The reason why AEW hasn't been the success it could of been is that the owner and fan base are obsessed with WWE when they should ignore WWE and try to make AEW the best possible company it can be.
Whenever there is a 2nd wrestling company that is a competitor to WWE no matter who it is they always seem to be obsessed with WWE and mention them all the time on their shows, for once I just wish there was a wrestling company that paid no attention to what WWE does and doesn't bloat their roster with every ex WWE man or women they can sign.
I do very much agree with this like. You don't get too much direct mention of WWE but some acts are either ex WWE or reference them. You also should not to WWE style, people who watch AEW don't want that.
It feels like in 2023 Tony and MJF read the whole comments from people on Twitter like "Oh there aren't any stories" "Oh too much wrestling is dull" etc, and tried to rectify that to the detriment of the show, just for the same people to make the same arguments because it is from people who didn't and wouldn't watch the show anyway - Twitter isn't real life my friends
December TV to present has been so much better because it is back to what made AEW good - it ain't all fixed but much improved.
They shouldn't be getting ex midcard WWE guys and I feel they should cut loose the likes of Black, Buddy, Hardy's, Miro, they are not adding anything.
Some guys like Mox and Danielson and Claudio or Reneé or FTR are so different to how they were in WWE, or are so good/recognizable at their jobs, you would want to keep them. Same goes for Mercedes who is probably the biggest female signing you can make, and has shown in Japan she is willing to go out and work.
You have people like Christian and Copeland too who are so ingrained in wrestling they almost subercede WWE in a sense, they go beyond the single company to be synonymous with wrestling in general (and bit like Sting). If they aren't wasting time like the Hardy's I think they are ok too.
But other than those which are legit stars for their division, they should focus on their own homegrown or non-wwe talent, and make their shows about AEW. Thankfully recently it appears they are doing exactly that.
I hope to God MJF either leaves for WWE or comes in knowing he has to fight for his place and not get back to that bullshit he brought in 2023 - he was awesome in the Danielson feud and match bring that shit instead