9 Ups & 2 Downs For AEW Dark: Elevation

Downs...

2. Never Again Please, Tony

Tony Khan
AEW

In a bizarre, unwanted and poorly-performed segment, Tony Khan - exceptional booker and genuinely nice bloke who has given several indie talents a payday in a pandemic era with a minute indie presence - tested his popularity on the inaugural edition of AEW Dark: Elevation.

Why?

Was this an attempt to direct eyeballs to the show in a one-off reach for a headline?

Because securing an extra 30,000 or so viewers on the replay can't possibly be worth terrifying the audience with the godawful threat of an onscreen authority figure. But it's OK! Maybe! Because Khan said, making his intrusion to pay off a show-long angle "nine days from tonight," that he "never wanted to be in this position" and that he "never wanted to be here".

Between this and the paid Impact ads, increasingly, it feels like he does. That is bad.

So don't! Don't be there! Make the match after the fact in the accepted Dynamite custom. This was a sub-WWE angle, and it stunk. Even within the parameters of something sh*tty, this was sh*tty. Far greater transgressions have unfolded on Dynamite, and Khan - mercifully - was nowhere to be seen. This wasn't necessary, and nor was it credible. And even a well-performed authority figure role, in 2021, is as wanted as a needle to the urethra. Khan didn't perform the role well. He said the same thing over and over again in a weird voice informed by a desperate reach to make this feel like a major betrayal. It was nothing of the sort, and he is not a good performer.

You will never read a take in better faith: this was awful, and it needs to never happen again.

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Contributor
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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!