10 Troubling Things AEW Won't Change
1. Misogyny
Dan Lambert plays a fictionalised version of himself in a scripted context for entertainment purposes.
This doesn't necessarily excuse half of the sh*t that comes out of his mouth, but it does go some way towards explaining it. What is already a fossilised and dirt-cheap role has been muddied through the dire Scorpio Sky Vs. Sammy Guevara programme which, incidentally, between its whiplash turns, misogyny and title inflation is more Vince Russo than anything WWE is producing in 2022.
As somebody who rates AEW very highly and wants to trust the process, that is painful to write - but it's no less true.
Tay Conti is in a committed, monogamous relationship, so Lambert's slut-shaming lines are untrue, and even if she willingly consented to sex with multiple casual partners, there is nothing wrong with that at all. And yet, Lambert was on this bullsh*t even when he played de facto babyface when Guevara was hastily repackaged as a heel. Fans, under the editorial watch of Tony Khan, were encouraged to laugh at the notion that Tay Conti is a "slut". If this was ever going to change, it would have changed when Lambert turned. A bit. For about two weeks.
It didn't.
At best, this heel work is mean-spirited and artless. At worst, it is endorsed by the company, which can at times feel as much like a fraternity as a wrestling promotion.
AEW has struggled badly to grow its female audience.
Go figure!