10 Things That Didn't Go The Way AEW Wanted
Missed signings, misjudged character presentations, productions issues, and the overhype problem.
Make no bones about it, AEW right now is the most consistently entertaining, engaging, rewarding and sensical wrestling promotion on the planet. While organisations such as WWE, IMPACT Wrestling, the NWA, GCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling all have varying levels of upside to their products, it's Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling that's the hottest in the game at present.
Despite the regular praise AEW's weekly shows, TV specials and quarterly PPVs receive, that's not to say that Khan and his organisation hit a home run with everything they do.
Every wrestling promotion is going to strike out at times, especially one that was started completely from scratch barely three years ago. Whether it's production issues, expecting audiences to immediately know who lesser-known talent are, ill-advised character presentations, or merely promising something that you ultimately can't deliver on, there are plentiful examples of things not quite as AEW envisioned across its relatively young lifespan.
With that in mind, then, here are ten such examples of those times when Tony Khan and All Elite Wrestling failed to get things exactly as they would've liked.
10. Missing Out On Ben Carter
Highlighting what a brilliant showcase AEW Dark can be, Ben Carter and Lee Johnson absolutely tore it up on the 22 September 2020 edition of AEW's premiere YouTube show.
Carter had previously lost on Dark to Ricky Starks, but his second match under the AEW banner is one that truly put the young Brit on the radar of many a wrestling fan. Likewise, this was a contest that also marked the then-unsigned Johnson out as a talent to keep your eye on.
In a ten-minute affair, Carter and Big Shotty mesmerised in a fun, frenetic encounter that saw the Prodigy of Pro Wrestling pick up the win over Johnson. That match itself was followed by Carter facing Scorpio Sky on Late Night AEW Dynamite, and the AEW faithful were abuzz with one of the hottest prospects on the market possibly becoming officially #AllElite.
Unfortunately, the AEW signing of Ben Carter never came to fruition.
Despite interest from both AEW and IMPACT Wrestling, Carter would soon formally sign with WWE and be assigned to the NXT UK brand, with the high-flyer later explaining how he'd already agreed a deal in principal with WWE before he wrestled for AEW.
These days performing under the Nathan Frazer moniker, the 23-year-old has continued to impress, most recently putting on a brutal, brilliant battle with NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov earlier this month.