Cody And The Young Bucks – Becoming The Top Name Outside Of The WWE
“The Elite, THE THE ELITE!”, has become the recent rallying cry of the internet wrestling crowd. Cody and the Young Bucks have got together and have come up with a following that is simply amazing. They are touring and they are selling out buildings. They are changing the atmosphere of what people thought the WWE had a lock on. But are they sacrificing their future for us wrestling fans or are they cementing their names in the history of this great sport?
Cody has proven over the past few years that he has an eye for the business. From dropping a gimmick that was going nowhere in Stardust, to becoming the top name outside of the WWE and claiming World Championships in ROH and NWA, along with several other secondary titles, Cody has shown he is a draw. The man knows where he lacks and where his strengths are and he plays them well. But, it’s so much more to this business than just getting “over”. They have to hire people to run the real business side, manage the books, payroll, taxes, set up venues, marketing, and so much more. Can Cody and the Young Bucks with the Khans backing do it?
People have also started a comparison between AEW and WCW, which is undeniable. A wrestling organization, even though Vince views his as an entertainment business that is backed by a billionaire who wants to compete with WWE. A group that is trying to syphon off top talents in order to bolster their roster with top draw names. A company that appears will be run by wrestlers. These are only a few comparisons I have seen and noticed myself. With all that being said, people are already saying that AEW will fail and shut down. But with Cody being as brilliant as he is, don’t we think he would have learned from those mistakes?
(The most important thing is, what do the championship belts look like?)
The final point I want to make and the one I think that matters LEAST to the fans and more to the workers, they are selling themselves short. AJ Styles is a prime example for this point. WWE is a power house for getting someone’s name out on the big screen. Several guys have had mediocre careers in WWE and have been able to live off of that for a few years afterwards. AJ Styles is someone who hardcore wrestling fans had known for years, but not nearly as known as he is now. A man like Kenny Omega is hurting himself by not doing a short stint in WWE in order to give his name brand more credit and value. I’m sure some of yall are reading this and thinking, not all that matters is money, which is true, but imagine the new amount of followers AEW would gain if they would have let him get more name recognition in WWE and then sign with AEW. AEW has got to remember that if they want to compete with WWE, that this is chess and not checkers and actually with McMahon it’s more like Monopoly.
In closing, I see AEW as nothing but BENIFICAL for all of wrestling. I see this as the start of the STREAM WARS that will rival the Monday Night Wars and we the fans are going to reap the rewards of multi-style wrestling like we have never seen before!