10 Ways AEW Is Dangerously Close To Following In WCW's Footsteps

2. The Inmates Running The Asylum

Tony Khan WCW
AEW

Granted, WCW went as far as placing one of its talents in an asylum - that being Ric Flair, of course - but AEW very much has a whiff of the proverbial inmates running the proverbial asylum in recent times.

Infamously, WCW became an environment where certain stars were able to do and say as they saw fit, regardless of how detrimental an impact that may have on the rest of the roster. As part of this, Eric Bischoff was a key figure in facilitating such behaviour by acting more like these people's best buddy rather than their actual boss.

Of course, you can be someone's friend and their boss, but Eazy E himself has talked about how, in hindsight, he maybe let talents like Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan and Bill Goldberg get away with way too much behind the scenes.

In the case of Tony Khan, the time of this writing represents a major sliding doors moment, a major chance for a line to be drawn in the sand. Whether it's CM Punk, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, or even 'Hangman' Page, Khan has had an opportunity to nip burgeoning issues in the bud, yet his lack of action played a part in the recent explosion we saw following this month's All Out.

This ship can still be saved, the tide can still be turned, but seeing Tony Khan sit two feet away from Punk and let him eviscerate talents, EVPs and Khan himself, that tells a story. How Tony handles this ever-developing situation in the coming weeks and months is absolutely pivotal.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.