The following editorial was written by Tyler Treese and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Tyler’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post and follow him on Twitter @tylertreese.
It’s difficult not to be excited after yesterday’s All Elite Wrestling rally. It was the proper introduction to the new Khan family backed wrestling promotion that is being led by Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks that we were all waiting for. Not only did they get their message of change across, but they also made some surprising announcements including the signings of former WWE stars PAC and Chris Jericho
Despite all of the new information, it wound up raising more questions than answers. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does show that this promotion is still rapidly changing as it gets put together.
Here are five questions that I came away asking:
Is Equal Pay Really Happening?
Brandi Rhodes said that women will receive “equal pay.” It’s a great gesture at equality, but it also has a very specific legal meaning that two people doing the same job have equal pay. However, it’s pretty clear that someone like Chris Jericho is not making the same amount as Britt Baker, even if they have the same amount of dates or minutes in-ring. It also goes completely against how wrestling contracts have been established over the past century.
So, how is this going to be proven exactly? Are wrestling contracts going to be separated into different tiers that pay wrestlers the same within them? For example, a “main event” tier (that would include Chris Jericho) could pay “X” amount of money per appearance, while there could be lower tiers for veterans, rookies, and so on. However, does this mean that the most pushed woman on the roster (their “main event” tier signee) will make the same amount as Jericho or someone like Kenny Omega? I very much doubt it, but I hope to be proven wrong here.
Does it mean that contract negotiations are things of the past and wrestlers can either take or leave deals that they know are coming? I don’t have the answers, and it doesn’t seem like All Elite Wrestling really does either at this point. They’re using specific terms in far too broad of a manner. I appreciate women being treated properly, and it’s a great goal to have, but I’m just not buying into this promise of equal pay right now.
How will co-promotion work?
PAC didn’t just show up at the All Elite Wrestling rally, but he also brought his Open the Dream Gate Championship with him and referenced it during his promo. Does this mean that AEW will be working with Dragon Gate in the future? Can their stars still work Pro Wrestling Guerrilla? What exactly will happen with New Japan Pro-Wrestling going forward? There are a ton of questions about co-promotion beyond their China deal that they announced, and I hope they’re outlined (at least in general terms if not individually) sooner rather than later.
Will it have a sports presentation to it?
You expect wrestlers to play to a crowd, but it did lead to some odd moments for what was essentially a press conference. For example, the part where Cody said that “wins will matter more than ever before” felt like pandering to wrestling fans that have grown angry with WWE’s widely spread belief that “wins and losses don’t matter.” It got a pop from the crowd, but it means nothing until events actually happen and it is proven that…wins actually matter. So, I’m curious if this means that it will have a more serious, sporting presentation and how they’ll balance the winks and nods to the fans that are “smart to the business.” After all, that sense of humor is what made them so successful in the first place, so how will they balance that sort of silliness with a more serious tone?
How long will they play the underdog?
Perhaps the silliest part of the Rally was when Adam “Hangman” Page talked about how freeing it was to have no corporate bosses. I’m sure he genuinely feels that way about All Elite Wrestling, but to act like this isn’t being financed by a decision making billionaire would be to ignore all of the facts. I know All In received an organic fan support that will gravitate to All Elite Wrestling, but this can’t be described as an independent operation that is clawing its way from the ground up. If it winds up changing the landscape for the better? Awesome! But acting like the funding isn’t coming from the Khan family is as disingenuous as acting like Donald Trump didn’t have a head start in his business ventures due to his family. It’s okay to acknowledge what we already know.
Will there be a push for unionization?
As mentioned above, equal pay is something that usually comes out of union discussions. For example, Writer’s unions will ensure that a certain position in a company will pay the same no matter who holds it and outlines expected raises over time. So, if there’s actually going to be equal pay, does that mean that the wrestlers will all unionize to become actual employees rather than abusing independent contractors like WWE does? You can talk all about changing the world, but the actions will reveal if they really mean it.
