AEW 'Eras'.

[azraelms]

I sort my WWE figures into various eras, (Golden Age, New Generation, Attitude, etc) and am starting to do the same for AEW. I know it is still a young company, but I think we are in the second era already.

The first would be the birth of AEW, and to me the change in eras is either at All-Out 2021 with the debuts of both Brian Danielson & Adam Cole, or at the next PPV, Full Gear, when Kenny Omega lost the title. I am leaning towards Full Gear as the cutoff point, which basically makes the initial Birth era of AEW to be 2019-2021.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[newgenandy]

I’m a casual watcher of wrestling these days but I’d agree

How much time passed from punk starting to Bryan? Maybe punk was the start but on the whole i’d agree

[Deleted]

Apr 17, 2022 14:19:23 GMT -5 newgenandy said:

I’m a casual watcher of wrestling these days but I’d agree

How much time passed from punk starting to Bryan? Maybe punk was the start but on the whole i’d agree

Punk showed up on 8/20. Bryan showed up on 9/5 when Punk had his first match in AEW.

[newgenandy]

Apr 17, 2022 14:38:50 GMT -5 @jabulio said:

Apr 17, 2022 14:19:23 GMT -5 newgenandy said:

I’m a casual watcher of wrestling these days but I’d agree

How much time passed from punk starting to Bryan? Maybe punk was the start but on the whole i’d agree

Punk showed up on 8/20. Bryan showed up on 9/5 when Punk had his first match in AEW.

If punks first match was the same event Bryan debuted at then yeah I’d say that’s defo a change from the ‘super indie’ promotion to a big deal signing ex-wwe main eventers

[WCWThunderRosa]

There are two chapters to AEW: Hangman chasing the belt, and Hangman with the belt

[LA Times]

Eras are usually defined by who the world champions are. Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega were established stars for the birth of the company, so Hangman Adam Page winning the AEW World Championship would be the start of the current era.

[viper412]

All Out was the turning point then TBS switch was the hard new era

Like Attitude era ending at WM17 and RA not starting until either the draft, Cena debut or Summerslam depending who you ask

[Hardcore Bill Johnson]

We aren't far enough removed from anything to objectively see different eras yet.

[LK3]

Pre pandemic, pandemic, post pandemic? Visually speaking that is, with no crowds/wrestler crowd/small crowds.

[👑🇵🇭⭐️]

Eras!? TNA has eras. ROH has eras. Impact has eras. All Elite Wrestling hasn't been around long enough to have an era. Let's wait for the AEW Championship Title Belt to have a design change. Let's wait for new EVPs. Let's wait for the Dynamite / Rampage / ROH Draft. Let's wait for, at the very least, the 5 year anniversary.

[PJ]

They’ve been around what 3 years? There are no eras yet. It’s just AEW. What major changes has the company gone through? Cody and post Cody?

[azraelms]

I know it is a new company, but I definitely think after 3 years it is a new era. I think I have kind of settled on Full Gear, when Omega lost the title is the change to the new era. Omega hasn't been seen on TV since, Cody Rhodes is gone, and with all the additions (Danielson, Cole, O'Reilly, Fish, Keith Lee, Swerve, etc) it just feels different enough.

[newgenandy]

I think the OP has called it right - I don’t think it comes down the champions, what network it’s on etc but the direction of the company.

WWE Golden era > new gen was marked by more focus on younger talent. Bret beat flair for the belt in 92, the belt then went to hogan (via yoko) and backlund (via Bret’s 2nd reign) and brother hulk nor Bob would’ve fit into the ‘new gen’ focus

New Gen > Attitude era was marked by a shift in focus from cartoony / occupational wrestlers to ‘trashy / Jerry springer’ more adult / late teens focused content. WWE have themselves credited KOTR 96, Montreal, Austin beating Shawn as the start of the era. So while it’s hard to nail it down the era is looked back on as being the shift in content not who was the champ at the time as Shawn held the belt in both new gen and attitude, bret during the very tail end of golden era and new generation and arguably attitude etc

The signings of punk and his first match being when Bryan debuted etc is a mark in style of AEW from singing the best of the indies to household names

[vcf4850]

I'd say Punk started the new era of AEW. Here was a guy who was gone for years and hated wrestling but was brought back and found his love for it again.

[stc13]

I think it's pretty hard to say there have been multiple eras for a company that is only a few years old. There has been a definite shift, and the additions of Punk, Bryan, etc definitely moved AEW into a different tier. But with all history, it's much easier to define things looking back than in real time. I just don't think we're in a position right now to make that call one way or the other until things play out.

That said, there's nothing wrong with dividing up your collection as you see fit. And I think pre/post Punk or All Out are as good a place as any. I'm getting to the point where my AEW shelf is filling up, so I'm starting to have similar thoughts about breaking up the collection across two shelves.

[kinnikuman]

Apr 17, 2022 16:53:40 GMT -5 Hardcore Bill Johnson said:

We aren't far enough removed from anything to objectively see different eras yet.

This. When we speak of WWE eras, they can span a decade. Same with NWA/WCW. There's been no major shift in anything AEW has done. Ask again in like 6 years.

[rastlinfigures]

It's too early for me to start breaking AEW history into eras given how new it still is. Their "today in AEW history" posts also seem odd to me.

[newgenandy]

If you want to split just so your figures have some sort of order you could go:

Shelf 1: Cody, bucks and omega

Shelf 2: everyone else

Mind you’d have 671 on shelf 1 and about five on shelf 2 if tou did that, so maybe not…

😁

[personagamer]

Apr 17, 2022 16:53:40 GMT -5 Hardcore Bill Johnson said:

We aren't far enough removed from anything to objectively see different eras yet.

with them losing there first major name I'd disagree

[finnbalor1]

Like others have said I don't think its been around long enough to have different eras but if I wanted to separate them on a shelf,I would probably go with pre Punk and after he got there or with Cody and without.