10 Major AEW Stars Who Publicly Savaged The Company

6. The Young Bucks

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AEW

The Young Bucks were at the heart of the "Dark Order angle," of course.

They lost to SCU in the best Dynamite main event nobody, understandably, will ever remember. An urgent, exhilarating sprint, it would scan as evidence that SCU's World Tag Team Title run wasn't a dud - if AEW didn't teeter on the brink of implosion in its immediate aftermath.

The post-match was awful in both vision and performance. What was already a naff supernatural cult angle in the sports-oriented promotion was executed horrendously. Kenny Omega looked like any pedestrian member of the roster in how he was battered by a barely trained, enterprising greenhorn in a sh*tty mask, Cody offered just as little resistance, and one of these goobers was such an amateur that they infamously missed the head of Dustin Rhodes by a good foot and a half. Ironically, while not wishing to harm Dustin, he almost did immeasurable harm to the promotion itself.

The Young Bucks listened to the venomous criticism and sent themselves up on Being The Elite by filming a skit in which they beat up Christopher Daniels - but missed the punches by miles.

It functioned as self-aware reassurance that they knew they'd f*cked it, but it also served as a major tongue-in-cheek burial of what had become of the acclaimed alternative.

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!