The WORST Wrestling Story Every Year (1989-2025)

2024 - The New Elite’s AEW Takeover

Jack Perry Tony Khan
AEW

The idea of the New Elite was great.

The debuting Kazuchika Okada very much met the stable’s criteria, and, before the bit played itself out, was a revelation as a disingenuous troll heel. If the New Elite were simply a group of entertaining d*ckheads, it might have worked. Bizarrely, AEW tried to go in an nWo direction - using TNA’s compass.

Except, they barely tried.

New member Jack Perry was added when he, the Bucks and Okada attacked Tony Khan on Dynamite and temporarily wrote him off. Instantly, this desperate, unconvincing, laughable fare - antithetical to the idea of an alternative - failed. The Elite declared that they were taking over the show in revenge for the protracted mishandling of the Brawl Out situation.

This off-putting meta business was bad enough as an idea. The execution was awful. It was impossible to pull off, in this era of remote working, and AEW barely tried. The extent to which the Elite held power was never determined, they were not bothered enough about “changing the world” to show up on Collision, and Dynamite was booked in the exact manner Tony Khan booked it before he returned.

The matches fought for AEW’s soul or whatever were entertaining but meaningless; since no power was determined, it wasn’t in the balance. Eventually, the Bucks just feuded in their own quarter hours with acting EVP Christopher Daniels. Not sure how working with your pals on TV, yet again, counts as changing the world.

This was Tony Khan’s spin on Stand Up For AEW, and it was crap.

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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!