Beyond its imperfections, it is truly remarkable that AEW even exists. For a certain generation of fans, the idea of the emergence of a true alternative, or dare I say competition, to WWE seemed impossible, and it is now simply the reality we live in.
Beyond all the tremendous wrestling they’ve put on over the years, AEW has been great for the wrestling business, from creating more jobs in the industry for both on- and off-screen talent to promoting different promotions to a wider western audience. For all its contributions toward diversifying the industry and providing people with an alternative within the mainstream, much of that has come at the expense of the scenes below them in the pecking order.
In March of 2022, Tony Khan purchased the fledgling Ring of Honor, and more recently, WWE formally announced a partnership with TNA, one which it is more than fair to be somewhat skeptical about long-term. Within the last 3 years, ROH has become a feeder system, and TNA is trending in a similar direction. The two promotions that sit or sat in-between the indies and the mainstream have rarely, if ever, been less relevant, wrecking the hierarchy of the American wrestling landscape.
Now, I’m not here to tell you that these are great losses. On its dying days, ROH was a total mess, constantly promising big revivals that never came. Moreover, TNA currently feels like wrestling purgatory, a tepid middle ground between the grunge of the indies and the pomp of the big leagues, without its own unique vibe or direction to warrant many actively seeking it out in 2025. What I am saying is that, by becoming borderline feeder systems with their main aims to serve the big two, they have left a hole that could, and I believe should, be filled.
Firstly, before I get into the weeds of why I think a third promotion would be good and how, theoretically, one could be done, I must first acknowledge that it is more than likely this will never happen, at least not for the foreseeable future. The closest we got was when the actor who played Fred in the live-action Scooby-Doo films floated the idea around, which is a decent indicator as to how likely one will soon emerge.
In the current wrestling ‘ecosystem,’ when a wrestler grows disgruntled in either WWE or AEW, the first reaction many online seem to have is ‘imagine if they jumped ship,’ while a minority of people will propose a cool, exciting change of scenery for them, like going to NJPW or doing a tour of the indies. Realistically, though, the average WWE/AEW ‘superstar’ would rather have a stable paycheck and not have to uproot their lives to Japan just to have something interesting to do.
If a true third promotion were to emerge, however, one with zero ties to the big two and solid paying contracts, it could serve as a haven and new opportunity for the Miros and Andrades of the world. People who have tried both sides and, for various reasons, haven’t thrived in the way people of their talents should have. Moreover, there are likely to be many who do not feel they are properly utilized in their current promotion of WWE or AEW but are far from confident they would fare much better in the other.
Take Private Party for example, a team used horribly by AEW in recent years, given a token championship win, only to have it snatched from them due to a lack of ideas, sacrificed to the far more interesting Hurt Syndicate. A change of scenery could be perfect for them, but based on the importance WWE currently places on its tag division, the lack of PPV spots with five-match cards, and how few of those spots are spent on black wrestlers, they likely wouldn’t do any better over there. This mythical third promotion would be perfect for them, a viable option C.
This is not just the case for AEW, however. Someone like Dragon Lee is currently wasting his prime physical years competing for the championship of Twitter, all after stunning people for years in Japan and Mexico. But betting on AEW to do right by a luchador is a risky bet to make. Take Chad Gable as yet another example, a wrestler not used horribly but one with a clear ceiling in the star-studded roster of post-Netflix WWE. If he went to AEW, however, he would be one of many whose role is ‘guy who has good matches.’ Imagine a promotion where Gable was able to truly spread his wings and be the ‘wrestling machine’ he so often flirts with being.
While far from perfect, this was the role promotions like TNA and ROH used to play, giving people that third option, allowing them to spread their wings and achieve their potential in an environment where that is actually possible. Drew McIntyre is currently one of the bigger stars on RAW, a position he has grown into after leaving the company, ‘betting on himself,’ and growing into a far better wrestler on the indies and in TNA. If Drew started his career 10 years later and got released in 2024 instead of 2014, where would he go to make that transformation? And while you might argue that TNA still exists, remaining a viable option for the types of wrestlers of which I have just described, the promotion itself is far from its best. Even putting their one-sided alliance with WWE aside, you would be hard-pressed to find someone, outside of TNA mecca, passionate about the promotion. It still remains an option, but it’s the least appealing that option has looked in a very long time.
Disgruntled wrestlers looking for a change of pace are not enough to build a whole roster, however, nor should they be. The indies, especially in America, are currently under an abundance of scrutiny, much of it deserved, but I would argue people can be quite harsh on just how dire the scene actually is. If one looks beyond the meme wrestlers who, unfortunately, get the most online traction, one can find plenty of good to great workers who, if packaged in an interesting way, could thrive in the kind of environment I am pleading the case for.
From the standouts of the rising DPW, like Labron Kozone, Calvin Tankman, and Violence is Forever, to some lesser-known names like Diego Hill, Calibus Kingston, and Dezmond Cole, to indie veterans like JT Dunn, there are enough names out there who, while they don’t fly off the page, could be molded into real players. That’s not even including hipster favorites like Adam Priest and Mad Dog Connely or some potentially quirky signings like a Low Ki or Nakajima.
Beyond being a place for wrestlers, we are in need of a promotion which truly feels different, one that actually takes a different approach to professional wrestling in terms of style, production, or preferably both. Up until this point, I have refrained from mentioning ECW, as the moment you start even hinting at something being ‘the new ECW,’ you are met with instant eye rolls, understandably so.
What ECW was able to capture was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, yet wrestlers and fans alike seem to adore bestowing its heritage onto any notable indie. That being said, I am in favor of a new promotion that serves as ‘the new ECW,’ not in terms of doing hardcore matches and booking aging ECW guys who were cool in the 90s, but in terms of approaching wrestling in a unique, rebellious way. Punching above your weight, not emulating WWE and AEW to smaller audiences, but truly doing something bold, for the (real) hardcore fan. As Heyman has professed for years, extreme did not mean tables and barbed wire. Sure, that was certainly part of it, but the E in ECW stood for being forward-thinking, exciting, and fresh. Barbed wire and tables were what was exciting and fresh back then, and the wrestling world would greatly benefit from a promotion that finds what is fresh and exciting now.
A few months ago, there was a great deal of talk online about the worrisome feature of wrestling and its younger generation. Personally, I believe that there will always be great pro wrestlers, and that every generation has the same panic over whether the next crop will live up to their childhood favorites. What is worrisome, however, is the growing homogenization of the industry, American wrestling especially, where each promotion feels like they are putting on the same flavor of pro wrestling. Gone seem the days of each promotion having their own unique styles and presentations in favor of everyone putting their own spin on the variety show, where all styles are welcome. This is a further reason as to why I wish there was a true third promotion, with no ties to the major promotions and its own unique style to break this mold.
