The Ongoing Disappointment with AEW

I legit lost all sympathy for AEW after the CM Punk footage release.

Just like the old timers said about AEW fans after their last episode. "There is no type of person more off-putting than the arrogant nerd." Tony Khan panders to that demographic and has driven everyone else away.

AEW went from catering to the online fan who was underserved to slowly catering to hyper online fan who can watch 5+ hours a week and read everything online.

I personally feel that hangman page's workers rights promo on cm punk was the start of a large portion of problems with aew

I try to be an AEW fan. I really want them to succeed, but man they make it difficult. You touched on every point I have been thinking about lately. Tony needs to step down from creative and let someone else run the booking while he stays as the owner. Until that happens, nothing will change.

"What are you talking about?! There were TWO four-star+ matches on Dynamite last week! THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS!" That mentality is what killed it.

To me, the biggest problem with AEW is that it's hard to build someone, when everyone goes 15 minutes in a competitive match and eeks out a win over a guy who's been presented as nothing special. The main event guys need decisive wins over guys lower on the card. Otherwise, you get a bunch of guys with no real credibility. Another thing is exactly what you said: guys, come in and get pushed for 2 or 3 months. Then Tony gets a new toy and forgets about the guy he was pushing.

One issue you address is not wanting AEW to die because WWE won't have competition. Well, AEW has also caused a major problem with independent wrestling. The Young Bucks were made EVPs and they flooded the company with PWG monkeys. This pushed the indies even further into the territory of only these types of clowns getting booked. Independent wrestling is almost exclusively weirdo comedy wrestling now. Then you also have the issue of AEW bleeding NJPW dry of their entire main event roster, when NJPW is supposed to be their partner. Not to mention what Khan did to ROH after ROH covered the production of the original All In.

I think the lack of kayfabe killed AEW as well. Hard to like a wrestler when they are preachy and cocky irl.

AEW's biggest problem is Tony Khan. The CM Punk/Jack Perry video makes the promotion look bush league. AEW needs to take a page out of WWE and act like no other promotion exists. AEW needs and a proper booker/story teller that has long term vision for the stories they tell. I think even Bret Hart offered AEW help and AEW said no. Who the hell says no to The Hitman?!

In addition to the challenges of having active wrestlers serve as EVPs and the mismanagement by Tony Khan, I consider the following events critical in shaping the course of AEW’s history: 1. Dynamite’s Move to TBS: A colossal blunder, shifting Dynamite from TNT to the second-tier TBS, reminiscent of the low-budget vibe of WCW Thunder and reruns. It’s a downgrade that’s hard to overlook. 2. Cody Rhodes’ Exit: An AEW founder walking out the door so soon? That’s an image nightmare. Cody Rhodes’ departure was a gut punch to AEW’s credibility, and they’ve been reeling ever since. 3. CM Punk’s Fiasco: The debacle with CM Punk and his subsequent firing is a testament to the chaos under Tony Khan’s watch. It’s hard to believe CM Punk was ever part of AEW, and now, thanks to mismanagement, he’s history. 4. All In Backstage Brawl Footage: Broadcasting the backstage brawl was a disastrous move. It’s the kind of scandal that not only screws AEW’s image, but also likely spells the final straw with their network relationship, potentially leaving AEW without a major network home, thus signaling the end of AEW as we know it

One point you missed is the fanbase. The AEW fanbase likes to act as gatekeepers what good pro wrestling is, that kind of behaviour chases people away, and I, for one, do not want to be associated with that stuff.

I did some thinking; maybe Tony let the "Booker of the Year" award go to his head and get him to think that he can do no wrong.

As an AEW fan, you hit the nail on the head. They used to have a lot of good that overshadowed their flaws, and now their good is diminishing and is being overshadowed by their glaring flaws. Tony Khan needs to step aside and let somebody else handle creative, because what he's doing, is not working

Punk said it during the MMA Hour, AEW books to for star ratings.

It doesn't help that their diehard audience, the gatekeepers, would look at this video and call him an E Drone even though it's all valid criticism. The fanbase is very very toxic if you don't accept what they like 100%, if you don't, they will personally attack you for it. How is that welcoming for any new fans or casuals? People don't like that behaviour for a reason - it's off-putting and ugly.

AEWs problem is Tony Khan. It starts and ends with him. The other major issue they deal with is the battle between former WWE talent, who fans are already familiar with against lesser known "indy" talent. The home grown AEW talent isn't very well known outside of AEW, and that makes it hard for new fans to get behind then, no matter how good they are.

Agreed with all of this. I loved AEW but Tony Khan has made it unbearable.

Tony is just the rich friend to all the wrestlers on tht roster and he’s spending mega loot to try to make everyone happy so they can wrestle they’re friends and he’s(tony) such a mark tht he lets everyone disrespect him and give him shitty advice to better there own position and last he’s not a real boss… the GMs on raw and smackdown are more believable than tony being the boss Tony’s just the paycheck

I really want to love AEW, but it's so hard to find enough redeeming qualities. But the bad outweighs the good in so many ways.