AEW Has Mastered The Art Of Wrestling Tournaments
Although AEW has only existed for around two years, the company have hosted their fair share of tournaments so far, with a wide array of stars fighting for different prizes. Some of these tournaments have been big highlights of weekly television and have played key roles in championships being won and lost, and influencing many rivalries, with great matches and stories told. In the latter half of 2021, it is clear to see that AEW has begun to perfect the concept of holding tournaments in wrestling.
Tournaments Have Been Commonplace In Wrestling
Tournaments have been a major part of wrestling for quite some time, with the King of the Ring being perhaps one of the most popular ones in its earlier years, with it being a huge achievement to emerge victorious. The G1 Climax in NJPW is also one of the more grandiose tournaments, with a round-robin format setting it apart from others throughout wrestling history.
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The G1 has remained a crucial factor in NJPW, despite the 2021 edition being quite underwhelming. In WWE, tournaments have become less and less important as time has gone on, with the KOTR becoming out of favor and treated as an afterthought in recent years, with the booking making them quite boring and lifeless, with the Queen’s Crown being a clear example of this.
Holding Tournaments Allows AEW To Build Long-Term Stories
In AEW, tournaments have been the norm in terms of deciding champions and challengers. The AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament has now become an annual tradition, which helps give a structure to the yearly calendar, raising anticipation for that time of year with a clear goal or conclusion for AEW to build to, which massively helps them in booking in advance.
With some of their tournament brackets stretching over months, it showcases the long-term build and storytelling that many have prided AEW with. It allows the company to strip back things to basics, with a tournament holding different rounds allowing an arc from show to show, with intrigue on who is facing who next, with unique matches occurring throughout between people who may not have faced each other before. The tournaments have allowed feuds to be built from scratch, but begin naturally, with the common goal of wanting to become a champion being a seed for tension.
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Thus far, each of AEW’s inaugural champions for each belt has been decided by some sort of tournament or qualification match. The AEW World Title and Women’s Title are perhaps the clear outliers, but they still had multiple stars battling for an opportunity to fight for the belt. When it comes to the TNT, Tag Team, and TBS Championships, tournaments have been held to decide which two challengers will face off in the finals. Having a similar way to decide the champions for each belt helps raise their stock, as they feel on a level playing field, with many different potential champions all vying for the chance to hold gold, making the prizes feel sought after.
Some Tournaments Haven’t Been Perfect For AEW
AEW hasn’t always perfected their tournaments, especially when it comes to the women’s division. So far, one of the company’s biggest criticisms has been the handling of their women’s roster, with less time dedicated to them throughout the show. Whilst nobody is expecting it to be exactly even every week, one match per show isn’t enough. The Women’s Tag Team Tournament in 2020 and the Women’s World Championship Eliminator in early 2021 seemed to be a good step in getting more matches on TV.
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However, AEW decided to play out most of these matches on YouTube. This did give the women a platform of their own, with an extended focus, but this felt like a cheap cop-out reason from AEW. When it has come to the TBS Championship Tournament in 2021, AEW has righted those previous wrongs and learned from those mistakes and criticisms in having every match on either Dynamite or Rampage, with each match getting an appropriate amount of time.
Tournaments Have Helped Shape AEW’s Product
The major plus when it comes to these tournaments is that it allows AEW to focus on what they want to showcase – professional wrestling. Having matches with stakes helps bring in viewers and makes the crowd more invested in what they’re watching. This concept of building challengers and champions has been a great way to have stories play out over many weeks, with anticipation and excitement building as time goes on.
The first World Title Eliminator was an integral part of the Kenny Omega and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page story, which is one of the best wrestling rivalries in recent memory. When deciding the first-ever Tag Team Champions, Scorpio Sky received a huge boost in the early days of AEW, fighting from below in the tournament and overcoming the odds in every round, with fans glued to every second. At this point in time, AEW has mastered this concept, and with the upcoming Owen Hart Cup set to start, only good things look set to happen regarding their tournaments.
