12 Exact Moments AEW Booking Stopped Making Sense

When the AEW “feeling” was pure, unadulterated confusion…

by Michael Sidgwick
Hangman Page AEW Title
AEW

At time of writing, AEW has entered a period of resurgence.

After a few fraught years, defined by backstage turmoil and desperate publicity stunts designed to restore the infernal “feeling” - Tony Khan even took a bump to get people talking in 2024 - we might be…back?

You must be careful with this sort of thing, even after the seminal, triumphant All In: Texas PPV. That show, which was too good to consider too long, even though it very much was, underscored the great momentum shift of 2025. AEW built the event superbly, and paid off the sense of hope and enthusiasm equally well.

Revolution 2024 also felt like the start of something - and then CM Punk buried AEW (and members of its roster) on the Ariel Helwani Show, which prompted Adam Copeland to cut a promo in the style of a blue-tick AEW engagement account. This defensive streak, and AEW’s general desperation to tell people how good and back it was, was very off-putting. It was essentially incel-style marketing, how much they screamed “WE’RE THE GOOD BUYS! BUT WE’RE THE GOOD GUYS!” over and over again.

This wasn’t just annoying marketing rhetoric, either. This idea of AEW as some wonderful haven that must be defended replaced personal grudge rivalries as the primary narrative thrust. The Soul of AEW was considered of equal importance to the World title. Now, with the Death Riders in retreat, AEW is beginning to feel like a backdrop to the important stuff: championships, hatred, competition, the pay window.

Hopefully, the following convoluted gibberish is no more…

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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!