10 Times KARMA WAS REAL In Wrestling
3. The Emergence Of Tony Khan
For almost as long as the form has existed, those in power in pro wrestling circles really believed that you, reader and wrestling fan, are a mark.
An ignorant mark who doesn't have a clue how the business operates, because you are not involved in it, and are thus unqualified to speak about it.
You've likely encountered this sort of sentiment online, like a wrestler - invariably a dog sh*t wrestler - telling somebody on Twitter that they can't critique an in-ring performance because they've never taken a bump.
Hell, Triple H and Vince McMahon have both expressed this sentiment publicly. Vince said "I know what you people want better than you do" out loud, if his feelings weren't made clear enough through his booking. Triple H said "I'm sorry, how's your territory coming?" in petulant response to critical fans in a 2016 interview with ESPN.
So how does it work, then?
How long do you have to have been involved in the business to develop an informed opinion on how it should all go?
A year?
Two?
Three?
Tony Khan, a lifelong hardcore fan - a mark, some would say - promoted one of the best wrestling shows ever at the first time of asking.
AEW Double Or Nothing 2019 was sensational. The matches were eclectic, and peaked at a seminal standard, but it wasn't as easy as just pairing great wrestler together. MJF got over with a promo masterclass. The show-closing angle was a shocking, electrifying tease of two main event matches that eventually drew a great deal of money.
Khan shut up every arrogant veteran within four f*cking hours.
He didn't - several veterans make a living pretending he's a bad promoter - but they're showing their a*se.
It is almost as if a wrestling fan has an idea of how it should go, and that karma has no time for the arrogant.