10 Major AEW Stars Who Publicly Savaged The Company

8. The Elite

Jericho Honeymoon Thumb
AEW/Lee South

All Out 2020 was everything the miraculous Double Or Nothing wasn't; a bleak reminder that great wrestling was always in some bittersweet, in the pandemic era, it was a show that struggled to spark against the sweltering backdrop of Daily's Place. The action was enervated, the already performative atmosphere tired.

Very little was great - the main event was a killer stylistic battle, the Young Bucks always deliver even on "cursed" PPVs - and the Casino Battle Royale was a confusing, overlong, botch-plagued mess. Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks had a laugh at their own expense on a subsequent edition of Being The Elite ("A Very Slippery Rope", ep. 221), which acted as an apology and a promise to do better next time. Filmed laying out the disastrous match, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks looked very pleased with themselves in a nice bit of dramatic irony. Michael Nakazawa wandered into shot and asked when he'd be entering the match. Omega laughed at the suggestion.

After footage was shown on the dire match itself, a great cut captured the Elite's disgust. Nick Jackson said it was "just garbage" while Omega grabbed the remote and said "Shut this sh*t off". They then wondered aloud "Who the f*ck put this sh*t together?" before realising "We kinda did".

Refreshing honesty, yes, but this scene did make the company itself look rinky dink.

The Elite have also buried the company - their own! - separately...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!