What is the difference between AEW and WWE?

Since its inception in 2019, All Elite Wrestling has taken the sport by storm and is arguably the second largest company behind WWE.

The promotion is owned by Shahid and Tony Khan, who also own Premier League side Fulham.

As for the WWE, the promotion has long been recognized as the biggest promotion and continues to establish itself as one of the top sports organizations in the world.

While both are professional wrestling promotions, they usually have their differences in terms of creativity, business practices and the talent on offer.

But what are the differences between All Elite Wrestling and WWE? Mail sports gives the answers below.

There are a few differences between AEW and WWE in terms of how they both run

Entertainment vs sports

The main difference between the two promotions is the fact that the WWE focuses more on the entertainment side, while AEW guarantees a more sports-based approach.

Traditionally, the WWE has always been seen as an entertainment organization. Their way of running the brand has worked well over the years as they continue to pull in huge PPV numbers.

All Elite Wrestling was founded on the idea that they would be more sports oriented than their rivals.

You could argue that the AEW is more violent and offers a more physical style than the WWE in their events. It’s not uncommon for AEW fans to see blood, with the promotion trying to bring back fans who grew up watching more intense matches.

With that being said, the entertainment aspect of the WWE is second to none. The goal is arguably to create a more family-friendly atmosphere, where people of all ages can tune in and enjoy the action.

The WWE has always been seen as the promotion that focuses on entertainment in sports

Scheme

In AEW, the schedule is a lot more flexible as compared to WWE. On average, a household name in WWE travels to three different shows per week.

It is also very common for a wrestler in the promotion to do four shows in four different cities. In addition, the promotion tends to have at least one PPV event per month.

That said, the promotion has allowed the stars more time with family in recent times. However, once they are on their way, they have little time to travel home.

For AEW, wrestlers perform up to two shows per week. There are quarterly PPV events – where AEW stars have more work to do, but it’s much less than WWE.

While there are a few wrestlers in every promotion who disagree with the schedule, both organizations continue to look at ways they can help their stars.

Schedule

Another difference between the two promotions is the size of their respective rosters.

WWE has a large roster of talent known for its focus on entertainment and storylines. There is no denying that the promotion has a group of talented wrestlers that will put on a show for its fans.

In wrestling’s biggest promotion, they tend to adopt a mindset where they focus on their biggest stars. The likes of Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Bianca Belair, and Ronda Rousey are arguably some of the top names in the business. The potential downside is that you see the same stars every week.

Now that WWE has been around for much longer, they just have a deeper roster, filled with PPV stars. In the AEW, however, there is a more rotating selection.

With AEW still fairly new, there is still a lot of time for the promotion to develop its roster and compete with the WWE for the foreseeable future.

It’s fair to say that the year-round WWE schedule is a lot stricter than All Elite Wrestling

Storylines

In AEW, the promotion can tell real stories with beginning, middle and end. Throughout the matches, it’s easier for regular characters to develop in realistic ways, with their matches working with the storyline to enhance it.

The promotion allows wrestlers to have their say a lot more than the WWE, while still allowing Tony Khan to have the final say.

As for WWE, the storytelling is pretty bad. Wrestlers tend to have the same matches week in, week out, without really going anywhere.

Fans claim that many characters are inconsistent and the storyline is difficult and confusing to follow.

Over the years, the WWE has produced a great storyline, but lately it can be confusing for some fans to follow

AEW cooperates with other promotions

The AEW signs much of its talent to exclusive contracts, allowing them to appear on a wide variety of promotions.

It has brought in several stars from other organizations and has also brought in Indie stars for special appearances. AEW has partnerships with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, DDT Pro-Wrestling, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah, and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, among others.

Wrestlers and other personalities also have the chance to appear at AEW events.

In the WWE, it is less common for the promotion to partner with other wrestling organizations.

While stars have worked with other organizations within the promotion, it’s not as regular as in All Elite Wrestling.