AEW Exposed for Overly Scripted Approach to Matches by Ex-Employee

AEW prides itself on having one of the most diverse and talented rosters in professional wrestling. While that may be the case, quite a few matches have been criticized for being spot fests and overly choreographed and now a former employee has exposed AEW for its overly scripted approach to matches.

While speaking on Hannibal TV, Kevin Kelly explained how AEW matches can feel overly scripted. Kelly noted that wrestlers arrive at the arena around 1:00 PM and have to script out their entire match. They share all the details with their coach, who passes them on to the production team. This includes specifics like where a dive will happen or which side the camera should focus on.

Throughout the day, wrestlers keep tweaking and adding to the match, which can make it overly complicated. Instead of sticking to a simple plan—like how the match starts, when the big moments happen, and the finish—it turns into something more like a Michael Bay movie, packed with too much action.

“Here’s a modern example of the issue that happens, and it’s one of the problems I think AEW struggles with. The guys get to the building at 1:00 PM, and they know they need to completely script out their match. They have to tell their coach, who then relays it to the truck, shot for shot. For example, ‘Hey, he’s going to do a dive on the ramp side,’ or ‘He’s going to do a plancha on the hard camera side,’ so the cameras are set up the way they need them to be.

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But because they’re memorizing the match, they’re also tweaking it and adding more stuff all day. It becomes this big mess—like trying to fit 10 pounds of crap into a 5-pound bag. Instead of just going out there with a framework—like starting a certain way, hitting the heat spot, and knowing what the finish will be—it turns into a scripted drama. By the time it’s done, it’s like a Michael Bay film.

Kelly noted that this happens a lot with Ring of Honor matches, especially since those often take place after shows like Collision or Dynamite. Sometimes the wrestlers know their match early in the day, giving them hours to over-plan and add more to it.

The issue is that wrestlers want to include everything they have thought of, not for bad reasons, but because they have memorized it all that way. According to Kevin Kelly, it’s easier for them to keep adding than to take things out.

“This especially happens with Ring of Honor matches because those guys often wrestle after Collision or Dynamite. Even though they find out their matches a bit later, some of them know early who they’re wrestling that night, and they have eight hours to plan. Those matches end up being crazy.

The problem is that they want to get all their stuff in—not for any bad reason—but because they’ve thought of all these ideas and memorized the match that way. It’s just easier for them to add things than to take anything out.”

This comes after Tony Khan declared that AEW pay-per-views are the best in the pro wrestling world. Regardless, many fans might agree with what Kevin Kelly had to say about AEW’s reliance on overly scripted matches, so it remains to be seen whether the company will change the way they plan our their matches in the future.

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