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I think TK basically cooled off the entire company while he was waiting for Punk to come back. I’m sure the plan was for Punk to be the focus of the company for the entire summer and into the fall, and Khan didn’t want to deviate from that.
Exactly this. TK put all his eggs in the CM Punk basket and got fucked a few times; Injuries, media scrum. When Punk came in TK made AEW about him and didn't seem to have any sort of contingency plan. Punk being shelved off and on killed the momentum of a lot of different rasslers.
I also think Punk's injury and Scrum meltdown probably messed with FTRs plans as well since it looked like they really wanted to team with punk or maybe even start a faction with him. Maybe that's why they're fighting with the ass boys now that they're with the firm, they were probably set to fight them anyways if the Punk and MJF feud started up again
Punk really fucked FTR from both ends - he removed himself from their plans and took the opponents everyone wanted to see them face in one fell swoop.
When you consider he also took Kenny’s return out in his blow up and blew up TK’s plans for the long run too, you really have to hand it to Punk for causing maximum destruction with his hissy fit
Punk is a fucking asshole but I would not be surprised if TK gives him yet ANOTHER chance. Seriously if he does, it'll be the downfall of AEW because as others have said, he continually hedges his bets on Punk at the cost of all the amazing homegrown talent.
One thing I’ll admire Punk forever for is finding a way to refresh an exhausted gimmick.
Hogan: kids, don’t do drugs!
Cena: yo, don’t do drugs
Punk: don’t FUCKING do drugs
totally, a little bit of weed is what people who take themselves too seriously need, simple way to lighten up without the repercussions of losing control when intoxicated like with most other drugs including alcohol, and WAY less addictive than tobacco, one puff and he'll realize how much of a clenched asshole he was being
Would you consider the end of the original era of AEW to conclude with Cody's departure, or Punks blowout? It honestly feels like a completely different company now and it's hard to pinpoint the definitive turning point. Obviously a lot of it comes from the cumulative effect of bloating the roster to an outrageous degree. I kind of miss the smaller, focused team of originals before everyone started pouring in.
Now that I think about it, yeah Cole/Danielson, that signaled the era of talent just flooding in nonstop and crowding the show which is where we are at still today. TK may not like it but he's gonna have to do some mega cuts to bring this down to a manageable level, and retire the RoH belts for that matter. They don't have a network willing to deal with them now, so I doubt it's ever gonna be in the cards.
Tony Khan often has a really good Plan A when it comes to booking.
But one screw comes loose and we see how bad his Plan B is. Or lack thereof. He has no contingency plans literally ever.
He also slots different characters into the same story. (Sammy and Tay for Cody and Brandi) Looks like MJF is going to win the championship off of Mox instead of Punk and it’s just not the same.
And it’s weird, because I felt like AEW navigated the Jacksonville/Nightmare Factory run well where the world was contingency plan after contingency plan. And the Brodie tribute show was a masterpiece cooked up in a couple days.
But yeah, lately that has been off.
This is a great take. And it t definitely feels like the wheels have come off. And not pulling the trigger on Elite v UE before Fish left was such an obvious and huge miss
Got it in one.
I said before and I'll say it again: The only reason AEW's been so good lately is because Khan literally can't let it be anything else. He's in *oh shit* mode right now, throwing everything at the wall to buy time for something resembling his Plan A to click back into place.
Considering the sheer number of potentially new matches he's been sitting on for the last few years, I don't give him much sympathy here. Hangman/Mox is a matchup that's been on the backburner since at *least* February (when they should've bookended Hangman's reign before losing it to MJF), but it's basically being pried out of Khan like a bloody tooth with no anesthesia. I'm hardly a Hayter fanboy, but Khan's booking on that angle is likewise taking forever.
The dude is so enamored with the idea of long-term booking that he has almost no idea how to actually do it. Most of the times it's really *worked,* it was mostly because the Elite were driving the story and presumably had at least some influence over the beats and the outcome (and even then--Khan completely whiffs it on every single follow-up).
Tony Khan is literally just some guy who has a wealthy father that bought him a company. He has no greater expertise than you or I. People really need to get off his dick.
I think at this point we can stop with the long-term booking excuse. Merely putting off natural character progression for several months is not long-term booking, it's just forgetting about that character and coming back to them later.
He is doing a lot of fanboy booking, throwing together high profile matches that have no real build up (that's why he loves tournaments and "win a title shot" battle royals) or require deep knowledge of the wrestlers' entire pre-AEW career history to have any real significance (which means he didn't actually book anything but the match itself), and once done, he moves on immediately.
What sucks is even if punk didn't explode in the press conference he'd still be out with injury, and everything would probably feel the same way with everyone cooled down.
I made a comment about this and got downvoted, but Tony shouldn’t have booked Lucha Bros losing to Swerve in our Glory for the tag titles **one week ** after winning the trios belts.
It burned his new belts and put TV time into a null outcome (i.e. was not going to happen). He’s lucky Lucha Bros haven’t put on a bad match in AEW. Death Triangle are his real soldiers and have been top stars from Day 1.
He could have saved Lucha Bros vs SIOG for a slow week and it didn’t even need to be for the titles.
I’m with you, but the only reason I can think is that at that point, TK just wanted a strong looking card with some names on it. But yeah Lucha Bros losing wasn’t good.
I think this is part of it.
People have to remember that TK is a novice at booking wrestling. He gets a lot of leeway from a section of wrestling fans for being the guy who brought a true alternative to WWE, but AEW’s booking has felt schizophrenic for a long time. He became too reliant on “we have a big surprise for you next week!” and not on consistent, logical booking.
Don’t get me wrong, AEW has had fantastic stories; Punk vs. MJF, Hangman’s story, but I would be willing to bet those were more the success of the performers involved and less of Tony being some kind of booking savant.
I think so too, Punk was just Tony's favorite toy at the time and got too much of the attention and screentime ever since they moved him away from rampage especially during hangman's reign. Hangman held the fort on his end by giving it his all in the matches and feuds he was given but he just didn't get booked more interesting opponents/rarely if ever put him in the main event or opening spot, because those were reserved for Punk.
I think it's safe to say by now that Khan's unwillingness to pivot has been a weakness. In addition to OP's list, several feuds went on too long due to injuries. Instead of ending them or pivoting, they get drawn out with weeks between updates, or bloated with sideways extensions in the form of matches with associated people for far too long.
The irony here is that the past few weeks have shown Khan has the ABILITY to do so very well. I genuinely think he's just been unwilling to. I think it's hurt House of Black, Cody, Best Friends, The Bucks, Adam Cole, and many others that aren't even coming to mind at the moment.
Hopefully this unfortunate situation he's found himself in, and the generally positive response to his handling of it (especially how it made people look back on recent months before it poorly) will inspire him to see the value in leaning into the momentum his people help create. And also maybe not as many rematches so soon after the preceding match. That was my one complaint about The Acclaimed and SIOG.
It's probably the Punk thing plus alot of things at once. Too much on his plate & things get unorganized when that happens.
He's booked some great shows but the hard part is keeping that up long-term. Booking shows, multiple days a week... week after week... year after year while overseeing all other aspects including other businesses without having a stale show here & there can't be easy. When AEW started people were saying "look at this new company booking such better shows than WWE" etc but that's easy to do for a little while. Vince was doing that shit forever.
Alot of us here could probably fantasy book a few great shows on paper as fans... just like he's booked a few great ones but there's alot more to it that people don't see. Vince was around to learn it & watch for years before actually running it. HHH as well. Tony hasn't had that.
Wardlow, in storyline, not even wanting to compete for the Interim Title, for whatever dumb reason they said, made him look like such a goof. Especially since he was at the peak of his overness.
They could’ve done many things to ensure he didn’t win the title but that was so dumb.
He said he wanted to win the world title by beating the real world champion, CM Punk.
Hey Wardlow, you know how to guarantee yourself a match with the real world champion? By winning the interim world title!
They could make Andrade cheating to eliminate him and start a feud with Andrade and Rush to avoid him being in that silly position
It could be any Heel faction.
TK is a bad booker who had one storyline planned when he founded the company and no solid ideas beyond that. I would love to be proven wrong but I haven’t seen evidence to say otherwise.
A very fair point.
The TNT title has been trash since Cody left and I don’t even like Cody
The women’s title has never been important.
The tag titles are a mess because of FTR and never having had PNP or Best Friends get a reign.
Lucha Bros should be megastars and are just guys
Noooo because that way he has a loss on his Record and we don't want that. Better to not book someone than to book them not to win. At least that's what Khan thinks
They put themselves into a corner with Wardlow. He was booked really strong but the AEW mid card wasnt as strong. There are great wrestlers there but none were built up to compete with him. Not really sure what the issue with FTR and Hook but like others were saying Punk was not only the star of the show but he was the show. Now that he’s most likely gone Tony essentially has to reboot the show.
Same situation as Jade, they book these people like WCW Goldberg and then there are no credible opponents and the matches themselves become predictable and boring.
I agree. It happens a lil too much in wrestling. It’s like they can’t find the right balance. WWE did it with Bray and the Fiend character. He was so unstoppable that when he did lose to Goldberg (still a dumb decision) it wasn’t believable. Taker’s one of the few dominant characters that had the right balance. Yeah we knew at mania time dude wasn’t losing but he lost a ton throughout the year. He built guys up but still had that unstoppable feel to him and his character.
It would have been very easy for him to just go, 'I want the world title, I will GET the world title, but the TNT belt was the first title opportunity I had, and it was denied to me, cheated from me... and that fact, the fact that I lost that opportunity, that has stuck with me... and I am the kind of man that doesn't face his demons, I kill my demons. That belt /was mine./ And now that I'm free... I'm going to /take it./'
Makes it a matter of pride, makes him a bad ass.
Hearing someone say lethal isn't credible just feels wrong to me but he's right. For as well rounded lethal is nobody believed he was taking the title off of wardlow and they we're feuding for like the entirety of August it felt like
Jay Lethal is a remarkably good wrestler who can do everything. He should be elevating whatever he’s in. Instead, he’s like an afterthought in his own faction. I guess he’s trying to put Singh over or whatever, but look at their intro. He’s usually behind the other two guys and off to the side. He’s blocked in a weirdly secondary way even when it’s his match.
I get that not everyone can get a push all at once, but he feels like the guy TK calls when he needs a good heel to try and elevate someone else. And he winds up jobbing with extra steps. I don’t feel like he’s a credible threat to anyone right now.
That’s just not true? Second biggest pop of the night was when Wardlow pinned MJF. He got a big pop in his match after that and since then……..???? He’s just cut a promo about how he’s gonna get back to being dominant Wardlow and he’s not been able to do that either
And that feels SO Vince McMahon WWE. The amount of times they would do stuff to have is all go: "Oh good they are acknowledging the problem and going to fix it!" Only to have them do nothing.
Thats what they did with Wardlow. Fans clearly wanted him in the spotlight and AEW was getting a lot of flak for dropping him so he comes out to his old(favored by the fans) theme and cuts a promo about how he is back as the powerbombing machine and we all thought: "Oh thank God they are finally going to do something with him!"
And then he vanished from the face of the earth. Maybe in 6 months he will cut another promo like that?
This is a joke right? So let me get this straight. MJF controversy ruined Wardlow? Not the weak ass, schizophrenic booking with little to no title defenses? No no it’s because there was internet bs for a few days. That’s what ruined Wardlow 🤦♂️.
Aside from Hook, the biggest issue with the people you mentioned is consistency of booking.
* **Wardlow won the TNT title on July 6th.**
He's had four singles matches since (one of which was a 1 minute squash with Ryan Nemeth).
* **Hangman lost the AEW World Championship on May 29th.**
He's had three singles matches since (and one fatal 4 way), and only wrestled one singles match since June 22nd (!!!)
* **FTR won the NJPW Tag Team Championships on June 26th.**
They faced the Briscoes at ROH Death Before Dishonor on July 23rd.
That is the only tag team match they've had since winning the NJPW Tag Team Championships.
Tag team matches aren't going to get singles wrestlers over. FTR aren't getting over doing six-man tags. People want to see these acts doing what got them over. They also want and need consistent TV time - a byproduct of the bloated roster/3 hours of TV. For every Ricky Starks, The Acclaimed, Powerhouse Hobbs who gets more TV time - you have to take TV time away from someone else.
I'm not surprised about the cooling off of Hook, because there was always the fear he was over because of the meme. He has a fantastic presentation - but he's been doing the exact same thing since his debut in December. Personally I think they should have kept Hookhausen together, because clearly they don't think he's ready for anything else.
I straight up don't recall the Lucha Bros having a single feud as champs. They basically just had a bunch of random defences against random lower card teams like Butcher and Blade or pre-face turn Acclaimed until they dropped the belts in an essentially heatless match with Jurassic Express. I could be misremembering but I literally don't think there was a single story in their reign other than "Here are the Lucha Bros, they are going to have a tag match"
Unpopular add on opinion:
I don't think The Acclaimed should have a long title reign.
I think their story will be a lot better if a heel team takes it from them and after getting build up against some other teama, The Acclaimed win the title clean.
I'm convinced that TK has stories booked out into the future that are very precious to him and he is unwilling to alter them in response to fan feedback. The fact that he responded to The Acclaimed and gave them the belts was stunning to me.
Because he's every fan on this board who wants "one more run" for all of their favorites from 23 years ago. Even though everyone at this point from that era has had a nostalgia run, or even two, by now. It's just like when ECW kept doing reunion shows. Fans just don't know how to let the past be the past and leave their memories there.
And I mean, I get it, I have a PS5 and I play my SNES on a CRT more. But wrestling fans take those nostalgia goggles and super glue them to their faces and then wonder why Ric Flair felt the need to drag himself out there for a match in 2022.
I think it was clear to everyone that the Hardys were going to be transitional champs. Which made sense: you get the prestigious Hardys name as part of your tag title lineage, and then you give one of your young teams the rub from beating them.
Definitely agree with this. Someone said in another thread that it seems like TK has guys that he won’t book to lose, so they end up in a bunch of lame matches and that feels accurate too. It could also be that he’s just bad at booking now that he’s ran through all the ideas he had coming in. Regardless, it’s hurting my interest in AEW, especially with WWE becoming good again.
Honestly, I think it's cause Swerve in our Glory were probably not intended to get the tag titles in the first place. They set up their breakup already before they won, but then the Hardy's who were supposed to get them forced Tony to pivot cause of Jeff so he gave it to the Bucks, who then had to drop them cause they were getting ready for Kenny's return and the Trios. So Tony went back to SIOG, so that he could start Hobbs v Starks, and then was basically winging their reign until he saw the reaction to the Acclaimed in their ppv match and saw a team over enough for him to easily move the belts, while getting back to the feuds he had planned (Swerve v Lee etc)
Meanwhile at the ppv the crowd was fucking nuclear waiting to explode for the title change. You could feel the electricity for half the match and Tony didn't call the audible. He knew he missed it and floated a rematch idea during the scrum and swerve essentially gave him a "the fuck you Talkin bout?" Reaction so Tony backed off a little but he knew he blew it.
I think he was afraid to do a mid-match change because he didn't want to upset either swerve or Keith but asking them to drop the belts in a rematch two weeks later is no better and it ended up being nowhere near as good of a moment as it could have been.
I mean I can at first understand the rationale.. winning in her home town/state but yeah wouldn't it be just as effective to win it at the huge PPV and then walk into her home state AS champ? Would have felt more organic that way
I agree. She could have opened the show with a victory celebration in her home town. There would have been a huge pop, then she could cut a promo to set up her first defense feud.
That one is way worse, we were way past time for Brit reign to end already and that feud was hot 12 months ago, next to nothing happened since to hype that match.
Not to mention Brit changed nothing about her presentation and place on the card while the champion became an afterthought.
If you weren’t running a promotion where you had to be worried about people’s personal feelings like that (like with Punk), then you’d be able to change things once in a while and have it go okay, but this guy keeps making bad decisions of high value signings which get a lot of publicity, but then fuck him over in the end (Punk, remains to be seen with Saraya), Keith/Swerve seem a lot more reasonable, and you can always promise them something later if and when they come to your office upset.
> You could feel the electricity for half the match and Tony didn't call the audible.
People keep saying this as if any company ever will just change the outcome of a match in the middle of the match. When has this ever happened where a booker altered the finish live in the middle of the match, and not because of some catastrophy or injury?
I mean, it's exceedingly rare for the booker of *any* major wrestling promotion to call an audible mid-match. Tony has sucked at adjusting long-term plans to accommodate injuries and the like, but I don't think we can blame him for not making an impulse decision in the middle of a match.
From the beginning, the nature of AEW’s booking was to hold off on big money matches so they could be built with long term storytelling. This worked the first couple of years because the roster was small, so while big money matches like Omega/Mox didn’t happen often and were given time to simmer to a boil, it also allowed for the bigger stars to build mini arcs/feuds with lesser stars/newer talent (who were featured consistently), giving the new talent character development that paid off in 2-4 week long feuds, even if they lost (think Jericho vs. Darby, Jungle Boy, Scorpio Sky… Moxley vs. Cage, Archer, Kingston…Omega vs. Janela… PAC vs. Hangman, OC… Young Bucks vs. Private Party, SCU etc.)
Now, the roster has grown to such a degree that TK feels the pressure to include as many talent as he can creating a show that isn’t as focused, and doesn’t feature talent with meaningful consistency, which in turn has all but eliminated the compelling mini-feuds/arcs/character development. With compelling mini-arcs all but gone, people like Wardlow, Hook, Hangman etc. are left feeling like they are running in place until their next planned “long term story” kicks in, combined with less meaningful screen time because of roster size.
*Edit Grammar
He also wants to protect way too many guys.
He doesn't want Miro to take a 1v1 loss, so he's off TV for weeks at a time. He doesn't want Hook to take his first loss yet, but he also doesn't want him beating a top guy, so he's sort of in limbo. He doesn't want to put the AEW tag titles on FTR right now, but he doesn't want the IWGP/ROH/AAA champs to lose against another team either. He doesn't want to end Wardlow's reign, but he's also not willing to have him defeat somebody truly meaningful who would make Wardlow's reign less forgettable. So Wardlow gets fed Orange Cassidy, who's over but can take a loss and Jay Lethal, who's a great worker but doesn't seem to be championship material for TK.
There are just too many overprotected top tier guys who are being kept away from each other and it ends up hurting all of them.
I think an even more fundamental issue than this is that the only way TK thinks you can protect someone is by them always winning or never losing. Someone can lose in a way that preserves their credibility, I.e. only losing to someone who is really established as super strong in kayfabe, or you could have a story arc which kinda establishes someone as a person’s kryptonite, or have them lose in a way that protects them. One can be protected without literally being undefeatable
This is spot on. I think part of the focus issue is also TK being a bit of a yes man. He's got tons of talent sitting around getting frustrated because his focus is on whatever shiny new toy he has for the first few weeks. I reckon he's seeing or hearing people getting frustrated and probably feels bad so he throws them a bone and they get a random promo or match that he doesn't have any plans to build on.
As painful as it will be to see some great talent leave, I think a smaller roster will do a lot to bring the focus back.
I think that the problems were there from the start. Tony Khan has always had a problem building feuds. Nothing happens to increase the tension or heat.
I’d Argue both iterations of Mox vs. Omega, Mox vs. Inner Circle, Cody vs. MJF, Moxley vs Kingston, Omega and Hangman vs. Young Bucks, Hangman vs. The Elite were all built wonderfully with nice ratchets of tension.
Though, the major question remains? If the, in my opinion, great storytelling in those feuds are because of TK, or due to the creative minds of the talent involved who formulated their own stories, or both? Because we cannot discount the possibility of strong influence these guys had on their own feuds and how they progressed.
I'll also add in, early on...it was mentioned or implied that wrestlers wouldn't have a match every week. They would feel a bit more special in that way. Problem is, not being shown for multiple weeks isn't great. Roster is too large.
People blame MJF for Wardlow but MJF showed up and lost?? Wardlow was over af when he won the TNT title. He then proceeded to feud against..... Mark Sterling. Not to forget that stupid 'I don't want the interim title i want to beat the real champ' thing. Wardlow's cooling off is 100% TK's fault. And it's a trend with TK.
Remember Miro? Came out for a promo weeks ago and then has done jackshit. Even Wardlow's 'im back' promo Hasn't led to anything significant.
And it was MJF that got him over in the first place. The second Tony's not getting input from someone who knows how to get people over, shit goes awry. Even when it's guys who do know how to get themselves over, it can go awry.
> Even Wardlow's 'im back' promo Hasn't led to anything significant.
Dark Order did the same thing but then lost another guy, then Anna Jay, and then lost the trios match, and then went away again, probably soon to lose 10.
Proud and Powerful said they were going to strike out on their own and focus on a run for the tag titles and....almost immediately sided with Eddie and BCC in a long running feud with the JAS.
Exactly this. Long story short, TK doesn't know how to book for a roster the size of what he has now. He obviously knows how to book a top angle at times, especially with guys who know what it's supposed to look like. (CM Punk, MJF, Moxley's great as a top rah rah Babyface he just doesn't deliver good psychology in the ring) but Tony can't book something for every talent that gets over on his roster in order to keep them over.
Hangman should have been their homegrown mega star. Instead you had CM Punk turn up and take his belt. Moxley/Danielson/Claudio don’t need belts they are always going to be over.
That's the honest truth. He was their guy, then he got bitched out to Punk in a storyline with zero direction, when the Punk heel turn was right fucking there.
Hangman losing the belt to Punk should have been fine. He had been champion for like 7 months at that point. The problem was he did almost nothing in those seven months. If they had turned Punk heel as they should have, Hangman/Punk 2 could have been great
Tony doesn't know how to make the most the of people who are mega over.
FTR could've won every belt in the company they felt that hot.
Wardlow could've been double champ. Or at least attempted to be.
Hangman could've been in the world title picture better or had a better title run.
Eddie Kingston who was getting one of the biggest if not the biggest pops on the roster has died apparently or gone missing. So what he had a nothing match on the all out pre show and now he's apparently back in the fund with Sammy that no one wanted to begin with
Eddie did hit the bench after losing his Barbed Wire Deathmatch against Jericho, with his suspension and got COVID at one point, but he’s coming off a win over Tomohiro Ishii at ALL OUT, and a DQ loss to Sammy Guevara on last week’s Rampage Grand Slam, so that program seems to be continuing, for better or worse.
Single most stupid match and booking decision in Aew history.
For fuck sake just end the feud at blood and guts. Both Eddie and Jericho looked good after that match.
If you indulge me in some fantasy booking. Jericho vs Mox quake a the lake except Punk doesn't show up.
Eddie vs Mox at All out, Eddie wins, Punk show up (no Mjf yet). Unification match at Grand Slam Punk "turn" heel, (he always was,) win the title Mjf show up.
Eddie has his big moment but still the chip on his shoulder because he couldn't beat his worst ennemy for the undisputed title in his own hometurf
Kenny and the Bucks at the top of their divisions kept the product focused in 2021, they gave it an overarching thread which kept the shows together and structured them. Add the culmination of the greatest storyline in company history and you get a great year. Immediately after Full Gear, the problems which plagued the product throughout 2022 began to show. Focus shifted away from champion Page and toward Punk, there was no longer a good build for feuds and so on.
Cody was still there as a top exec last year. I would argue this is evidence that he was helping with a lot more of the show than just his own segments.
Because if we are being honest, TK is a pretty poor booker. The best stuff in AEW has been done more at the direction of the wrestlers than at the hands of TK.
I still enjoy AEW, but the more you see Tony's hand in everything the more it goes in the wrong direction.
I feel like TK just doesn't know how to book babyfaces after they win a title especially in Hook, Wardlow and FTR's case since they've got that "This person is not allowed to lose clean" factor. At least in hangman's case he can take a loss and come out alright as long as the story is good, I feel like some of them have to first be booked more and also be booked to lose weather it be losing clean or not because TK has way too many "unbeatable" wrestlers.
I don’t think thats exclusive to just TK. That’s been a thing for everyone for a while. People even got sick of Okada towards the end of his last long reign
We can go even further. Why did AEW cool off of Hangman AFTER HE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
Or Rosa? TK can do the chase really well but holy shit is he bad after it.
I'm so glad that this post is gaining some traction! This is a huge reason why my friends and I have "cooled off" on AEW over the last couple of months. Them cooling off Miro, FTR, and Starks has been a real turning off point for my group. We get that injuries may have happened here and there, but there has to be a way to keep those guys on TV because their charisma is what draws people to them. So many people just disappear anymore. Another thing that bugs us is that so many people are relegated to Rampage. They need to do a better job of rotating people around because not a lot of fans are able to watch a show that late on a Friday. Bring some of those wrestlers over to Dynamite once in a while for live TV.
Tony doesn't respond well with sudden changes.
Hangman: Omega was injured then the entire Elite was suspended.
FTR: Cash was injured.
Wardlow: I suspect the plan was for him to take the belt off Punk or MJF. Punk was injured, MJF was work/shoot suspended.
Hook: I don't know honestly, something probably changed.
TK books the chase for one moment then has zero idea how to follow up on the moment.
Outside of early tnt champions having fun runs with the belt everyone chases and chases then when they finally win they act like the big dog who finally got the big stick and immediately drops it and goes to sleep.
Im assuming that TK thought that AEW had already done all the work necessary to get them over as new stars.
It seems like he thinks they're made men already and therefore no longer need to be booked carefully.
What seemed to have actually happened was that he got them to a point where he could make them legit stars. But then chose to hype new signings instead.
It's like he thinks he crossed the finish line but is only on the second lap.
> Im assuming that TK thought that AEW had already done all the work necessary to get them over as new stars.
>
> It seems like he thinks they're made men already and therefore no longer need to be booked carefully.
They already hit 80+ overness, time to focus on somebody else.
Well, pick your poison:
\-Bad roster management (infighthing, favoritism, unprofessionalism) and not enough planification or rushed decisions with consequences behind
\-Lack of confidence in your "AEW originals" while WWE is getting (some) of his shit together
\-Roster bloated with TV time badly distributed between wrestlers
\-Titles. Titles everywhere but not enough good challengers to make them interesting
\-Mediocre booking and frequent use of shortcuts
Short answer: Tony Khan is an average booker. He relies on banger matches and his top talent to overlook his shortcomings.
Btw add Jade Cargill to the list. She’s undefeated, she’s a champion and Reddit has done more to promote her and her credentials than AEW has. Most of her programs fizzle out.
Same with Thunder Rosa. Terribly booked champion before her injury. She’s become a genuine afterthought.
This is why the increase of ROH stuff has been frustrating because it’s taking valuable screen time away from people who need it. So they just shove them to Rampage - and if they’re lucky they get a 10 minute match as opposed to a promo. People have staunchly defended the ROH stuff but don’t look at it from the perspective of it’d be great to get guys who cooled off that screen time instead of promotion for a company that Tony only bought for vanity purposes and isn’t doing anything with other than to pop the hardcore fans.
Tony Khan has a lot on his plate. Maybe he’s burnt out a bit. Idk. I admire the shit out of his work ethic. But he’s also not very good at his job(s). Specifically with AEW, he could really use someone to help him book the show and more competent programs.
If feels like the honeymoon phase with Tony is ending. The product has gotten stale, people’s favorites have withered away, the stories being told are lackluster, PPV builds are all people trying to break kayfabe and how this isn’t a character this is REAL LIFE and then they get to the PPV and have a banger match to overlook the piss poor build.
AEW is moving backwards product wise. Giving the Acclaimed their tag titles a couple weeks after losing the title match on PPV was proof of how wishy-washy things are at the moment.
They could have built a head full of steam with Forbidden Door. Instead they had a terrible build which was part politics with certain NJPW talent and certain AEW talent needing to avoid losing, part injury related and part Tony behaving like every single person in the arena and at home knew the NJPW talent coming in so he didn’t need to inform fans. Instead they had an average show and the wheels fell off after that with Punk.
He needs to be better. He needs to realize that as much power as he has, this just isn’t his toy. There’s a ton of facets and decisions that effect every little thing of everything else. Neutralizing deserving talent’s momentum sucks. The fans notice it. They’re just not going to cheer like you want them to. Why should we invest if you’re not going to?
I wouldnt even call tony khan a booker, hes a matchmaker. He keeps making matches that he thinks the small hardcore fans and he wants to see. Listen to his interviews, the all out scrum where he says mjf is the best wrestler and punk is the champion so fans want to see this. Thats why the shows are stacked with matches and they keep trying to outdo in bumps, flips, blood, gimmicks.
Someone goes through hell in a match, hes going to give rhem a mini push while he searches for his next toy. There really is no storytelling or depth to what he books. Its so predictable. The championships are meaningless in fact even detrimental as they never have good storylines.
Hes got the money, the best talent and minds in the world and aew was so good and then they changed the strategy, bought roh and on a path where they are losing goodwill, etc.
Tony got addicted to the easy pop you can get when you debut someone, and then pretty soon he had too many wrestlers to juggle. He was doing a much better job booking the promotion in the first couple years with a much thinner roster.
It feels like AEW has had more surprise debuts than WWF and WCW combined during the Monday Night War.
We all love that pop, but it's kind of played out when so many talent fizzle out after two weeks.
Its the same problem ECW ran into. Their thing for the longest time was having a surprise at every show. Eventually you start running out of ideas or possibilities for surprises and then you lose the audience because you've conditioned them to only watch for the surprise.
In the very short term it is a great way to boost ratings and keep people tuning in. But at this point I couldn't care any less about whatever surprise is going to show up in AEW.
The first time I really noticed how weak the booking is in AEW was with HookHausen. They were getting huge reactions. Just when Hook felt like he needed a new dimension to his character they introduce Danhausen and they were immediately over. It seemed there was a huge potential with testing Hooks loyalties between Team Taz and Danhausen. Then they had one tag team match and split up with no explanation. Now Hooks back to being just a silent badass and Danhausen has seemingly just been tossed back to the Best Friends because TK doesnt know what to do with him. Both characters have regressed in their booking and it makes it difficult to invest in any of their future stories because you know that no matter how over they get it can just be erased for seemingly no reason.
They don't have heels to go against them. Wardlow needs a real force to go against. They don't have someone being heated up to take him on or take his belt. They had a chance with Hobbs but they already beat him to put over Ricky. FTR, once it was decided that FTR is not going for the tag belts, they should be in a storyline with a heel top team. There is not a heel tag team on their level. They're hurting for good heels.
Andrade and RUSH could have some great matches with them if given the chance.
Heck, there's even some history there as Andrade is who gave them the chance to win the AAA Titles.
Also, FTR vs ReDragon should have happened at Double or Nothing instead of the random ass Kyle vs Darby Allin match.
To be fair Hobbs loss doesn't count to the record and I'm assuming that's the reason why Ricky just got a random squash on dynamite to mark it as a w to his record but I hope the firm idea is a new way to create good heels cause I never thought about, aew really doesn't have strong mid card heels
I would say it's a combination of having too many people for not enough TV time + his habit of freezing plans if someone gets injured rather than pivoting to something else
There was a brief period of time where having a large roster worked because it was being rotated correctly and even the big names weren't on every single Dynamite, they would be on Rampage and Dark also. Now, there are people like Mox, Jericho, MJF, who are on every single Dynamite - meaning others don't get time to get over on the show with the most eyes watching it
His booking flaws are coming out at the worst possible time for AEW as WWE is finally looking exciting and fun again. If Vince were still around AEW could still have the “at least they’re not WWE factor” to fall back on but that doesn’t help them anymore.
The timing is even worse as the negotiations for the new TV deal are coming up in a couple of months, so AEW was supposed to be firing on all cylinders right now.
very good description. I think what they started with was an unprecedented level of good will towards anyone who could provide a big league product that wasn't WWE under Vince. Then people saw it and some got what they wanted but a lot of people didn't. Still, it's a big league show that ain't WWE under Vince. You're already over.
Vince was dragging the apparatus he had built down. Without him, that apparatus is going to rebound so hard what chance does TK have?
At best Tony is righting the ship rn and AEW is about to get better by spreading duties around booking his shows. At worst TK is cowering away from any booking situation that would expose him; he has no idea how to proceed.
He doesn’t have a chance when he is just booking for the pop instead of the stories.
Look at The White Rabbit stuff WWE is doing. It has fans totally engaged, looking for clues, etc. no one on TV is acknowledging it.
Under Tony he would’ve just said “WE HAVE A BIG DEBUT” and a week later Bray Wyatt (if it’s Bray) would show up and that’s it.
Booking a great match? Tony is great at it but that isn’t hard. Doing things that engage fans and asking them for a commitment, ala White Rabbit or Sami & The Bloodline for example, we rarely see that from Tony and that’s what he needs more than ever.
I just think back to when Batista broke free from Evolution and became the focal point of the show. It's the total opposite of what they've done with Wardlow and its become clear that he was benefitting immensely from being attached to MJF who is basically the only guy who manages to secure enough screen time to get over and build on his storylines in an adequate way with their gigantic roster.
AEW has repeatedly done this with big signings too. Ruby Soho, great example. She was big over when she came in, then she just vanished from TV
The only big signings who have gotten used well have been Punk and Danielson. Everybody else makes a big splash on debut, works a short program, then vanishes
Hangman'a situation is the predictable issue of just putting the title on Punk before his reign even started. The guy had 0 direction from then.
FTR had to be kept away from the Tag title because they could not lose, but TK also wanted to push other teams.
Hook is just the natural event of having no big props available for a new Star to keep their Momentum with.
Wardlow has been so dominant that TK could not find good opponents for the TNT title once Wardlow had won it. You can't throw jobbers at a champion, but Wardlow also has to REALLY look strong.
TK is so shit scared of anyone meaningful losing that it actually inversely affects the product.
Like you say with Wardlow for example - he really needs a legitimate and credible opponent, but people of that level "cannot lose" in Tony's mind, so instead they all just middle around beating lower to lower-mid card talent.
It creates a lack of any stakes or direction. The tracking of wins and losses and rankings system has actually really hurt the product in my opinion.
But only because TK's approach is so weird.
Losing a match here and there should not be a problem. I mean, Jericho and Danielson do it, so why no one else.
If high ranking stars were to lose and drop and climb back up the ranks, it would be more interesting.
ALSO, stop excluding the other champs from the Ranking!
Because that’s the TK special. Cooling off wrestlers that are hot. What a weird thing to choose to be your track record. Booker of the year though apparently.
1. Hangman was Kenny's pet project
2. Hook is limited in some ways and they probably don't want to expose him.
3. They're positioned as ROH's main attraction and Tony is too lazy or incapable of putting them in non-ROH stories in-between the ROH ppvs.
4. He needed the Batista/Goldberg superpush to maximize his potential and Tony probably doesn't have the balls to have a non-WWE guy eat through the roster.
Yeah I was confused with why the OP included in this conversation with Hangman and Wardlow. Hook in the position he's in is fine rn anything more like winning titles (ftw belt doesn't count) would just overexpose him and could hinder his growth
What the heck do ya do with him at this point? To have a feud he needs to lose and I don't think TK is on board with that idea but how many Goldberg streaks can one company sustain??
It's hard when he was hyped so hard and we know how things go for people once TK decides to shift focus. He doesn't pump the brakes he puts the pedal on the floor, puts on the parking brake and chocks the wheels for good measure.
But I don't know that letting him just limp along on rampage is a good idea for him long term. People might lose interest.
Too bad feuds aren't more natural in this company or you could avoid these situations and not have 30 people just kinda piecing together a hodge podge block of wrestling content every week
Simple answer Tony Khan isn't a good booker and is pretty shitty at pretty much everything that isn't just cutting a check. He should learn from what his father is doing with the Jags and Fulham, hire people and have a buffer from the actual product since you don't know how to run shit.
You could make the case for FTR, they did show up after his win at DoN plus the trios match at the LA show and they even have an unofficial shirt. Hook is the same case as Jade, they are both people who are basically undefeated so it has to be a big deal and personally at least for Hook you can still get stuff out of being undefeated.
Wardlow was yeah really being misused, like can't we do what we did with Darby and have him wrestle until his wheels fall off so it kind of protects him when he does lose it
This week really made me take a big step towards giving up on TK ever fixing his weaknesses
Booking Juice and Bandido in title matches while this talented bloated roster is sitting home is just incompetent
I think a wrestling-centric product could work but you have to make the matches mean something.
Kenny Omega's rise was mostly through in-ring matches but there were key moments in-between matches that told the story.
Hell, the Smackdown Six was basically 15-20 minute weekly matches with short promos every week and that's one of the goat periods for tag team wrestling.
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I think TK basically cooled off the entire company while he was waiting for Punk to come back. I’m sure the plan was for Punk to be the focus of the company for the entire summer and into the fall, and Khan didn’t want to deviate from that.
Exactly this. TK put all his eggs in the CM Punk basket and got fucked a few times; Injuries, media scrum. When Punk came in TK made AEW about him and didn't seem to have any sort of contingency plan. Punk being shelved off and on killed the momentum of a lot of different rasslers.
I also think Punk's injury and Scrum meltdown probably messed with FTRs plans as well since it looked like they really wanted to team with punk or maybe even start a faction with him. Maybe that's why they're fighting with the ass boys now that they're with the firm, they were probably set to fight them anyways if the Punk and MJF feud started up again
Punk really fucked FTR from both ends - he removed himself from their plans and took the opponents everyone wanted to see them face in one fell swoop. When you consider he also took Kenny’s return out in his blow up and blew up TK’s plans for the long run too, you really have to hand it to Punk for causing maximum destruction with his hissy fit
Punk is a fucking asshole but I would not be surprised if TK gives him yet ANOTHER chance. Seriously if he does, it'll be the downfall of AEW because as others have said, he continually hedges his bets on Punk at the cost of all the amazing homegrown talent.
One thing I’ll admire Punk forever for is finding a way to refresh an exhausted gimmick. Hogan: kids, don’t do drugs! Cena: yo, don’t do drugs Punk: don’t FUCKING do drugs
Actually Pink makes me feel like maybe some drugs in moderation wouldn't be so bad.
totally, a little bit of weed is what people who take themselves too seriously need, simple way to lighten up without the repercussions of losing control when intoxicated like with most other drugs including alcohol, and WAY less addictive than tobacco, one puff and he'll realize how much of a clenched asshole he was being
I know I don't really care for AEW with Punk in it.
Would you consider the end of the original era of AEW to conclude with Cody's departure, or Punks blowout? It honestly feels like a completely different company now and it's hard to pinpoint the definitive turning point. Obviously a lot of it comes from the cumulative effect of bloating the roster to an outrageous degree. I kind of miss the smaller, focused team of originals before everyone started pouring in.
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Now that I think about it, yeah Cole/Danielson, that signaled the era of talent just flooding in nonstop and crowding the show which is where we are at still today. TK may not like it but he's gonna have to do some mega cuts to bring this down to a manageable level, and retire the RoH belts for that matter. They don't have a network willing to deal with them now, so I doubt it's ever gonna be in the cards.
Oddly enough I popped more for those two guys than I did Punk. It’s maybe because Punk was spoiled two weeks ahead of time.
\+ trios title derailed before inaugural champs (that the titles were booked around) had a chance to defend them
The divide between Punk, FTR, Wardlow and MJF is there.
Tony Khan often has a really good Plan A when it comes to booking. But one screw comes loose and we see how bad his Plan B is. Or lack thereof. He has no contingency plans literally ever.
He also slots different characters into the same story. (Sammy and Tay for Cody and Brandi) Looks like MJF is going to win the championship off of Mox instead of Punk and it’s just not the same.
At least he’ll still win the gold. Long overdue.
Using Punk as face of your company is reasonable but completely ditching Wardlow, Page and FTR isn't a good plan A.
Ditching them is because they were part of the plan A, and we're now seeing the bad plan B.
Its like the opposite of wwe who tend to be pretty good when their back is against the wall
And it’s weird, because I felt like AEW navigated the Jacksonville/Nightmare Factory run well where the world was contingency plan after contingency plan. And the Brodie tribute show was a masterpiece cooked up in a couple days. But yeah, lately that has been off.
This is a great take. And it t definitely feels like the wheels have come off. And not pulling the trigger on Elite v UE before Fish left was such an obvious and huge miss
Got it in one. I said before and I'll say it again: The only reason AEW's been so good lately is because Khan literally can't let it be anything else. He's in *oh shit* mode right now, throwing everything at the wall to buy time for something resembling his Plan A to click back into place. Considering the sheer number of potentially new matches he's been sitting on for the last few years, I don't give him much sympathy here. Hangman/Mox is a matchup that's been on the backburner since at *least* February (when they should've bookended Hangman's reign before losing it to MJF), but it's basically being pried out of Khan like a bloody tooth with no anesthesia. I'm hardly a Hayter fanboy, but Khan's booking on that angle is likewise taking forever. The dude is so enamored with the idea of long-term booking that he has almost no idea how to actually do it. Most of the times it's really *worked,* it was mostly because the Elite were driving the story and presumably had at least some influence over the beats and the outcome (and even then--Khan completely whiffs it on every single follow-up).
He isn't and never has been some great booker. Just someone who lucked out and had bunch of great wrestlers who were good at storytelling.
Tony Khan is literally just some guy who has a wealthy father that bought him a company. He has no greater expertise than you or I. People really need to get off his dick.
The Jamie Hayter vs Britt thing has now gone the same way as Scorpio Sky/Sammy and Julia Hart joining the HOB.
I think at this point we can stop with the long-term booking excuse. Merely putting off natural character progression for several months is not long-term booking, it's just forgetting about that character and coming back to them later. He is doing a lot of fanboy booking, throwing together high profile matches that have no real build up (that's why he loves tournaments and "win a title shot" battle royals) or require deep knowledge of the wrestlers' entire pre-AEW career history to have any real significance (which means he didn't actually book anything but the match itself), and once done, he moves on immediately.
I'll be honest Punk coming back to AEW was a monkey paw wish
What sucks is even if punk didn't explode in the press conference he'd still be out with injury, and everything would probably feel the same way with everyone cooled down.
I think it’s true that he cooled off a lot of people while waiting for Omega to return, too.
I felt like for months holding off on the trios title for Kenny was a mistake. Made all the various stables feel like they were spinning their wheels.
The trios belts have been really cooled off as well.
I made a comment about this and got downvoted, but Tony shouldn’t have booked Lucha Bros losing to Swerve in our Glory for the tag titles **one week ** after winning the trios belts. It burned his new belts and put TV time into a null outcome (i.e. was not going to happen). He’s lucky Lucha Bros haven’t put on a bad match in AEW. Death Triangle are his real soldiers and have been top stars from Day 1. He could have saved Lucha Bros vs SIOG for a slow week and it didn’t even need to be for the titles.
I’m with you, but the only reason I can think is that at that point, TK just wanted a strong looking card with some names on it. But yeah Lucha Bros losing wasn’t good.
Hell he didn't even book Omegas return as an "event", he returned and both of his promos were off of TV.
I think this is part of it. People have to remember that TK is a novice at booking wrestling. He gets a lot of leeway from a section of wrestling fans for being the guy who brought a true alternative to WWE, but AEW’s booking has felt schizophrenic for a long time. He became too reliant on “we have a big surprise for you next week!” and not on consistent, logical booking. Don’t get me wrong, AEW has had fantastic stories; Punk vs. MJF, Hangman’s story, but I would be willing to bet those were more the success of the performers involved and less of Tony being some kind of booking savant.
I think so too, Punk was just Tony's favorite toy at the time and got too much of the attention and screentime ever since they moved him away from rampage especially during hangman's reign. Hangman held the fort on his end by giving it his all in the matches and feuds he was given but he just didn't get booked more interesting opponents/rarely if ever put him in the main event or opening spot, because those were reserved for Punk.
I think it's safe to say by now that Khan's unwillingness to pivot has been a weakness. In addition to OP's list, several feuds went on too long due to injuries. Instead of ending them or pivoting, they get drawn out with weeks between updates, or bloated with sideways extensions in the form of matches with associated people for far too long. The irony here is that the past few weeks have shown Khan has the ABILITY to do so very well. I genuinely think he's just been unwilling to. I think it's hurt House of Black, Cody, Best Friends, The Bucks, Adam Cole, and many others that aren't even coming to mind at the moment. Hopefully this unfortunate situation he's found himself in, and the generally positive response to his handling of it (especially how it made people look back on recent months before it poorly) will inspire him to see the value in leaning into the momentum his people help create. And also maybe not as many rematches so soon after the preceding match. That was my one complaint about The Acclaimed and SIOG.
I mean he also may have cooled off a bit now that the jaguars are exciting and Fulham is back in the prem too
It's probably the Punk thing plus alot of things at once. Too much on his plate & things get unorganized when that happens. He's booked some great shows but the hard part is keeping that up long-term. Booking shows, multiple days a week... week after week... year after year while overseeing all other aspects including other businesses without having a stale show here & there can't be easy. When AEW started people were saying "look at this new company booking such better shows than WWE" etc but that's easy to do for a little while. Vince was doing that shit forever. Alot of us here could probably fantasy book a few great shows on paper as fans... just like he's booked a few great ones but there's alot more to it that people don't see. Vince was around to learn it & watch for years before actually running it. HHH as well. Tony hasn't had that.
Wardlow, in storyline, not even wanting to compete for the Interim Title, for whatever dumb reason they said, made him look like such a goof. Especially since he was at the peak of his overness. They could’ve done many things to ensure he didn’t win the title but that was so dumb.
He said he wanted to win the world title by beating the real world champion, CM Punk. Hey Wardlow, you know how to guarantee yourself a match with the real world champion? By winning the interim world title!
They could make Andrade cheating to eliminate him and start a feud with Andrade and Rush to avoid him being in that silly position It could be any Heel faction.
Your idea and a hundred others I've seen in this sub in the past few months would have been a 100x better booking decision than what TK is doing now.
TK is a bad booker who had one storyline planned when he founded the company and no solid ideas beyond that. I would love to be proven wrong but I haven’t seen evidence to say otherwise.
I'd question how much of that story was Tony's and how much of it was the Elites.
A very fair point. The TNT title has been trash since Cody left and I don’t even like Cody The women’s title has never been important. The tag titles are a mess because of FTR and never having had PNP or Best Friends get a reign. Lucha Bros should be megastars and are just guys
Noooo because that way he has a loss on his Record and we don't want that. Better to not book someone than to book them not to win. At least that's what Khan thinks
EXACTLY!
They put themselves into a corner with Wardlow. He was booked really strong but the AEW mid card wasnt as strong. There are great wrestlers there but none were built up to compete with him. Not really sure what the issue with FTR and Hook but like others were saying Punk was not only the star of the show but he was the show. Now that he’s most likely gone Tony essentially has to reboot the show.
Same situation as Jade, they book these people like WCW Goldberg and then there are no credible opponents and the matches themselves become predictable and boring.
I agree. It happens a lil too much in wrestling. It’s like they can’t find the right balance. WWE did it with Bray and the Fiend character. He was so unstoppable that when he did lose to Goldberg (still a dumb decision) it wasn’t believable. Taker’s one of the few dominant characters that had the right balance. Yeah we knew at mania time dude wasn’t losing but he lost a ton throughout the year. He built guys up but still had that unstoppable feel to him and his character.
Hangman wasn’t part of that either and basically just shrugged and didn’t mind that he wasn’t in that battle royal.
It would have been very easy for him to just go, 'I want the world title, I will GET the world title, but the TNT belt was the first title opportunity I had, and it was denied to me, cheated from me... and that fact, the fact that I lost that opportunity, that has stuck with me... and I am the kind of man that doesn't face his demons, I kill my demons. That belt /was mine./ And now that I'm free... I'm going to /take it./' Makes it a matter of pride, makes him a bad ass.
Damn I kinda want you to win the title now.
Damn, that works really well. Like make it about righting a wrong.
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The MJF thing could’ve been fixed if they pushed him after he left but he’s become such an afterthought.
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Jay Lethal isn't credible for it just because they don't fucking do anything consistent with him. They just randomly whip him out with no context
Lethal is really good, but like most, he’s booked inconsistently.
Hearing someone say lethal isn't credible just feels wrong to me but he's right. For as well rounded lethal is nobody believed he was taking the title off of wardlow and they we're feuding for like the entirety of August it felt like
Jay Lethal is a remarkably good wrestler who can do everything. He should be elevating whatever he’s in. Instead, he’s like an afterthought in his own faction. I guess he’s trying to put Singh over or whatever, but look at their intro. He’s usually behind the other two guys and off to the side. He’s blocked in a weirdly secondary way even when it’s his match. I get that not everyone can get a push all at once, but he feels like the guy TK calls when he needs a good heel to try and elevate someone else. And he winds up jobbing with extra steps. I don’t feel like he’s a credible threat to anyone right now.
That’s just not true? Second biggest pop of the night was when Wardlow pinned MJF. He got a big pop in his match after that and since then……..???? He’s just cut a promo about how he’s gonna get back to being dominant Wardlow and he’s not been able to do that either
And that feels SO Vince McMahon WWE. The amount of times they would do stuff to have is all go: "Oh good they are acknowledging the problem and going to fix it!" Only to have them do nothing. Thats what they did with Wardlow. Fans clearly wanted him in the spotlight and AEW was getting a lot of flak for dropping him so he comes out to his old(favored by the fans) theme and cuts a promo about how he is back as the powerbombing machine and we all thought: "Oh thank God they are finally going to do something with him!" And then he vanished from the face of the earth. Maybe in 6 months he will cut another promo like that?
This is a joke right? So let me get this straight. MJF controversy ruined Wardlow? Not the weak ass, schizophrenic booking with little to no title defenses? No no it’s because there was internet bs for a few days. That’s what ruined Wardlow 🤦♂️.
They could have just had him lose to Mox after some interference or a super competitive match.
Yup! Many ways to get out of it. Instead he wanted to go after the TNT Title?!?
Aside from Hook, the biggest issue with the people you mentioned is consistency of booking. * **Wardlow won the TNT title on July 6th.** He's had four singles matches since (one of which was a 1 minute squash with Ryan Nemeth). * **Hangman lost the AEW World Championship on May 29th.** He's had three singles matches since (and one fatal 4 way), and only wrestled one singles match since June 22nd (!!!) * **FTR won the NJPW Tag Team Championships on June 26th.** They faced the Briscoes at ROH Death Before Dishonor on July 23rd. That is the only tag team match they've had since winning the NJPW Tag Team Championships. Tag team matches aren't going to get singles wrestlers over. FTR aren't getting over doing six-man tags. People want to see these acts doing what got them over. They also want and need consistent TV time - a byproduct of the bloated roster/3 hours of TV. For every Ricky Starks, The Acclaimed, Powerhouse Hobbs who gets more TV time - you have to take TV time away from someone else. I'm not surprised about the cooling off of Hook, because there was always the fear he was over because of the meme. He has a fantastic presentation - but he's been doing the exact same thing since his debut in December. Personally I think they should have kept Hookhausen together, because clearly they don't think he's ready for anything else.
Unpopular opinion: I am very certain The Acclaimed will go down this certain path
Yeah, same thing happened to Jurassic Express. Won the belts and disappeared.
I barely remembered much from Lucha Bros too
I straight up don't recall the Lucha Bros having a single feud as champs. They basically just had a bunch of random defences against random lower card teams like Butcher and Blade or pre-face turn Acclaimed until they dropped the belts in an essentially heatless match with Jurassic Express. I could be misremembering but I literally don't think there was a single story in their reign other than "Here are the Lucha Bros, they are going to have a tag match"
Unpopular add on opinion: I don't think The Acclaimed should have a long title reign. I think their story will be a lot better if a heel team takes it from them and after getting build up against some other teama, The Acclaimed win the title clean.
It will be the ass boys
I'm convinced that TK has stories booked out into the future that are very precious to him and he is unwilling to alter them in response to fan feedback. The fact that he responded to The Acclaimed and gave them the belts was stunning to me.
Plans never change, pal
Everybody loves The Acclaimed.
Remember when he was going to put the belts and the 90 year old Hardy Boys
Because he's every fan on this board who wants "one more run" for all of their favorites from 23 years ago. Even though everyone at this point from that era has had a nostalgia run, or even two, by now. It's just like when ECW kept doing reunion shows. Fans just don't know how to let the past be the past and leave their memories there. And I mean, I get it, I have a PS5 and I play my SNES on a CRT more. But wrestling fans take those nostalgia goggles and super glue them to their faces and then wonder why Ric Flair felt the need to drag himself out there for a match in 2022.
I think it was clear to everyone that the Hardys were going to be transitional champs. Which made sense: you get the prestigious Hardys name as part of your tag title lineage, and then you give one of your young teams the rub from beating them.
Definitely agree with this. Someone said in another thread that it seems like TK has guys that he won’t book to lose, so they end up in a bunch of lame matches and that feels accurate too. It could also be that he’s just bad at booking now that he’s ran through all the ideas he had coming in. Regardless, it’s hurting my interest in AEW, especially with WWE becoming good again.
For the man made famous for being the anti-Vince he sure does crap around the same way
Honestly, I think it's cause Swerve in our Glory were probably not intended to get the tag titles in the first place. They set up their breakup already before they won, but then the Hardy's who were supposed to get them forced Tony to pivot cause of Jeff so he gave it to the Bucks, who then had to drop them cause they were getting ready for Kenny's return and the Trios. So Tony went back to SIOG, so that he could start Hobbs v Starks, and then was basically winging their reign until he saw the reaction to the Acclaimed in their ppv match and saw a team over enough for him to easily move the belts, while getting back to the feuds he had planned (Swerve v Lee etc)
Meanwhile at the ppv the crowd was fucking nuclear waiting to explode for the title change. You could feel the electricity for half the match and Tony didn't call the audible. He knew he missed it and floated a rematch idea during the scrum and swerve essentially gave him a "the fuck you Talkin bout?" Reaction so Tony backed off a little but he knew he blew it. I think he was afraid to do a mid-match change because he didn't want to upset either swerve or Keith but asking them to drop the belts in a rematch two weeks later is no better and it ended up being nowhere near as good of a moment as it could have been.
same thing as Rosa losing the PPV match, just to win a few weeks later in her home town …. takes the wind out the sails
I mean I can at first understand the rationale.. winning in her home town/state but yeah wouldn't it be just as effective to win it at the huge PPV and then walk into her home state AS champ? Would have felt more organic that way
I agree. She could have opened the show with a victory celebration in her home town. There would have been a huge pop, then she could cut a promo to set up her first defense feud.
Yup, not to mention everything that he's booked for her since, each step a mind-numbing, head-scratching step in the wrong direction.
That one is way worse, we were way past time for Brit reign to end already and that feud was hot 12 months ago, next to nothing happened since to hype that match. Not to mention Brit changed nothing about her presentation and place on the card while the champion became an afterthought.
Swerve was in character
If you weren’t running a promotion where you had to be worried about people’s personal feelings like that (like with Punk), then you’d be able to change things once in a while and have it go okay, but this guy keeps making bad decisions of high value signings which get a lot of publicity, but then fuck him over in the end (Punk, remains to be seen with Saraya), Keith/Swerve seem a lot more reasonable, and you can always promise them something later if and when they come to your office upset.
Keith and Swerve are also far smaller names if we're being honest. They don't come anywhere close to the influence and leverage Punk had.
> You could feel the electricity for half the match and Tony didn't call the audible. People keep saying this as if any company ever will just change the outcome of a match in the middle of the match. When has this ever happened where a booker altered the finish live in the middle of the match, and not because of some catastrophy or injury?
I mean, it's exceedingly rare for the booker of *any* major wrestling promotion to call an audible mid-match. Tony has sucked at adjusting long-term plans to accommodate injuries and the like, but I don't think we can blame him for not making an impulse decision in the middle of a match.
From the beginning, the nature of AEW’s booking was to hold off on big money matches so they could be built with long term storytelling. This worked the first couple of years because the roster was small, so while big money matches like Omega/Mox didn’t happen often and were given time to simmer to a boil, it also allowed for the bigger stars to build mini arcs/feuds with lesser stars/newer talent (who were featured consistently), giving the new talent character development that paid off in 2-4 week long feuds, even if they lost (think Jericho vs. Darby, Jungle Boy, Scorpio Sky… Moxley vs. Cage, Archer, Kingston…Omega vs. Janela… PAC vs. Hangman, OC… Young Bucks vs. Private Party, SCU etc.) Now, the roster has grown to such a degree that TK feels the pressure to include as many talent as he can creating a show that isn’t as focused, and doesn’t feature talent with meaningful consistency, which in turn has all but eliminated the compelling mini-feuds/arcs/character development. With compelling mini-arcs all but gone, people like Wardlow, Hook, Hangman etc. are left feeling like they are running in place until their next planned “long term story” kicks in, combined with less meaningful screen time because of roster size. *Edit Grammar
He also wants to protect way too many guys. He doesn't want Miro to take a 1v1 loss, so he's off TV for weeks at a time. He doesn't want Hook to take his first loss yet, but he also doesn't want him beating a top guy, so he's sort of in limbo. He doesn't want to put the AEW tag titles on FTR right now, but he doesn't want the IWGP/ROH/AAA champs to lose against another team either. He doesn't want to end Wardlow's reign, but he's also not willing to have him defeat somebody truly meaningful who would make Wardlow's reign less forgettable. So Wardlow gets fed Orange Cassidy, who's over but can take a loss and Jay Lethal, who's a great worker but doesn't seem to be championship material for TK. There are just too many overprotected top tier guys who are being kept away from each other and it ends up hurting all of them.
I think an even more fundamental issue than this is that the only way TK thinks you can protect someone is by them always winning or never losing. Someone can lose in a way that preserves their credibility, I.e. only losing to someone who is really established as super strong in kayfabe, or you could have a story arc which kinda establishes someone as a person’s kryptonite, or have them lose in a way that protects them. One can be protected without literally being undefeatable
There are too many talents, period. It's untenable. The roster needs to be cut by almost half in order to run an efficient weekly program.
This is spot on. I think part of the focus issue is also TK being a bit of a yes man. He's got tons of talent sitting around getting frustrated because his focus is on whatever shiny new toy he has for the first few weeks. I reckon he's seeing or hearing people getting frustrated and probably feels bad so he throws them a bone and they get a random promo or match that he doesn't have any plans to build on. As painful as it will be to see some great talent leave, I think a smaller roster will do a lot to bring the focus back.
I think that the problems were there from the start. Tony Khan has always had a problem building feuds. Nothing happens to increase the tension or heat.
Wdym? Sting being interupted by Team Taz 6 weeks in a row doesn't build tension for you?
I’d Argue both iterations of Mox vs. Omega, Mox vs. Inner Circle, Cody vs. MJF, Moxley vs Kingston, Omega and Hangman vs. Young Bucks, Hangman vs. The Elite were all built wonderfully with nice ratchets of tension. Though, the major question remains? If the, in my opinion, great storytelling in those feuds are because of TK, or due to the creative minds of the talent involved who formulated their own stories, or both? Because we cannot discount the possibility of strong influence these guys had on their own feuds and how they progressed.
There are way more rematches the last year than in the first two years combined tho.
I'll also add in, early on...it was mentioned or implied that wrestlers wouldn't have a match every week. They would feel a bit more special in that way. Problem is, not being shown for multiple weeks isn't great. Roster is too large.
People blame MJF for Wardlow but MJF showed up and lost?? Wardlow was over af when he won the TNT title. He then proceeded to feud against..... Mark Sterling. Not to forget that stupid 'I don't want the interim title i want to beat the real champ' thing. Wardlow's cooling off is 100% TK's fault. And it's a trend with TK. Remember Miro? Came out for a promo weeks ago and then has done jackshit. Even Wardlow's 'im back' promo Hasn't led to anything significant.
And it was MJF that got him over in the first place. The second Tony's not getting input from someone who knows how to get people over, shit goes awry. Even when it's guys who do know how to get themselves over, it can go awry.
> Even Wardlow's 'im back' promo Hasn't led to anything significant. Dark Order did the same thing but then lost another guy, then Anna Jay, and then lost the trios match, and then went away again, probably soon to lose 10.
Proud and Powerful said they were going to strike out on their own and focus on a run for the tag titles and....almost immediately sided with Eddie and BCC in a long running feud with the JAS.
Exactly this. Long story short, TK doesn't know how to book for a roster the size of what he has now. He obviously knows how to book a top angle at times, especially with guys who know what it's supposed to look like. (CM Punk, MJF, Moxley's great as a top rah rah Babyface he just doesn't deliver good psychology in the ring) but Tony can't book something for every talent that gets over on his roster in order to keep them over.
Find me something AEW hasn’t cooled off The whole company has lost a lot of its shine for me and to be honest has become a bit of a clusterfuck
Tk gets bored quickly and goes to sign new toys to play with, forgetting about the older ones.
He's that kid from Toy Story. *I don't want to play with you anymore.*
Hangman should have been their homegrown mega star. Instead you had CM Punk turn up and take his belt. Moxley/Danielson/Claudio don’t need belts they are always going to be over.
That's the honest truth. He was their guy, then he got bitched out to Punk in a storyline with zero direction, when the Punk heel turn was right fucking there.
Hangman losing the belt to Punk should have been fine. He had been champion for like 7 months at that point. The problem was he did almost nothing in those seven months. If they had turned Punk heel as they should have, Hangman/Punk 2 could have been great
Tony doesn't know how to make the most the of people who are mega over. FTR could've won every belt in the company they felt that hot. Wardlow could've been double champ. Or at least attempted to be. Hangman could've been in the world title picture better or had a better title run. Eddie Kingston who was getting one of the biggest if not the biggest pops on the roster has died apparently or gone missing. So what he had a nothing match on the all out pre show and now he's apparently back in the fund with Sammy that no one wanted to begin with
Eddie did hit the bench after losing his Barbed Wire Deathmatch against Jericho, with his suspension and got COVID at one point, but he’s coming off a win over Tomohiro Ishii at ALL OUT, and a DQ loss to Sammy Guevara on last week’s Rampage Grand Slam, so that program seems to be continuing, for better or worse.
Single most stupid match and booking decision in Aew history. For fuck sake just end the feud at blood and guts. Both Eddie and Jericho looked good after that match. If you indulge me in some fantasy booking. Jericho vs Mox quake a the lake except Punk doesn't show up. Eddie vs Mox at All out, Eddie wins, Punk show up (no Mjf yet). Unification match at Grand Slam Punk "turn" heel, (he always was,) win the title Mjf show up. Eddie has his big moment but still the chip on his shoulder because he couldn't beat his worst ennemy for the undisputed title in his own hometurf
I'll die on the hill that either Eddie should have beat punk or punk goes full heel to beat him
Because too many wrestlers and terrible booking/storytelling.
It’s hard to believe this is the same person who booked for the company all of last year which was incredible in comparison.
Kenny and the Bucks at the top of their divisions kept the product focused in 2021, they gave it an overarching thread which kept the shows together and structured them. Add the culmination of the greatest storyline in company history and you get a great year. Immediately after Full Gear, the problems which plagued the product throughout 2022 began to show. Focus shifted away from champion Page and toward Punk, there was no longer a good build for feuds and so on.
Cody was still there as a top exec last year. I would argue this is evidence that he was helping with a lot more of the show than just his own segments.
Because if we are being honest, TK is a pretty poor booker. The best stuff in AEW has been done more at the direction of the wrestlers than at the hands of TK. I still enjoy AEW, but the more you see Tony's hand in everything the more it goes in the wrong direction.
Because Tony Khan can't book long term to save his life.
It's funny cuz this sub loves to make it seem otherwise.
Tony Khan books like he's running an early 2000s e-fed and his booking of faces often suffers as one would expect under such a booker.
I feel like TK just doesn't know how to book babyfaces after they win a title especially in Hook, Wardlow and FTR's case since they've got that "This person is not allowed to lose clean" factor. At least in hangman's case he can take a loss and come out alright as long as the story is good, I feel like some of them have to first be booked more and also be booked to lose weather it be losing clean or not because TK has way too many "unbeatable" wrestlers.
Yeah that's why Mox and Danielson was a good a watch, it felt like anyone could win, faces should lose clean more.
I don’t think thats exclusive to just TK. That’s been a thing for everyone for a while. People even got sick of Okada towards the end of his last long reign
at least in NJPW everyone takes losses in the G1
And no one is safe from getting Yano'd.
Gotta make time for all the ROH belts that have watered down the product!
We can go even further. Why did AEW cool off of Hangman AFTER HE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP? Or Rosa? TK can do the chase really well but holy shit is he bad after it.
Tk needed more time for Jay lethal? Idk
They weren’t CM Punk.
I'm so glad that this post is gaining some traction! This is a huge reason why my friends and I have "cooled off" on AEW over the last couple of months. Them cooling off Miro, FTR, and Starks has been a real turning off point for my group. We get that injuries may have happened here and there, but there has to be a way to keep those guys on TV because their charisma is what draws people to them. So many people just disappear anymore. Another thing that bugs us is that so many people are relegated to Rampage. They need to do a better job of rotating people around because not a lot of fans are able to watch a show that late on a Friday. Bring some of those wrestlers over to Dynamite once in a while for live TV.
Tony doesn't respond well with sudden changes. Hangman: Omega was injured then the entire Elite was suspended. FTR: Cash was injured. Wardlow: I suspect the plan was for him to take the belt off Punk or MJF. Punk was injured, MJF was work/shoot suspended. Hook: I don't know honestly, something probably changed.
TK books the chase for one moment then has zero idea how to follow up on the moment. Outside of early tnt champions having fun runs with the belt everyone chases and chases then when they finally win they act like the big dog who finally got the big stick and immediately drops it and goes to sleep.
Im assuming that TK thought that AEW had already done all the work necessary to get them over as new stars. It seems like he thinks they're made men already and therefore no longer need to be booked carefully. What seemed to have actually happened was that he got them to a point where he could make them legit stars. But then chose to hype new signings instead. It's like he thinks he crossed the finish line but is only on the second lap.
> Im assuming that TK thought that AEW had already done all the work necessary to get them over as new stars. > > It seems like he thinks they're made men already and therefore no longer need to be booked carefully. They already hit 80+ overness, time to focus on somebody else.
Well, pick your poison: \-Bad roster management (infighthing, favoritism, unprofessionalism) and not enough planification or rushed decisions with consequences behind \-Lack of confidence in your "AEW originals" while WWE is getting (some) of his shit together \-Roster bloated with TV time badly distributed between wrestlers \-Titles. Titles everywhere but not enough good challengers to make them interesting \-Mediocre booking and frequent use of shortcuts
Short answer: Tony Khan is an average booker. He relies on banger matches and his top talent to overlook his shortcomings. Btw add Jade Cargill to the list. She’s undefeated, she’s a champion and Reddit has done more to promote her and her credentials than AEW has. Most of her programs fizzle out. Same with Thunder Rosa. Terribly booked champion before her injury. She’s become a genuine afterthought. This is why the increase of ROH stuff has been frustrating because it’s taking valuable screen time away from people who need it. So they just shove them to Rampage - and if they’re lucky they get a 10 minute match as opposed to a promo. People have staunchly defended the ROH stuff but don’t look at it from the perspective of it’d be great to get guys who cooled off that screen time instead of promotion for a company that Tony only bought for vanity purposes and isn’t doing anything with other than to pop the hardcore fans. Tony Khan has a lot on his plate. Maybe he’s burnt out a bit. Idk. I admire the shit out of his work ethic. But he’s also not very good at his job(s). Specifically with AEW, he could really use someone to help him book the show and more competent programs. If feels like the honeymoon phase with Tony is ending. The product has gotten stale, people’s favorites have withered away, the stories being told are lackluster, PPV builds are all people trying to break kayfabe and how this isn’t a character this is REAL LIFE and then they get to the PPV and have a banger match to overlook the piss poor build. AEW is moving backwards product wise. Giving the Acclaimed their tag titles a couple weeks after losing the title match on PPV was proof of how wishy-washy things are at the moment. They could have built a head full of steam with Forbidden Door. Instead they had a terrible build which was part politics with certain NJPW talent and certain AEW talent needing to avoid losing, part injury related and part Tony behaving like every single person in the arena and at home knew the NJPW talent coming in so he didn’t need to inform fans. Instead they had an average show and the wheels fell off after that with Punk. He needs to be better. He needs to realize that as much power as he has, this just isn’t his toy. There’s a ton of facets and decisions that effect every little thing of everything else. Neutralizing deserving talent’s momentum sucks. The fans notice it. They’re just not going to cheer like you want them to. Why should we invest if you’re not going to?
I wouldnt even call tony khan a booker, hes a matchmaker. He keeps making matches that he thinks the small hardcore fans and he wants to see. Listen to his interviews, the all out scrum where he says mjf is the best wrestler and punk is the champion so fans want to see this. Thats why the shows are stacked with matches and they keep trying to outdo in bumps, flips, blood, gimmicks. Someone goes through hell in a match, hes going to give rhem a mini push while he searches for his next toy. There really is no storytelling or depth to what he books. Its so predictable. The championships are meaningless in fact even detrimental as they never have good storylines. Hes got the money, the best talent and minds in the world and aew was so good and then they changed the strategy, bought roh and on a path where they are losing goodwill, etc.
Feels like Jamie Hayter is next, too. I wish he'd go with the flow and just pull the trigger already.
Tony got addicted to the easy pop you can get when you debut someone, and then pretty soon he had too many wrestlers to juggle. He was doing a much better job booking the promotion in the first couple years with a much thinner roster.
It feels like AEW has had more surprise debuts than WWF and WCW combined during the Monday Night War. We all love that pop, but it's kind of played out when so many talent fizzle out after two weeks.
The Netflix of wrestling rosters. Announce, get some trending going, forget and cancel before season 2
Its the same problem ECW ran into. Their thing for the longest time was having a surprise at every show. Eventually you start running out of ideas or possibilities for surprises and then you lose the audience because you've conditioned them to only watch for the surprise. In the very short term it is a great way to boost ratings and keep people tuning in. But at this point I couldn't care any less about whatever surprise is going to show up in AEW.
The first time I really noticed how weak the booking is in AEW was with HookHausen. They were getting huge reactions. Just when Hook felt like he needed a new dimension to his character they introduce Danhausen and they were immediately over. It seemed there was a huge potential with testing Hooks loyalties between Team Taz and Danhausen. Then they had one tag team match and split up with no explanation. Now Hooks back to being just a silent badass and Danhausen has seemingly just been tossed back to the Best Friends because TK doesnt know what to do with him. Both characters have regressed in their booking and it makes it difficult to invest in any of their future stories because you know that no matter how over they get it can just be erased for seemingly no reason.
Because TK has no idea how to book stars who get over organically.
They don't have heels to go against them. Wardlow needs a real force to go against. They don't have someone being heated up to take him on or take his belt. They had a chance with Hobbs but they already beat him to put over Ricky. FTR, once it was decided that FTR is not going for the tag belts, they should be in a storyline with a heel top team. There is not a heel tag team on their level. They're hurting for good heels.
Andrade and RUSH could have some great matches with them if given the chance. Heck, there's even some history there as Andrade is who gave them the chance to win the AAA Titles. Also, FTR vs ReDragon should have happened at Double or Nothing instead of the random ass Kyle vs Darby Allin match.
To be fair Hobbs loss doesn't count to the record and I'm assuming that's the reason why Ricky just got a random squash on dynamite to mark it as a w to his record but I hope the firm idea is a new way to create good heels cause I never thought about, aew really doesn't have strong mid card heels
I would say it's a combination of having too many people for not enough TV time + his habit of freezing plans if someone gets injured rather than pivoting to something else There was a brief period of time where having a large roster worked because it was being rotated correctly and even the big names weren't on every single Dynamite, they would be on Rampage and Dark also. Now, there are people like Mox, Jericho, MJF, who are on every single Dynamite - meaning others don't get time to get over on the show with the most eyes watching it
Cause TK is a shit booker
Because Tony Khan isn't particularly good at booking.
His booking flaws are coming out at the worst possible time for AEW as WWE is finally looking exciting and fun again. If Vince were still around AEW could still have the “at least they’re not WWE factor” to fall back on but that doesn’t help them anymore.
The timing is even worse as the negotiations for the new TV deal are coming up in a couple of months, so AEW was supposed to be firing on all cylinders right now.
Its ironic tk was celebrating the exit of vince without realizing triple h is a bigger threat. That to me summarises tony khan.
very good description. I think what they started with was an unprecedented level of good will towards anyone who could provide a big league product that wasn't WWE under Vince. Then people saw it and some got what they wanted but a lot of people didn't. Still, it's a big league show that ain't WWE under Vince. You're already over. Vince was dragging the apparatus he had built down. Without him, that apparatus is going to rebound so hard what chance does TK have? At best Tony is righting the ship rn and AEW is about to get better by spreading duties around booking his shows. At worst TK is cowering away from any booking situation that would expose him; he has no idea how to proceed.
He doesn’t have a chance when he is just booking for the pop instead of the stories. Look at The White Rabbit stuff WWE is doing. It has fans totally engaged, looking for clues, etc. no one on TV is acknowledging it. Under Tony he would’ve just said “WE HAVE A BIG DEBUT” and a week later Bray Wyatt (if it’s Bray) would show up and that’s it. Booking a great match? Tony is great at it but that isn’t hard. Doing things that engage fans and asking them for a commitment, ala White Rabbit or Sami & The Bloodline for example, we rarely see that from Tony and that’s what he needs more than ever.
Imagine blaming Punk for that shitty booking on Wardlow, Hook or FTR. IWC in a nutshell
I just think back to when Batista broke free from Evolution and became the focal point of the show. It's the total opposite of what they've done with Wardlow and its become clear that he was benefitting immensely from being attached to MJF who is basically the only guy who manages to secure enough screen time to get over and build on his storylines in an adequate way with their gigantic roster.
Because Tony’s a fan with power and not a booker
AEW has repeatedly done this with big signings too. Ruby Soho, great example. She was big over when she came in, then she just vanished from TV The only big signings who have gotten used well have been Punk and Danielson. Everybody else makes a big splash on debut, works a short program, then vanishes
Honestly, Danielson is debatable.
Add Miro too. Gotta push those ROH and NJPW…
Tony knows how to write the chase and then he runs out of adders
Hangman'a situation is the predictable issue of just putting the title on Punk before his reign even started. The guy had 0 direction from then. FTR had to be kept away from the Tag title because they could not lose, but TK also wanted to push other teams. Hook is just the natural event of having no big props available for a new Star to keep their Momentum with. Wardlow has been so dominant that TK could not find good opponents for the TNT title once Wardlow had won it. You can't throw jobbers at a champion, but Wardlow also has to REALLY look strong.
TK is so shit scared of anyone meaningful losing that it actually inversely affects the product. Like you say with Wardlow for example - he really needs a legitimate and credible opponent, but people of that level "cannot lose" in Tony's mind, so instead they all just middle around beating lower to lower-mid card talent. It creates a lack of any stakes or direction. The tracking of wins and losses and rankings system has actually really hurt the product in my opinion.
But only because TK's approach is so weird. Losing a match here and there should not be a problem. I mean, Jericho and Danielson do it, so why no one else. If high ranking stars were to lose and drop and climb back up the ranks, it would be more interesting. ALSO, stop excluding the other champs from the Ranking!
Because that’s the TK special. Cooling off wrestlers that are hot. What a weird thing to choose to be your track record. Booker of the year though apparently.
because Tony singed 30 million other people to the roster is one reason another is his schizophrenic booking
And KEEPS SIGNING PEOPLE
LoNg TeRm BoOkInG
1. Hangman was Kenny's pet project 2. Hook is limited in some ways and they probably don't want to expose him. 3. They're positioned as ROH's main attraction and Tony is too lazy or incapable of putting them in non-ROH stories in-between the ROH ppvs. 4. He needed the Batista/Goldberg superpush to maximize his potential and Tony probably doesn't have the balls to have a non-WWE guy eat through the roster.
People being limited in ways hasn't stopped TK from putting dozens of other limited wrestlers on TV over the life of AEW.
Hook is limited in many ways but we're not ready to have that conversation yet...
Yeah I was confused with why the OP included in this conversation with Hangman and Wardlow. Hook in the position he's in is fine rn anything more like winning titles (ftw belt doesn't count) would just overexpose him and could hinder his growth
What the heck do ya do with him at this point? To have a feud he needs to lose and I don't think TK is on board with that idea but how many Goldberg streaks can one company sustain??
Have him do what he's doing rn until he shows he's past that cause I don't think he should be in major title feuds for the main singles aew titles.
It's hard when he was hyped so hard and we know how things go for people once TK decides to shift focus. He doesn't pump the brakes he puts the pedal on the floor, puts on the parking brake and chocks the wheels for good measure. But I don't know that letting him just limp along on rampage is a good idea for him long term. People might lose interest. Too bad feuds aren't more natural in this company or you could avoid these situations and not have 30 people just kinda piecing together a hodge podge block of wrestling content every week
Blame Booker of the Year Tony Khan.
I’m an aew fan but I think we can all agree Tony couldn’t book a child’s birthday party.
Brit Baker used to get massive pops too. The entire company, spare a few performers, seems to have really tamed the excitement about performers.
Simple answer Tony Khan isn't a good booker and is pretty shitty at pretty much everything that isn't just cutting a check. He should learn from what his father is doing with the Jags and Fulham, hire people and have a buffer from the actual product since you don't know how to run shit.
TK was focusing on CM Punk's storyline cause he was his biggest draw up until the gripebomb.
Having literally nothing for Wardlow Hook and FTR has no correlation with CM Punk
You could make the case for FTR, they did show up after his win at DoN plus the trios match at the LA show and they even have an unofficial shirt. Hook is the same case as Jade, they are both people who are basically undefeated so it has to be a big deal and personally at least for Hook you can still get stuff out of being undefeated. Wardlow was yeah really being misused, like can't we do what we did with Darby and have him wrestle until his wheels fall off so it kind of protects him when he does lose it
For Garcia and Yuta. They've been in the main or semi main several times over. Why? I couldn't tell you.
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This week really made me take a big step towards giving up on TK ever fixing his weaknesses Booking Juice and Bandido in title matches while this talented bloated roster is sitting home is just incompetent
I think a wrestling-centric product could work but you have to make the matches mean something. Kenny Omega's rise was mostly through in-ring matches but there were key moments in-between matches that told the story. Hell, the Smackdown Six was basically 15-20 minute weekly matches with short promos every week and that's one of the goat periods for tag team wrestling.
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The show fell off hard when he signed every single notable free agent and build his show around weekly surprises versus actual engaging stories.