10 Bad Habits AEW Must Kick RIGHT NOW
6. Ignoring The Rankings System
The Grand Slam Tournament of Champions is a brilliant idea: Tony Khan has assembled a big-time tournament faithful to company-wide continuity without burning through new dream pairings in a panic. Several great aspects of the promotion are distilled within one story.
Still: despite Hangman Page and Darby Allin appearing in both the tournament and within the rankings, there's no place in the former for either Powerhouse Hobbs (#3) or Jay Lethal (#4). Evidently, their wins don't matter too much; Hobbs hasn't received a single title shot, and Lethal already failed to realise his opportunity against Wardlow at Battle of the Belts. He's still ranked, however. Does he go to the back of the line, or?
AEW has never told fans how the rankings are arrived at, and don't always adhere to them, anyway. The device is used selectively, which renders it difficult to invest and take seriously. This issue is more pronounced in the Tag Team division - so much so that FTR (#1) never receiving a shot has become a meme.
Wins and losses matter in a general sense - nobody goes on a streak of wins that is subsequently ignored, and the open challenge allows Khan a shortcut to certain matches - but imagine if Khan booked four singles men's superstars to go an absolute tear simultaneously.
That would make for immense, unpredictable drama of the sort that his episodic TV lacks.