5 Ways AEW's Tony Khan Is A Great Wrestling Booker (& 5 Ways He ISN'T)

4. IS - He's Booked Some Of The Best Wrestling Storylines Ever

MJF CM Punk
AEW

Hangman Page Vs. Kenny Omega was one of the best wrestling stories ever.

Page, through his loss at All Out 2019, was an intentional failure early; as with many millennials, a failed generation, Page didn't feel worthy, or 'Elite'. Kenny Omega then urged him to form a team. All the while, as Omega drew on Page's potential - watch those awesome tags back, Page was the storyline star, the winner - a now defensive Omega pecked at his psyche and then abandoned him the second they lost the belts. Omega turned heel and won the AEW World title the wrong way. Page, proving himself the hero, worthy, then defeated Omega clean in the middle at Full Gear 2021. AEW has signed a dozen headliners since, but through the emotional brilliance of this story, the AEW base still considers Page the main character.

CM Punk Vs. MJF was a classic story of a cowardly sh*t-head heel escaping the wrath of a babyface - before that babyface put away a pretender to his throne. It was all mapped out with just a wonderful, wonderful sense of plotting. Punk refusing to shake MJF's hand was lent a rare sense of true pathos when it was revealed that MJF, who idolised Punk growing up, decided to become a wrestler after seeing an Instagram post of Punk shaking the hand of Bryan Danielson at the 2011 Royal Rumble. This exploration of sociopathy, rejection, and parasocial relationships was as thought-provoking as the form gets.

Cody Rhodes Vs. Chris Jericho intersected stakes and entertainment value to awesome effect in the run-up to Full Gear '19; Jon Moxley Vs. Hangman Page was an affecting study in masculinity; more recently, Sting & Darby Allin Vs. the Young Bucks, Ric Flair aside, is excellent trad babyface versus heel fare with true emotional weight behind it.

Khan has delivered - and actually paid off - some of the most weighty material a booker has ever attempted.

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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!