AEW is obsessed with logical and long-to-semi-long term booking, but the negative offshoot of that philosophy is currently manifesting in the form any old HFO vs The Midcard programme getting so many precious minutes dedicated to it.
Suddenly everything from a Butcher & Blade banger to a Tay Conti singles match becomes as much about "what the f*ck is Matt Hardy up to?" as something to service the immediate progression of fresher and more interesting talent. The women's spinoff matches in particular are suffering the most - the combinations feel woefully repetitive due to needing to feature the same four on a rotation, but there's the distinct whiff of AEW believing their female division box-ticking is done by virtue of throwing them out there cold every week. Cold, when they were once hot too - Anna Jay's return to television generated a thunderous response but "lost in the shuffle" feels like an overstatement when the deck of cards isn't even being mixed up.
All of that might seem like a little too much to draw from the over-reliance on one performer, but there's a perception building (and building quickly) about the show as a result, and the concern isn't exclusive to Matt Hardy.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
