10 Wrestlers AEW Failed In 2022
Those AEW names hoping for an upturn as we head into 2023.
One of the major problems of the wrestling business for any promotion, is keeping your roster happy and making the most of the talents at your disposal. And the bigger the roster, the harder those problems become to manage.
For Tony Khan, his All Elite Wrestling houses some of the absolute greatest pro wrestling stars on the planet. Whether you're talking in-ring work, verbal skills, or general character presentation, AEW has some of the very best in the game. While so many of those names are allowed to flourish under the All Elite banner and showcase their abilities, there are some others who unfortunately have been done dirty by AEW across 2022.
You can't keep everybody happy all of the time, of course, but there are so many glaring examples in AEW of stars who should have been utilised better in this last year, but for whatever reason have been left out in the cold or mistreated by Khan's promotion. Whether 2023 takes an upturn for these talents remains to be seen, but 2022 was certainly one to forget for these performers.
Looking back over these past 12 months, then, here are ten stars who have been failed by Tony Khan's AEW.
10. Lance Archer
Upon debuting with AEW, it initially looked as if Lance Archer would be utilised as a top tier talent who would often find himself in the main event picture.
While losing to Cody Rhodes in the tournament final to crown the inaugural TNT Champion took a whole bunch of steam away from the Murderhawk Monster, his presentation and presence in the time since has only served to make Archer an afterthought of All Elite Wrestling.
It's a strange one with Lance, for he will be absent from AEW TV for months at a time, then resurface to immediately have an AEW World Title match - as has been the case against both Jon Moxley and 'Hangman' Adam Page - before then disappearing again for a spell.
AEW want you to think that the 6'6" star is a major player and a genuine threat to the company's top talents, yet they rarely do anything to showcase why Archer is a major player and genuine threat. For every IWGP US Title win over Moxley, there's a three-month spell of solely working AEW Dark.
2022 may have seen the Suzuki-gun man work NJPW's G1 Climax and the Tag League tourneys, but that time in New Japan is no excuse for Lance Archer only having six televised AEW matches this year - with any match of significance resulting in a loss for the big man.