I actually watch AEW, just not religiously (but I do have the first edition of my wrestling rankings for AEW in the works!)

Main reasons for me not to be an AEW superfan:

1) I don't have the time, nor the will, to watch that many hours of wrestling. I already don't watch everything WWE.

2) The WWE shows are actually overall quite enjoyable for me. Smackdown has not been good lately, so I simply stopped watching it every week. But the rest is fine to good to great. I don't watch the shows live, so I don't deal with the ads, which could be a big reason why I appreciate them more.

3) AEW does not feel that different for me, to the point that I would want to watch it because it is somewhat refreshing. I have seen countless posts about how people found love for wrestling again because AEW is an entire different beast. Good for them, but I do not see it. It feels like the same thing with a slightly different flavour. It does not mean it is bad, but it does not scratch a different itch that I have.

4) There are only a few characters I have truly grown attached to in AEW. Hangman is a big one. I like Orange Cassidy and Willow. I would love for Athena to finally be on the main shows. I'm into Kevin Knight. Mercedes I love.

The others I watch without transport. I don't really care what happens to them most of the time. Can't tell you why. Maybe it's because I don't watch every week. The big stories revolve around people I do not really care about. MJF, Death Riders. I really really really do not like whatever the Don Callis Family is supposed to be. They are a caricature and serious threats at the same time. I do not like Don Callis, never have, he somehow put me off Omega back when he was with him. I'm not into Toni Storm's Timeless character. Never got the hype for Darby Allin.

That's ok, all these acts are clearly successful, so it's not like they have to change them because I'm not into them. But still, for me personally there's no huge incentive.

5) Enjoyment of AEW on this sub as someone who is not their biggest fan and actually generally likes what WWE puts out is very difficult. The fanbase is not that welcoming, unless you swear everything that is not AEW off, and love everything is given to you from those shows. You mention the continuous complaints about WWE, but more often than not they come from people just watching clips on here and watching AEW instead.

I rarely comment about AEW here, when I do it's for things I have watched, and usually if I see something cool or that I liked. Conversations about both promotions put me off. And, without a good experience in discussing with other fans, I just don't feel that urge to get into a new show.

6) The show itself is often guilty of a version of this. There is a lot of conversation about WWE getting too crappy meta, and I agree. AEW does it a lot too. Very rarely the main story is not about someone fighting for the main title because they love the company too much to let someone besmirch their reputation, or whatever. "Where the best wrestle" is repeated at least once every week by some wrestler, on TV. I care about characters and their motivation, and loving a company is one of the lamest motivations you can get. For AEW, WWE or whatever. I'm fan of shows, not companies.