10 Troubling Things AEW Won't Change
6. Poor Communication
Isn't AEW meant to be the babyface company?
All Elite Wrestling is a billionaire-funded enterprise that functions, ultimately, to make money. It is naive in the extreme to expect much from it on an ethical level, but AEW also isn't the weird carny operation masquerading as a publicly-traded colossus ran by a man who does not give a single f*ck. For the purposes of cynical optics-minded PR, if nothing else, they should communicate consistently and respectfully with talent - even those they have little use for.
Big Swole revealed, upon her exit from the company, that she found the loose structure of the company difficult to navigate. Joey Janela subsequently claimed, as his and Marko Stunt's exits neared, that the promotion "just stopped talking" to the pair of them. That's terrible form, if indeed it is true. The prospect of unemployment is an anxious enough feeling. There was heat on Janela for certain reckless performances, but what the f*ck did Marko Stunt do?
And more recently, something under-reported happened with Hikaru Shida. Despite demonstrably not being injured, she was written out of the Owen Hart Tournament. Apparently, her exit stemmed from a visa issue, but Shida was left scrambling to protect her own integrity. This isn't the first time Shida has expressed concerns over the extent to which she is valued, either. Hopefully, unlike a strange booking quirk, this mentality will go away.
Then again, that roster isn't getting any smaller.