How an AEW Story Mode Should Play Out

Saturday Night was AEW Full Gear and the stacked card of matches did not disappoint. But once again, it made me think of how much I wish I could fire up my PlayStation 5 and play some of this stacked card myself in a future AEW story mode.

With all the talk about WWF No Mercy, I always think of the story mode in that game. How can AEW’s story mode stack up against some of its predecessors, and more importantly, what can we expect? Here’s how I’d like to see AEW approach story mode in its upcoming wrestling video game.

AEW Story Mode

The AEW World Championship

We shouldn’t assume there will only be one main story for each belt — or even honestly, this is the route they will take altogether. Nevertheless, being able to relive some of the matches Kenny Omega had during his belt-collector reign seems like the obvious way to go here, right?

He starts his feud with an unsanctioned match vs. Moxley, which eventually turns into a world championship match where Don Callis gets involved. From there, he went on to win the Impact World Championship (DLC, probably), and they started making it obvious he was also the AAA champion. I think there was a chance somewhere in there that he could have won a New Japan title, but part of this was going on during a pandemic.

So, again, this seems like the story we deserve to play through. Heck, maybe even have it start with winning the tag titles with Hangman. Whatever they decide, here’s the way I see it.

Notable Title Matches:

• Full Gear | vs. Jon Moxley (Unsanctioned Match)
• Winter is Coming | vs. Jon Moxley (AEW Championship Match)
• Revolution | vs. Jon Moxley (AEW Championship Match/Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch)
• Double or Nothing | vs. Pac vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW Championship Match)
• Rampage Debut | Title match vs. Christian Cage (Impact Championship Match)
• All Out | vs. Christian Cage (AEW Championship Match)
• Full Gear | vs. Hangman Adam Page (AEW Championship Match)

Bonus matches could include Impact World Title

The alternative would be Hangman’s path to eventually win the AEW Championship like he did this past weekend. He started as an outsider. A guy that never felt good enough. I can see it now, playing through AEW Championship Mode as Hangman Page unlocks the Jericho Cruise arena and Danhausen or something random like that — but I’m getting sidetracked here.

I want to be the Belt Collector or Hangman. But if they’re going to make a Jericho/Moxley alternative, I’m here for it. But please, please, add the exploding barbed wire deathmatch. Make it one of those matches that is hard and difficult to overcome like the steel cage match in No Mercy. To this day, I still have nightmares of button-mashing as Mankind tries to climb over that cage. It was hard. Video games need more challenges like that.

The TNT Championship

For me, this one is the most obvious considering how beloved Mr. Brodie Lee was. So, it seems obvious to have an exclusive game mode where you can play through the game as Brodie.

Lee’s reign was short-lived, but what he accomplished will never be forgotten. His Dog Collar match vs. Cody was fantastic, and everything he did from Being the Elite to the impact he had on creating the Dark Order should be remembered.

So, it’s clear as the night is day, that a unique Brodie Lee TNT Championship story mode should exist.

Notable Title Matches:

• Double or Nothing | vs. Jon Moxley (AEW World Title)
• Dynamite | vs. Cody Rhodes (TNT Championship Match)
• All Out | Dark Order vs. Nightmare Family
• Dynamite | vs. Dustin Rhodes (TNT Championship Match)
• Dynamite | vs. Orange Cassidy (TNT Championship Match)
• Dynamite | vs. Cody Rhodes (TNT Championship Match/Dog Collar Match)

Other options would be Miro/Darby/Cody, which would be awesome. It could be a way to unlock Sting or Miro’s special title — I’m marking out, I know. There are plenty of options here, so I’m excited to see the direction they decide to go. That said, I strongly suggest a Mr. Brodie Lee TNT story mode. Please and thank you!

The AEW World Tag Team Championships

The story mode for the AEW World Tag Team Championship could go a few different ways. Unfortunately, none of those include the inaugural tag team champs, SoCal Uncensored. The way I’d like to see this story unfold — if they don’t want to continue with a Hangman/Omega storyline — would be the Young Bucks’ run as AEW tag champs. They went from pretty boys to cocky boys real quick, and their run with the tag titles was among the best in AEW’s young history.

(If you didn’t see the steel cage match vs. the Lucha Bros, do it now.)

Notable Title Matches:

• Fyter Fest | vs. Lucha Brothers (AAA Tag Team Championship match)
• Dynamite | vs. Inner Circle (6-man tag match)
• Dynamite | vs. Santana and Ortiz (street fight)
• Bash at the Beach | vs. Hangman and Page (#1 Contender’s match)
• Revolution | vs. Hangman and Page (AEW Tag Titles Match)
• Dynamite | vs. FTR (Tag Titles Match w/ Hangman Interference)
• All Out | vs. Jurassic Express
• Full Gear | vs. FTR (AEW Tag Titles Match)
• Dynamite | vs. The Acclaim (AEW Tag Titles Match)
• All Out 2021 | vs. Lucha Brothers (AEW Tag Titles Match/Steel Cage)

Other former tag team champions include FTR and the Lucha Bros. And, of course, Hangman and Omega.

The AEW Women’s Championship

Trying to decide which route to go with the AEW Women’s Championship is difficult. After all, Dr. Britt Baker has only had the title for half the time as Hikaru Shida. So, if the point is to give people the most difficult challenge, Shida might be the best bet. But with the game nowhere near completion, it seems fair to assume Dr. Britt Baker will eventually shatter Shida’s 372-day reign. And that’s exactly what I think she’ll do.

As of now, here’s how the D.M.D. story mode could look.

Notable Title Matches:

• Beach Break | vs. Thunder Rosa
• Dynamite | vs. Thunder Rosa (Lights Out Unsanctioned Match)
• Double or Nothing | vs. Shida (AEW Women’s Title Match
• Fyter Fest | vs. Nyla Rose (AEW Women’s Title Match)
• Rampage | vs. Red Velvet (AEW Women’s Title Match)
• All Out | vs. Kris Statlander (AEW Women’s Title Match)
• Grand Slam | vs. Ruby Soho (AEW Women’s Title Match)
• Full Gear 2021 | vs. Tay Conti (AEW Women’s Title Match)

There will be a TBS Women’s Championship by the time the game drops, and there’s a possibility of a trios title in the future. And let’s not forget the FTW Championship that Ricky Starks currently holds. So, there will be plenty of stories for AEW to choose from. Heck, maybe we even see the Forbidden Door opened. After all, it’s anyone’s guess how the licenses will work, but being able to defend the Impact tag titles or AAA title would be a game-changer.

In the end, All Elite Wrestling has me caring about wrestling the same way I did back when the Monday Night Wars and Attitude Era were a thing.

As a kid, I used dial-up internet to get early screenshots of WWF Attitude. My friends and I used to raid the KB Toys and look through the strategy guides and Game Informers for each wrestler’s finishing moves. I’m glad those days are gone, but throughout all those years, No Mercy and that era of wrestling remained king.

Can it be as good as WWF No Mercy? Time will tell, but I do think this game should give itself every chance to be elite.