10 Most Desperate Ways AEW Got You To Watch

4. Tony Khan Has A HUGE Announcement

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Anything can be good and anything can be bad. Well, apart from WWE 24/7 Title skits. They can never be good.

Anything good can turn bad, or daft, and this is what's happened with Tony Khan's "HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT" gimmick.

For a time, having generated massive amounts of good will with the audience, the gimmick worked. There was an implicit trust that Khan would get it right, that the news would deliver. The Christian Cage debacle ruined much of that trust, and in time, the HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT evolved into code for "I've made a new signing".

That's the issue. A new signing is meant to be heralded as a major deal. Think about it.

Viewed as a fictional world, a performer the calibre of Keith Lee should be presented as a potentially transformative figure. He has the potential to hold the AEW World Title and for a long time. You don't just debut the f*cker in front of a hardcore travelling audience likely to greet him with a big pop and hope the denizens of Arkansas get the message, which is how Vince debuted everybody from NXT between 2015 and 2019. Wrestling stars, and generations of fans somehow don't get this, are meant to be presented as wrestling stars under a grand introduction.

Khan however has taken it much too far over the last year or so - to such an extent that he's creating as many memes as stars in 2022.

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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!