10 Things That Didn't Go The Way AEW Wanted

Many raised an eyebrow when it was announced that Nick Gage would be taking on Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite in a Deathmatch as part of MJF's Five Trials of Jericho scheme. In Gage, AEW was bringing in someone famed for ultra-violence, his criminal record, and for nearly murdering David Arquette live on PPV.

To say MDK brings controversy is like saying The Rock was okay at promos; it's an understatement of huge proportions.

Would AEW allow Nick Gage to do Nick Gage things on their flagship television show? Would AEW really put their inaugural World Champion and a true legend of the industry in harm's way by having him go all in on a Deathmatch?

The answer to these questions is that, yes, while this Death Match wasn't as gnarly as some of Gage's other outings, it was still extreme when compared to what was usually seen on AEW programming. And in one such 'extreme' moment, the King of Ultra-Violent Wrestling took his patented pizza cutter to the forehead of his opponent.

In terms of how this didn't go the way AEW intended, said attack took place during a commercial break just as an ad for Domino's Pizza was airing. So, as Domino's was trying to shill its pizza to the masses, the picture-in-picture accompaniment was the visage of Nick Gage slicing open Chris Jericho's head with a pizza cutter. Mmm, appetising...

Domino's were quick to release a statement lambasting the spot and detailing how they were assessing their advertising presence on TNT and AEW. This controversy would eventually die down, but it was an awful look for AEW at the time.