9 Ups & 9 Downs For AEW In 2022

Downs...

9. Greedy Recruitment Policy Creates Sprawling Problems

Miro AEW
AEW

You can almost sympathise with Tony Khan because virtually every new act he signed in late 2021 and in 2022 - at least those he featured prominently - were all worthy of recruiting. Why wouldn't you sign CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland, Kyle O'Reilly...

The answer is because Khan undermined his fictional universe by overstuffing it. The information action ratio was completely out of whack in 2022. There was too much to process and nowhere enough to truly feel. Adam Cole Vs. Hangman Page was something special in an only slightly altered reality, but in this one, it registered as a merely very good attraction.

Many of these names couldn't resonate as the stars they truly could be because AEW entered its Spotify Premium era of endless, numbing choice. It's just not the same as buying and exploring every groove of a record, is it?

Moreover, with so many talents fighting over elusive TV time, morale plummeted and sparked unrest so major that it warrants a 'Down' of its own. Also, Khan's undisciplined roster expansion collided awkwardly with one of his strictest booking principles.

He really doesn’t like beating people too often, and as a result, the dream roster barely interacted with itself - is that not the point? - and several superb acts, Miro being a great example, found themselves with very little to do. Khan all but promised a dream product in 2022, but contrived to deliver a far more mundane reality.

The best wrestling promoters create and then meet a level of expectation; Khan's lack of impulse control made that impossible this year.

And that's not all...

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!