Top four things allowed in AEW that are banned in WWE

WWE and AEW are very much different in their style, presentation and working environment.

For many years in the wrestling world, WWE had been dominating the scene in the primary market of the United States. That was until a direct competitor emerged in the form of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, which was started by multiple EVPs and the company’s President, Tony Khan.

Khan has made his promotion as a major alternative in the industry attracting some of the top-tier wrestling talents in the world. Moreover, he has made a completely different landscape governed by rules and regulations that are banned in WWE, of which here are the top four of them:

4. Outside appearances

While WWE superstars are contracted to only appear for their television programming as part of wrestling shows, except for a few one-offs, the same is not prevalent for AEW.

The company has partnered with multiple promotions on independent circuits like NJPW and TNA and allowed the exchange of talent with them to appear or wrestle for shows, the most recent example cited as IWGP World Champion Jon Moxley appearing for both companies on a regular basis.

3. Merchandise sales

As AEW typically does not trademark its stars’ ring names, they are allowed to sell their own merchandise independently. While AEW sells merchandise through its online shop and at events, many stars, like Mercedes Mone and Danhausen, also use platforms like ProWrestlingTees.

These sites feature merchandise from various promotions, allowing wrestlers to receive most, if not all, of the profits from the sales. On the other hand, WWE exclusively sells its talent’s merchandise through its online shop and Fanatics, retaining character rights and sharing a portion of the sales through royalty checks with their superstars.

2. Ring Name

The management in WWE frequently changes a superstar’s ring name to secure exclusive trademarks, whereas AEW typically maintains the original names unless WWE has ownership of them. For instance, Adam Copeland, known as “Edge” in WWE, now uses his real name in AEW but retains his “Rated R Superstar” nickname.

The change in ring names is less common in AEW because company CEO Tony Khan prefers keeping performers’ indie scene names, valuing their established fan connections.

1. No Scripted Promos

For many years, WWE superstars were imposed with heavily scripted promos to majorly of their talents, except for their main event attractions, but of course that has changed a bit in today’s era.

However, AEW invited inputs from their own talents and used bullet points from a promo instead of a straight script from the very beginning to have its stars deliver organic promos that would look more real to the audience.

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