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Whilst 2022 has proven to be the most turbulent year yet for AEW, there are still countless positives when it comes to the promotion, with storytelling and in-ring both continuing to impress, constantly meeting the ridiculously high bar which has been set for their shows. However, that doesn’t mean that some issues haven’t cropped up time and time again, as some problems only seemingly getting worse. One of those is the size of AEW’s roster, which has often received criticism. Whilst having the biggest and best available names isn’t a bad thing, handling them is a tough task. There are certainly ways to fix these issues, with a brand split being a potential avenue to look down.
AEW’s Current Roster Is Arguably Too Big
According to AEW’s official roster page, the roster currently houses over 120 active competitors across all of their divisions, which isn’t to mention all the Ring of Honor associated individuals who aren’t official AEW talent, the countless independant performers who compete on Dark and Elevation, and the array of other talents from promotions such as AAA, NJPW, DDT, and Impact who make cameo appearances too.
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With the quality of talent involved, which includes successful veterans, wrestlers at their peak, and many up-and-coming competitors, it has proven to be a very difficult task to perfectly manage all of these separate entities under one roof. If AEW still wants to continue signing hot free agents and to entice stars from other big promotions, then something needs to be done about the lack of time given to certain names. The likes of Andrade El Idolo, Miro, Malakai Black, and Wardlow are all wrestlers who could conceivably be at the top of the card, but it has been hard for them and many others to get consistent TV time.
Whilst a relaxed schedule is likely ideal for some, it means that certain wrestlers get just seconds of weekly time in a short promo to further a feud to ensure that fans remember their existence - and this simply isn’t enough. Splitting the roster in half could help these sorts of issues to create shows which don’t feel as rushed or jam-packed full of matches and moments, meaning that things don’t get a chance to breathe.
AEW’s Roster Feels Very Disconnected And Disjointed At Times
When looking at Raw and SmackDown with their reduced rosters, more threads are able to play through each show as there are less names to try and squeeze in. One problem AEW has is that at times it feels like there are many disconnected stories all simultaneously happening, however in other promotions such as WWE, more wrestlers interact with one another, making it feel like everyone is connected in the backstage environment and existing in one big world together.
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If AEW had two brands, then more individual focus could be put onto certain individuals, developing their personalities and giving them more in-depth stories which develop from week to week. When looking at feuds such as Powerhouse Hobbs vs Ricky Starks, they were given so little time to truly create some animosity and to showcase their new personalities, meaning that their eventual PPV match didn’t have as much heat as other matches.
A Brand Split With ROH Could Help To Fix These Roster Issues
Right now, AEW has a problem when it comes to too many championship belts, especially now with the introduction of Ring of Honor. Utilizing ROH as a second brand could be something that fixes these issues, giving ROH a selection of names from AEW to appear exclusively on the show. This gives AEW a reason to keep certain names away from each other, creating more magical moments when two individuals from opposing brands come face to face.
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It could be argued that ROH would lose its identity if this were the case, which would certainly be a big risk. Perhaps instead of a huge brand split down the middle, giving ROH a particular style of wrestler could help to make it stand out away from AEW. Having two AEW brands along with a separate ROH show would certainly be overkill and even harder to handle, but perhaps a less direct split in terms of giving some AEW stars to ROH would help things in a huge way.
If the likes of Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, Ruby Soho, Serena Deeb, and FTR went over to ROH, they would all get more time in the spotlight, opening more spots in AEW for others to climb the ranks and fill those holes in the card. Either way, AEW needs to figure out a way to fix the issues of a growing roster, as more discontent in terms of booking will arise, and more names will want to leave AEW.
