name='verify_a78772d791e94fc7f9666f0dd14249cc'/> With a single turn, WWE just learned to admit when AEW can be right

With a single turn, WWE just learned to admit when AEW can be right

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A subtle change to Monday Night Raw’s first segment from the Performance Center gave us a moment to realize WWE is watching AEW.

All it took was one turn, for WWE to show that they’re aware that sometimes they’re wrong and that AEW gets things right sometimes. Yes, most of the time WWE is too obsessed with its public image to even admit fault, but the Monday Night Raw after the first empty-arena Dynamite — possibly the first show they’ve filmed since that Dynamite (SmackDown was shot traditionally) — they showed a bit of subtle humility.

Of course, the WWE defense squad will say I’m full of it. But I’m being honest here, seeing Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar like this was a shock. I didn’t expect WWE to change the camera angle for its empty arena segments on Monday Night Raw. Yet, when the cameras turned on, and we saw the previously-promoted WWE Champion and his advocate in the ring, the pair were facing away from the stage.

In this tiny moment, WWE broke from an age old tradition, where the default camera facing the ring, the camera talent performs to, was to the right of the stage. And as anyone who watched Dynamite last week could have told you, de-emphasizing the empty arena seats makes all the difference.

Yes, in this time of great uncertainty and constant alterations being made on the fly, AEW figured something out before WWE. Unfortunately, WWE didn’t learn one of the other lessons from Dynamite.

This interview segment, which was standard issue Paul Heyman (except for when he tried to say “dished out” and it sounded like he was talking about a certain hygiene product), was followed by ... another long match played from start to bottom. I mean, to their credit, Lesnar vs Rollins vs Cena is an all time classic, maybe the best triple threat ever, but I am not nearly as interested in this match as I’ll be in anything that’s supposed to be “live.”

Yes, WWE’s got a bad hand — 3 hours is a lot of time to fill in an age of social distancing — but old wrestling matches don’t play like they did live. That’s why it’s live sports that TV networks want. It’s not as interesting when we know what’s going to happen.

AEW’s influence on WWE has mostly been good. The move to make NXT a live Wednesday night show has made that show much more compelling (as it should when results haven’t leaked and you don’t know what’s going to happen). Hopefully, in the coming weeks, as both companies continue to try new ways to entertain us — as the forces beyond their control test their limits — both sides continue to edify the other.

Who knows, maybe WWE will do something crazy with WrestleMania 36 that’s so good that AEW will want to test it out. I can’t rule that out. You can’t rule out anything anymore. Maybe WWE will let someone named Dustin say “Dick” on TV.



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