Midcarders, enough armchair booking: What do you actually want from a WWE alternative?
Look, we spend a LOT of time around here dissecting AEW as an alternative to WWE. And, frankly, AEW gives us plenty of material.
The terrible booking. The bloated roster. The spot-fest matches. The endless tournaments. At times, it feels like The Young Bucks & Friends on Wednesdays. We can armchair quarterback Tony Khan until the Jaguars win a Super Bowl.
But let’s turn it around.
What does r/midcarder actually WANT from a WWE alternative?
Because I absolutely want one.
Personally, I still want the spiritual successor to WCW that I thought AEW might become in the beginning. But Dynamite has become more Nitro cosplay than actually capturing what made Nitro three action-packed hours every week. It’s wrestling presented like anime, where everyone has specials to blow through before the match can end.
Give me a new company with its own identity. More emphasis on stories and characters. Matches that actually build somewhere instead of backflips, superkicks and superhero poses. I want cruiserweights. Hosses. Technical wrestlers. Tag teams that matter. Personal feuds. Managers. Weird shit like the Dungeon of Doom. Different wrestling styles throughout the card.
WCW gets dinged for all the WWF retreads, but look at what they actually did with some of them.
Hulk Hogan became Hollywood Hogan. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash became the Outsiders. We got the nWo. And alongside them you had Sting, DDP, Goldberg, Flair and an incredible cruiserweight division introducing an entire audience to something different.
They weren’t just signing WWF guys and saying, “Hey, remember this guy?” like AEW has increasingly become.
They took familiar names and created something new with them.
And yes, WCW was at its hottest when it was going directly at WWF. Competition is fun. But I don’t need my alternative obsessively reminding me that WWE exists. I want it to build a world interesting enough that, for two hours, I don’t give a shit what WWE is doing.
So, let’s forget what AEW is doing wrong.
You’re handed the money, the TV deal and the pencil. What does YOUR alternative to WWE look like?
What are you stealing from WCW, ECW, TNA, the territories, modern WWE or even AEW?
What would actually get you to watch every single week?
Book it, Midcarders.