10 MORE Storylines AEW Dropped Cold

2. Paul Turner Must Tighten Up The Officiating

Matt Hardy
Twitter, @AEW

The otherwise tremendous Dynamite Grand Slam this year was marred slightly by three consecutive unclean finishes: Chris Jericho cheated to defeat Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World title, Billy Gunn interfered to assist the Acclaimed in dethroning AEW World Tag Team champions Swerve In Our Glory, and PAC defeated Orange Cassidy via hammer to the face.

It was quickly explained on Rampage that all of this was booked to inform a much-needed company-wide storyline: following months and months, at least, of cheap, weightless and cowardly booking that put more heat on the booker than any heel, Khan recognised that AEW was morphing into a sub-WWE in some ways and promised a return to a more bold, conclusive approach by tightening up the officiating.

It didn't happen, infuriatingly, and while Tony Schiavone is good value deadpanning about "systematic cheating", it would be preferable if AEW made cheating feel like a transgression again. Something that inspires outcry more than apathy.

The referees are still dumb even by the standards of a wrestling referee, and Turner discovering what the rules meant only served as an excuse to have Eddie Kingston lose.

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!