An Elite Challenger

Without question, professional wrestling reached its peak in popularity during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The World Wrestling Federation was engaged in a ruthless battle for ratings supremacy and company survival with World Championship Wrestling. Extreme Championship Wrestling grew from a small renegade promotion in Philadelphia and became a national phenomenon and formidable challenger to both WCW and the WWF. All three companies were putting on excellent matches and pay-per-view worthy television shows with an unbelievably deep roster. Ratings for pro wrestling television programs skyrocketed as quality programming became the weekly standard. That changed when ECW folded and WCW was bought by the WWF.

The battlefield became quiet as Vince McMahon's pro wrestling juggernaut emerged as the sole survivor. The WWF eventually became World Wrestling Entertainment and with no real threat to ratings or profits, the quality of WWE programming began to decline as did pro wrestling's popularity. It seemed as if the company began to rest on its laurels. Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling have since emerged from the rubble left from the Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWE, but they do. It have the financial backing or popularity to really be contenders to WWE's throne. New Japan Pro Wrestling has made strides in garnering the interest of American wrestling fans, but the time zone difference and lack of a real television deal is a tough obstacle to overcome for the Japanese wrestling promotion. The reign of WWE over the professional wrestling world looked like it would last forever. If a pro wrestling company were to challenge WWE for the crown, it would need to be an elite challenger. Enter All Elite Wrestling.

Following the success of the independent "All In" wrestling event that featured wrestlers from promotions such as ROH, TNA, NJPW, and the National Wrestling Alliance among others, speculation on if top ROH stars and "All In" masterminds Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks would start their own promotion ran rampant. Trademarks for "All Elite Wrestling" were filed for in November and Rhodes, the Young Bucks, and several other of ROH's top wrestler left the promotion in December. On January 1, 2019, All Elite Wrestling's creation was officially announced. The next day, the father and son duo of Shahid Khan and Tony Khan were announced as company investors with Tony also serving as company president. The Khans are billionaires as well as part owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League and Fulham Football Club of the Premier League and are reportedly backing the new wrestling promotion with a $100 million investment.

The first shots of what could be a new wrestling war were fired on January 8 when AEW held its inaugural press conference at TIAA Bank Field which is the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Wrestling fans packed the conference as WWE's SmackDown television program was airing live from Jacksonville later that night. At the conference, AEW announced a working relationship with Chinese professional wrestling company Oriental Wrestling Entertainment as well as some of the wrestlers signed to the AEW roster. Notable wrestlers already under the AEW brand include Christopher Daniela, Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky, Pac (who competed in WWE as Neville), and Chris Jericho.

While it is still early and AEW has yet to produce an official show or announce any sort of television deal at the time that this lost was written, many wrestling reporters and fans, including myself, see AEW as a legitimate competitor to WWE. Apparently WWE might be feeling the same way. The company was reportedly turning away people from the SmackDown airing in Jacksonville who were wearing AEW merchandise. The company's inaugural event, "Double or Nothing," is set for May 25, 2019. There is still plenty of time for AEW to not only announce a television deal and build toward the event but also sign more wrestlers to its roster. The Revival and Mike Bennett have recently requested their release from WWE. I wouldn't be shocked if they wind up in AEW, and if they are first of a number of WWE defections.

As a wrestling fan, I am very excited for AEW. Having another legitimate professional wrestling company that has both the talent and the financial backing to compete with WWE is a fantastic development for the wrestling industry as a whole. Not only does it give fans another option to get their pro wrestling fix, but it can also bring about a surge in wrestling popularity and quality. The Monday Night Wars took professional wrestling a to unprecedented heights. Maybe AEW can be the catalyst to launch another wrestling boom.