The Big Reason behind AEW's Big Weekend

Warning

In this piece I will discussing themes, of grooming, and sexual assault, so reader discretion is advised..

Intro

As time has gone on, the industry has gone through changes, from terrotories becoming monopolised, to the out cry of ignorance, destroying a scene that at one point thrived, but with this dark cloud hanging around, has light started to come through? this is the question, that I will be asking, as Tony Khans little promotion that can, pressents it's second edition of its biggest show of the year. All In at Wembley Stadium

Playing Games

Monopoly isn't just a classic British Boardgame, in the terms for business it's an ugly word, that's looked as a way to gain financial power. Capitalism in wrestling during the 1980's, was brought to the forefront, when. He Who Shall Not Be Named bought out all of the major North American Territories, bringing forward the formation of. The World Wrestling Federation, This also came at the time when Mcmahon Sr sold his promotion to his son, not long before this. Fast forward nearly 32 years into the future, and. HHH had turned NXT. WWE's developmental brand into an underground powerhouse. The years of 2011-2015, would act as his divining achievement, with their Takeover events, becoming critically aclaimed masterclasses, in booking, and execution, this lead to the world starting to take notice, with some of the best talent on a global scale, wanting to apply their trade Stateside, and with this came Globalisation. NXT UK was bourne. In the later months of 2016, the WWE announced at a large press conference. NXT UK. HHH, said that this would help the UK industry, but overall, it was a harrowing reminder, of how, of when moneytalks, Company's were set up to fail. Indie Companies such as ICW, and XPW, would suffer, as contracts were on the clear list, whilst others were left out in the dark. Venues would continue to suffer, as ticket sales declined, this would pave the way for lies to be told, allowing the talent, and company's, to suffer. Daddy says. Daddy does was the goal, and the outliner, as the UK scene became deflated, by a mass machine, that showed no sign of slowing down. However, a darker side of the business, was bubbling under the surface.

Speaking Out

In march of 2018. WWE released Enzo Amore from his WWE contract, after accusations of sexual assault involving drugs came to light, this, however was proven to be disguarded, after both accounts didn't match up, but this did open up old wounds, reports of assualts in the UK Scene would start to gather. With Progress handing over cases, and, individuals to the police, this left a bad taste in my mouth, as the industry swept this issue under the rug, my thoughts kept thinking. If one person has come forward, then there had to be more, and to my horror. I was right. In the Summer of 2020 The Speaking out movement came to light. Wrestlings version of the metoo#. Accounts of Sexual assault. Harrassment. Grooming, and. Emotional manipulation, were brought into the light, with. Progress wrestling, and the entire UK scene, including. WWE NXT UK, were put under a microscope, firings and suspensions, were being handed out, this was a needed light, that had a nasty undertone. The act of listening was needed then more so than ever before. The isolation that someone must feel, when they feel like they can't speak, must be awful, and as a man, who watched as this all unfolded. I wasn't suprised when it went global, this was due to the fact that the mentality of, this is a boys club, needed to be put out to rot, because these caveman attitudes should've changed, when the industry took strides, to move forward. WWE and AEW Talent on their main rosters, were also accused, with the most notable firing being Jimmy Havok from AEW. My thoughts haven't changed since this broke four years ago. T.L.L. ( Talk. Listen, and. Learn ) because if we can do that, than the world can start to show some understanding, when it's needed.

My thoughts on UK shows these days

The UK scene has started to rebound, but I do feel that, one of the reasons these big company's like WWE, and. AEW are coming over, is to show, that unity is a key part of our society. Yes. I understand that, every industry has a core of beliefs, but what I want to ask is this, Why did the wrestling industry think it was so immune for all of those years? And the answer is this. I don't know. Change was needed, and, thank my stars, we have it.

TV Dynamics

The major port of call for all wrestling company's, are tv deals, and the UK is no differant. WWE until the end of this year airs on TNT Sports, whilst AEW has co dual rights, with ITV, and. Thriller TV, all of these deals have proven to lucrative, and has only given a much needed boost to UK scene, that had been flatlined, due to unwanted controversy.

Emerging Talent

The UK has now got a great value of talent, that has come up over the last, decade. With. Will Osperay. Kip Sabian. Pac. Saraya, and. Jamie Hayter, all flying the flag for the UK working under the AEW banner, whilst. Charlie Dempsey. Drew Mcintyre. Finn Balor. Tyler Bate. Pete Dunne. Sheamus. Blair Davenport, and. Fyre and Dawn, are all giving great accounts for themselves on WWE tv, should be a sign of, if you want it bad enough, and if you work hard, then you can achieve anything, the world is in the UK scene's hands. 

If you've been affected by the issues raised in this piece you can Rape Crisis in the UK on 0808 500 2222.

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And in Australia you can call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

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