10 Wrestlers AEW Failed In 2022

7. Brian Pillman Jr.

AEW Failed CM Punk
AEW

Having made his AEW bow way back in 2019 at the first Double or Nothing, the tail-end of last year suggested big things were on the horizon for Brian Pillman Jr.

When Dynamite and Rampage came to Pillman's hometown of Cincinnati, the second-generation star got to express himself in ways not seen before under the AEW banner. In getting fired up and verbally jousting with none other than MJF, this felt like it could be a real breakout moment for BPJ. Added to that, Pillman was also suddenly under the wing of fellow hometown hero Jon Moxley.

He may have ultimately lost to the Salt of the Earth at the big Grand Slam show from Arthur Ashe shortly after this, but there had been enough promise shown to suggest that 2022 could be a massive year for Brian Pillman Jr. Pairing the Varsity Blonds up against the House of Black early in the year was an intriguing prospect, and there were also several teases that Pillman and partner Griff Garrison may be about to go their separate ways.

Instead, 2022 has been a disappointing one for the Blonds, and in particular for Pillman. While there has been some success on Dark and Dark: Elevation, this year has been a winless one on TV in both tag and singles action for Brian Pillman Jr.

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.