Why Tony Khan's AEW Nightmare Could Come True In January

A nightmare scenario could await Tony Khan and #AEW in early 2024.

by Andrew Pollard
Triple H Kazuchika Okada Tony Khan
WWE/NJPW/AEW

While there have been plentiful positives for Tony Khan and All Elite Wrestling across 2023, there's also been some major bumps in the road for AEW. TV ratings have wavered, attendance numbers are down, talents are publicly voicing their creative frustrations (see: Matt Hardy), and there was the obvious attention CM Punk's brief return (and subsequent departure) brought with it.

Still, 2024 is now on the horizon, and Tony must surely be looking at this with nothing but a positive outlook. The majestic Will Ospreay is on the way, the ongoing Devil storyline is swirling along nicely, a refreshed heel Young Bucks should do wonders, the return of several key players - think Jamie Hayter, Thunder Rosa, PAC, and hopefully Kyle O'Reilly - is edging closer, there's the conclusion of the legendary Sting's retirement tour, and next year's All In show is already selling strongly.

Despite offering up a landscape of great possibilities though, the new year could turn sour for Tony Khan as soon as January. Yes, by the time the first month of 2024 is in the history books, one of Tony's nightmare scenarios may well have come true.

6. No, Not MJF's Bidding War Of 2024

Triple H Kazuchika Okada Tony Khan
AEW

While Maxwell Jacob Friedman departing AEW would clearly be a huge blow, that's not the topic of discussion here.

Sure, MJF has constantly talked up the Bidding War of 2024, but one has to imagine that the Salt of the Earth is already tied down with AEW long past January '24. In a kayfabe sense, Max's post-Double or Nothing 2022 walkout led to a pay increase for Friedman, but not necessarily an extension to the contract that's due to expire in January of next year.

In reality, while MJF would obviously be a huge 'get' and surely a huge success in WWE, it's tough to believe he'll be wrapped up with AEW in just over a month's time. Of course, don't expect that to be reflected in AEW programming, mind, for it would make a whole lot of sense to switch the AEW World Championship to Samoa Joe at the World's End PPV, in turn sparking chatter that Friedman dropped that title due to the uncertainty over his future.

But no, for the purpose of this article, the nightmare awaiting Tony Khan in early 2024 isn't the departure of MJF.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.