Brian Damage
This Week in Wrestling: Week 45 of 2025
The A (EW) Team
All Elite Wrestling may be a lot of things, but regardless how you feel about its current product, it has done wonders for pro wrestling since its inception back in 2019. That’s just a fact. For one it offered more opportunities for wrestlers to make a good living. That is the most important reason, but there are others as well. Look at the current roster of champions in WWE. There is the NXT champion Ricky Starks, the NXT North American champion Ethan Page, the women’s NXT North American champion Blake Monroe, WWE women’s champion Jade Cargill, WWE World champion CM Punk and of course Cody Rhodes the WWE champion.
Aside from all being champions in WWE, they have something else in common…they all came from AEW. Sure, you can argue that Cody and Punk were from WWE first and then went to AEW, but the fact remains Cody would probably not be a main event talent in WWE, if not for his AEW stint. CM Punk would probably still be retired from wrestling if he had not decided to join AEW first. Jade Cargill was initially rejected by WWE and went to AEW to make a name for herself first. The same with Mariah May/Blake Monroe. As for Ricky Starks, he might still be wrestling under the radar in Billy Corgan’s NWA if not for his AEW opportunity. Ethan Page may still be in TNA or perhaps on the indie circuit if he hadn’t gotten AEW exposure.
The point is, AEW has contributed a great deal in pro wrestling in a relatively short amount of time. Sure, we are at times critical of their product, but most just want to see them improve and expand their audience to more than a small niche of fans. AEW has the talent and money to continue for a long time. WWE fans rooting for their demise just doesn’t make much sense. I implore those rooting for AEW to fold think back to 2001, when WWE was the only game in town after WCW and ECW folded. It was a very dark period in pro wrestling. While pro wrestling is definitely on a downward trend lately, WWE needs AEW whether they’d admit to it or not.
Photo Gallery
Mandy Rose
Torrie Wilson
Trish Stratus
Elektra Lopez
Stephanie McMahon
Tiffany Stratton
Video Gallery
A 1997 commercial for WWF’s ‘Attitude Era.’
Alberto Garcia
AEW vs. WWE must continue. BTW, I can’t wait to read the AEW book by Keith Eliott Greenberg as it has Britt Baker on the cover and she hasn’t come back from catering yet LOL!