10 Biggest Unsolved AEW Mysteries
What was the secret AEW debut that got away...?
AEW, to its immense credit, is intent on adhering to a level of continuity and episodic scope never attempted by a North American major.
Sadly, this depth of ambition hasn't really worked. To use the preeminent and most divisive example, Tony Khan's insistence on pushing the 'Four Pillars' underscored that wrestling is a live interactive performance art that must shift and react to fan sentiment. Fans simply did not buy the idea that Jack Perry and Sammy Guevara were foundational to the success of the promotion. It was a noble failure, in one sense, but in another, it was poor decision-making that only drove a level of resentment from which neither performer has recovered.
Even something like the Elite's ultra long-term story unravelled last year. Again, something like it had never been attempted; an epic storyline in which the featured characters were forever entwined, spanning half a decade, resulted in diminished returns at best and, at worst, accusations that certain acts were only interested in working alongside their friends in rereads.
And yet, as you'll discover, AEW is also guilty of simply dropping storyline developments.
Conversely, in a list that blends fiction and reality, AEW does not deserve credit for an often woeful lack of transparency...
10. Who Attacked Jon Moxley?
Back in November 2020, Jon Moxley was attacked in an offscreen backstage angle, the intent behind which was - seemingly - to create a whodunnit.
He was feuding with Kenny Omega at the time - this was a fortnight ahead of the inaugural Winter Is Coming Dynamite special - and, just to reinforce that this wasn't a continuation of that story and was something to stir your imagination, Omega was in the ring before the director cut away.
Omega didn't take responsibility for the attack, which was forgotten about almost immediately.
Which was a shame; this was AEW at their most dialled-in, showcasing a sense of detail and narrative flair on a weekly basis (a shame also that they hit this creative peak when no or very few fans were in attendance). Mox laid down in the position of the hanged man tarot card, and in a second red herring, his legs were shaped in a four when the Horsemen teases hadn't quite fallen away ahead of the Pinnacle forming.
What probably happened here is that KENTA was meant to be behind it - he eventually attacked Mox in plain view - since an IWGP US title match was on the horizon.
Perhaps the reveal was delayed since the Forbidden Door wasn't quite ajar yet - and since it was well over three years ago, you're not likely to get a definitive answer.
On that Horsemen thing...