10 Worst Moments In AEW History

2. Tony Khan’s General Fecklessness

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Khan, a great booker when he asserts control, is too often guilty of just letting people do sh*t - and what’s worse is that he knows in his bones that it is sh*t. 

He let Matt Hardy debut under his ‘BROKEN’ persona in March 2020 and, after hipster critics were aghast at the teleportation stuff, almost immediately regretted it. And yet, by 2023, Khan had forgotten what the podcasters said because Hardy was doing cinematic matches in which the Hardy Compound magically turned into nighttime. Presumably, Hardy got in Khan’s ear. Khan is at once the easily persuaded star-struck fan and an old message boarder who wants to be liked by the “sickos”. 

That’s how he arrives at booking the Continental Classic and approving hacking angles on the same episode of Dynamite. 

That’s how Dax Harwood, by being placated with endless long matches, cooled off so much since 2022. 

That’s how the sports league is too often polluted with supernatural hokum. 

Matt Hardy generally was allowed to do any awld sh*te for the longest time, doing his level best to drag down AEW’s invincible streak of 2021. 

It’s not just Hardy. Khan will let Chris Jericho do what Chris Jericho wants to do. Khan will also wait until an untenable situation erupts before even approaching doling out some punishment.

On the subject of which…

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!