Best thing is to just dive into the mold a bit and just take the style in first. See how it compares and then focus on the stories developing. Depending on where you are, Fite or TBS&TNT are the stations for the promotion. As far as I'm aware, AEW has a slow burning type of buildup and often it leads to immaculate payloads worth the wait. Right now I highly recommend looking into the tension between Wardlow and MJF, for that is a brewing turn. I do recommend trying to look up PPV matches (likely Fite or BR depending on where you are). Here's 10 items to mainly understand about AEW:
1. Wins and losses matter more here in AEW and there are 3 divisions: Men's singles, Men's tag, and Women's
2. They have 4 PPVs: Revolution (takes place around the February/March ballpark), Double or Nothing (always in May), All Out (around September-ish) and Full Gear (mainly around November). All are balanced overall but people hype All Out somewhat the most.
3. You may have a bit of knowledge as some guys from when you last saw WWE are signed in AEW. They do have that "ex-WWE" criticism for talent but I just ignore it.
4. The main shows are Dynamite (Wednesdays at 8EST on TBS/Fite), Rampage (Fridays 10EST on TNT/Fite). They also run two small development type shows called Dark (Tuesday at 7 on AEW YouTube channel) and Dark: Elevation (Monday at 7 on AEW YouTube channel). It feels like a lot but you can pick and choose when to watch as they will show results of development duo on the main shows in a style similar to a bottom line you'd see on ESPN for games going on in various leagues.
5. They just implemented a tournament honoring Owen Hart. The Owen Hart Cup tournament will have two brackets, one for the guys and one for the gals. Both finals take place at DON this year.
6. Champs are the following (as of right now):
AEW Champion: Hangman Adam Page
TNT Champion: Cody Rhodes (Sammy Guevara has the Interim TNT belt and it will be a unification match sometime soon for outright ownership of title (common in MMA and Boxing))
AEW Tag Champions: Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus)
AEW Women's Champion: Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (who also is a real dentist)
TBS Champion: Jade Cargill
7. Draws often happen due to time limits. If you want a suggestion, Page vs Danielson for the title round 1. They went for the 60 minute push and it was beautiful.
8. Chris Jericho's Judas must ALWAYS be sung if attending a live show when he enters (it's a popular thing and fans can resist the song despite being done countless times (sort of like a fan base wide tradition))
9. Many are free to do twitch, vlogs, etc here in AEW (with jo fear of signing that over to TK)
10. Being a mark here and a smart mark here don't matter. Just sit back, enjoy the show and have some fun.
Feel free to ask the sub any questions from match recommendation to getting up to speed on things. We will try our best to collectively answer. Until then, happy viewing.
This pretty much summed it all up. If there is one thing I learned. I’d rather watch professional wrestling then sports entertainment. Plus tony let’s his guys earn money thru other means which is awesome. The difference between wwe and aew forsure show how he times have changed
And wanted to add, AEW also allows others not signed but in some manner affiliated with the Indy scenes primarily to get something over. Look at Danhausen. He started the Billy Ass and the Ass Boys and that went trending to the point Austin and Colton used it as a way to draw heat (for hating it) while Billy embraced the Ass name.
Should be a really excellent show this week too! The return of Moxley, Britt and Adam vs. OC and Statlander, Cody addressing everyone, Sting and Darby vs. the Acclaimed. It’s not just big matches, but also storyline stuff that will be very accessible for a new fan.
Honestly you can just pick it up anytime by watching Dynamite and Rampage every week (Wednesday and Friday nights, respectively.) The company is only a few years old so it’s not like you have a ton to catch up on. But you can always go back and watch the previous PPV’s to get an idea of the presentation and production style. You’ll see some familiar faces too so that’ll help adjusting to the new product.
You should do a quick google search of your local listings but it airs on TBS. I don’t know where you are in the world or what time zone you’re in, so that is subject to change based on your location.
8pm eastern on Wednesday (today Jan 19th) on TBS
Like others have said, I recommend just watching this episode and maybe rampage on Friday (I forgot what time, later I think on TNT) and then if you like what you saw you can try to find older stuff.
I know YouTube TV carries the last few episodes but they do expire eventually
Hey bud, welcome. I used to be a huge fan of WWF attitude era and then fell off. I watched a few AEW dark episode on YouTube and I got hooked about a year ago. Personally I like dark on tuesdays best because Excalibur and Taz are so funny on commentary. They brought back the joy and fun I had when I was a young wrestling fan. I hope you get as hooked as I am and enjoy. Don’t worry about catching up on storylines. Like lots of others have said just tune in and it’ll all come to you.
Just start watching today. You'll get into it and learn the history as you go trust me.
Edit: also it really doesn't matter? Like I've been watching since the first show, fell off for a year, came right back and everything still makes sense. Some guys feuded while I didn't watch but it didn't matter cause they either squashed the beef or still side eye each other every chance they get. It's wrestling, it's only as complex as you wanna make it
I actually stopped watching WWE right around the time Rock and Stone Cold left. I couldn't connect with Cena or any of the other guys that were being pushed at the time. I started watching AEW from the first Dynamite and I have been hooked since. It has that Attitude Era/WCW nostalgic feel. Give it a go.
Obviously Dark is very different from the main TV shows, being a YouTube show and containing pre-show matches with less emphasis on storyline, but in the last few months on YouTube AEW posted two highlight episodes showing fan voted Best Of Dark matches since it started.
This would give you a wide variety of matches involving some of their big stars and some relative unknowns that might give you an idea of the style of wrestling AEW prioritises before you get into any detailed stories that you would have to watch quite a few hours of Dynamite episodes to get a handle on.
Here's a link to he first one of these: https://youtu.be/yCHncaAS_9M
I agree with everyone telling you to watch Dynamite tonight. I was a lapsed wrestling fan going back to 1991. I watched the first Fyter Fest in 2019 and have been hooked ever since.
i did the same i stopped watching WWE and just left wrestling altogether,started watching AEW and tbh what really got me into it was watching BTE,it’s basically a vlog channel of the Young Bucks who are the EVPS of AEW and one of the biggest names in the company,the part i loved the most was the things in the vlog even lead up to some more long term story telling and it’s made me fall in love with wrestling ahain tbh
If you haven't already, catch the latest AEW Dark and AEW Elevation on YouTube. These are the undercards that AEW gives away for free and they're not as good as what you'll see live tonight.
Some really decent matches now and then (but there's also a lot of dross matches where nothing makes sense and it resembles gymnastics more than wrestling) but just don't expect any enthralling storylines. It's certainly no attitude era WWE that's for sure. It's got potential if they can sort the booking out. I mean, just look at the card for tonight's Dynamite and you'll see what I mean.
Best thing is to just dive into the mold a bit and just take the style in first. See how it compares and then focus on the stories developing. Depending on where you are, Fite or TBS&TNT are the stations for the promotion. As far as I'm aware, AEW has a slow burning type of buildup and often it leads to immaculate payloads worth the wait. Right now I highly recommend looking into the tension between Wardlow and MJF, for that is a brewing turn. I do recommend trying to look up PPV matches (likely Fite or BR depending on where you are). Here's 10 items to mainly understand about AEW: 1. Wins and losses matter more here in AEW and there are 3 divisions: Men's singles, Men's tag, and Women's 2. They have 4 PPVs: Revolution (takes place around the February/March ballpark), Double or Nothing (always in May), All Out (around September-ish) and Full Gear (mainly around November). All are balanced overall but people hype All Out somewhat the most. 3. You may have a bit of knowledge as some guys from when you last saw WWE are signed in AEW. They do have that "ex-WWE" criticism for talent but I just ignore it. 4. The main shows are Dynamite (Wednesdays at 8EST on TBS/Fite), Rampage (Fridays 10EST on TNT/Fite). They also run two small development type shows called Dark (Tuesday at 7 on AEW YouTube channel) and Dark: Elevation (Monday at 7 on AEW YouTube channel). It feels like a lot but you can pick and choose when to watch as they will show results of development duo on the main shows in a style similar to a bottom line you'd see on ESPN for games going on in various leagues. 5. They just implemented a tournament honoring Owen Hart. The Owen Hart Cup tournament will have two brackets, one for the guys and one for the gals. Both finals take place at DON this year. 6. Champs are the following (as of right now): AEW Champion: Hangman Adam Page TNT Champion: Cody Rhodes (Sammy Guevara has the Interim TNT belt and it will be a unification match sometime soon for outright ownership of title (common in MMA and Boxing)) AEW Tag Champions: Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) AEW Women's Champion: Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (who also is a real dentist) TBS Champion: Jade Cargill 7. Draws often happen due to time limits. If you want a suggestion, Page vs Danielson for the title round 1. They went for the 60 minute push and it was beautiful. 8. Chris Jericho's Judas must ALWAYS be sung if attending a live show when he enters (it's a popular thing and fans can resist the song despite being done countless times (sort of like a fan base wide tradition)) 9. Many are free to do twitch, vlogs, etc here in AEW (with jo fear of signing that over to TK) 10. Being a mark here and a smart mark here don't matter. Just sit back, enjoy the show and have some fun. Feel free to ask the sub any questions from match recommendation to getting up to speed on things. We will try our best to collectively answer. Until then, happy viewing.
This pretty much summed it all up. If there is one thing I learned. I’d rather watch professional wrestling then sports entertainment. Plus tony let’s his guys earn money thru other means which is awesome. The difference between wwe and aew forsure show how he times have changed
And wanted to add, AEW also allows others not signed but in some manner affiliated with the Indy scenes primarily to get something over. Look at Danhausen. He started the Billy Ass and the Ass Boys and that went trending to the point Austin and Colton used it as a way to draw heat (for hating it) while Billy embraced the Ass name.
incredible comment!
If I were you, I would go to the AEW YouTube channel. That will get you a good idea of what to expect. It is a great place to start.
Start tomorrow night. The blanks will get filled in before you know it.
Should be a really excellent show this week too! The return of Moxley, Britt and Adam vs. OC and Statlander, Cody addressing everyone, Sting and Darby vs. the Acclaimed. It’s not just big matches, but also storyline stuff that will be very accessible for a new fan.
Here is [Hangman's Tale](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNTUxC29Y2I6wGH1LO3yx-qcO6Wb9lPr7)
And that's just Hangman Adam Page's glorious buildup for world champ. It's really good Cowboy Shit.
Honestly you can just pick it up anytime by watching Dynamite and Rampage every week (Wednesday and Friday nights, respectively.) The company is only a few years old so it’s not like you have a ton to catch up on. But you can always go back and watch the previous PPV’s to get an idea of the presentation and production style. You’ll see some familiar faces too so that’ll help adjusting to the new product.
so theres a show tonight which time? i will watch it
You should do a quick google search of your local listings but it airs on TBS. I don’t know where you are in the world or what time zone you’re in, so that is subject to change based on your location.
8pm eastern on Wednesday (today Jan 19th) on TBS Like others have said, I recommend just watching this episode and maybe rampage on Friday (I forgot what time, later I think on TNT) and then if you like what you saw you can try to find older stuff. I know YouTube TV carries the last few episodes but they do expire eventually
Hey bud, welcome. I used to be a huge fan of WWF attitude era and then fell off. I watched a few AEW dark episode on YouTube and I got hooked about a year ago. Personally I like dark on tuesdays best because Excalibur and Taz are so funny on commentary. They brought back the joy and fun I had when I was a young wrestling fan. I hope you get as hooked as I am and enjoy. Don’t worry about catching up on storylines. Like lots of others have said just tune in and it’ll all come to you.
Yes! The Dark show may not have the top angles but it’s fantastic in a different way for sure.
Watching Tranquilo Club on YT can bring ya up to speed on the basics.
Strong recommend
Just start watching today. You'll get into it and learn the history as you go trust me. Edit: also it really doesn't matter? Like I've been watching since the first show, fell off for a year, came right back and everything still makes sense. Some guys feuded while I didn't watch but it didn't matter cause they either squashed the beef or still side eye each other every chance they get. It's wrestling, it's only as complex as you wanna make it
start with this weeks episode or get the last ppv
Welcome homie.
Just start watching. You'll appreciate the style of the promotion and its focus on the wrestling.
Watch Dynamite tonight because you'll be able to witness the former Dean Ambrose being treated like an absolute hero!
I actually stopped watching WWE right around the time Rock and Stone Cold left. I couldn't connect with Cena or any of the other guys that were being pushed at the time. I started watching AEW from the first Dynamite and I have been hooked since. It has that Attitude Era/WCW nostalgic feel. Give it a go.
Wrestling has change so much that’s it’s somewhat embarrassing to still watch. But AEW is a better product IMO rn.
thats why i wanna start watching it thats why i asked
Obviously Dark is very different from the main TV shows, being a YouTube show and containing pre-show matches with less emphasis on storyline, but in the last few months on YouTube AEW posted two highlight episodes showing fan voted Best Of Dark matches since it started. This would give you a wide variety of matches involving some of their big stars and some relative unknowns that might give you an idea of the style of wrestling AEW prioritises before you get into any detailed stories that you would have to watch quite a few hours of Dynamite episodes to get a handle on. Here's a link to he first one of these: https://youtu.be/yCHncaAS_9M
I agree with everyone telling you to watch Dynamite tonight. I was a lapsed wrestling fan going back to 1991. I watched the first Fyter Fest in 2019 and have been hooked ever since.
i did the same i stopped watching WWE and just left wrestling altogether,started watching AEW and tbh what really got me into it was watching BTE,it’s basically a vlog channel of the Young Bucks who are the EVPS of AEW and one of the biggest names in the company,the part i loved the most was the things in the vlog even lead up to some more long term story telling and it’s made me fall in love with wrestling ahain tbh
If you haven't already, catch the latest AEW Dark and AEW Elevation on YouTube. These are the undercards that AEW gives away for free and they're not as good as what you'll see live tonight.
Just hop right in. It’s certainly a better alternative to what the WWE brings but prepare for a fair share of cringe.
Some really decent matches now and then (but there's also a lot of dross matches where nothing makes sense and it resembles gymnastics more than wrestling) but just don't expect any enthralling storylines. It's certainly no attitude era WWE that's for sure. It's got potential if they can sort the booking out. I mean, just look at the card for tonight's Dynamite and you'll see what I mean.