11 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (7 Sept)

Ups...

11. A Workable Solution

Tony Khan gets flak for the number of tournaments he books, but what was the AEW chief to do in this impossible situation?

CM Punk is injured. Independent of the disciplinary issues, he had to drop the AEW World Championship. Again. Khan has already gone down the interim route. MJF has a guaranteed title shot, but him holding onto it is the wiser move, presenting him as a clever, calculating heel picking his own shot. Plucking the two top-ranked wrestlers in the men's singles division and having them face off is a one-week story that doesn't come with the same attention-grabbing potential as multiple bouts through a tournament.

So the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions was the right way to go under difficult circumstances. Theoretically, it'll help television numbers for the next couple of weeks, building to a big Grand Slam main event.

For the Trios Titles, perhaps something could have been engineered through a more robust competitive framework. But Death Triangle vs. Orange Cassidy and Best Friends was right there. An easy solution to a complex problem.

Khan delivered these announcements himself, sticking rigidly to the teleprompter he appeared to be reading from. A wise choice, given his lack of composure in previous live promos.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.