10 Best Booking Decisions In Wrestling History
10. The Grand AEW Comeback
'December 18' is literally a date that will live in infamy. It is shorthand for "Well, the first competition for nearly two decades was nice while it lasted (eight months)".
It was the Dynamite on which The Dark Order Angle happened, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes bumped for "creepers", and Evil Uno drew blood from a rubber johnny in Matt Jackson's mouth in a Bray Wyattpilled angle. Even the good matches on the show, the culmination of a bizarre, weeks-long flirtation with spooky nonsense, were botch-plagued. It was as if the entire promotion was haunted, which was ironic, since the supernatural vibe in the fiction was not remotely effective.
Tony Khan knew of and was hurt by the response, and took a drastic step to resolve the mounting problems: he disbanded the booking committee he had formed with himself and the EVPs, took final cut privileges for himself, and set about restoring the aura of his star babyface unit.
He did so on the incredible January 1, 2020 Dynamite, one of the best editions of the show ever. Easing the anxiety felt by an audience scared that the dream was over, he asked the same question many cynics had posed in an opening video package voiceover:
Are the Elite still Elite?
The answer, revealed throughout the show, was both "yes" and "no".
Cody defeated Darby Allin in a great continuation of their legacy rivalry while Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks defeated the future Death Triangle in a lush illustration of what AEW's heart looks like: pulsating, state-of-the-art Trios action set against the unique, gorgeous backdrop of Daily's Place.
The Elite also wasn't Elite since, in a great cliffhanger, piss-funny boozehound Hangman Page was relegated to commentary. He didn't feel Elite, but his comedic tour de force, in which he finally showed his All In chops on TV, was Elite in the minds of the fans.
AEW in the aftermath of the grand return to form quickly negotiated a rights fee, and never again faced such a position of peril.