions. There are also casino battle royals that also award title matches during their PPVs.

AEW Shows and PPVs

All Elite Wrestling has two TV shows, Dynamite (2 hours) on Wednesdays and Rampage (1 Hour) every week. AEW will also host special editions of Dynamite and Rampage from time to time featuring a solid card or even PPV-esque.

In terms of PPVs, AEW will celebrate four during the year. Revolution, Double or Nothing, All Out, and Full Gear. Most of the time the PPVs will have 8-9 matches, and champions will defend the championships for the most part.

Besides the TV shows and PPVs, AEW has two YouTube shows called Elevation on Mondays and Dark on Tuesdays. These shows give the younger talent more. ring time and help build the wrestlers’ records. There’s also the Road To series, it’s series of videos building up rivalries for the upcoming episodes of Dynamite and Rampage.

The Major Championships

As of this writing, AEW has four championships. The AEW World title (held by Kenny Omega), The TNT title (held by Miro), The AEW women’s title (held by Britt Baker), and the AEW tag team championships (controlled by the Lucha Bros).

There are rumors of a fifth championship coming soon, a trios title, but as of this moment, there’s no new news about it.

Factions in AEW

One of the significant characteristics of AEW is the number of factions (groups) the promotion has. There are all kinds of sections, and you’ll find which one is your favorite in no time.

A few examples of them are:

The Elite
The Inner Circle (lead by Chris Jericho)
Team Taz
The Dark Order
Nightmare Family (Lead by Cody Rhodes)
The Wingmen
The Factory
Hardy Family Office (Lead by Matt Hardy)
The Pinnacle
Best Friends

BTE and Other Vlogs

Being The Elite or BTE is a YouTube series made by The Elite and it tells their adventures inside and outside of the ring. It gives the fans a sneak peek at AEW’s backstage. This show is comedy eccentric and with a lot of bits. The show premieres every Monday.

BTE is not the only vlog produced by All Elite Wrestling talent; Sammy Guevara has his entertaining vlog and Evil Uno. There’s plenty of them, and all are worth watching.

Now you’re ready to enjoy All Elite Wrestling and its programming.