We are all humans and no one likes to take blame for faults, especially in wrestling. Fans tend to point the finger at the person that is least liked, which in the case for AEW, turned out to be CM Punk. The real question that we need to ask is who is really to blame for all of the problems that AEW has been having backstage and why is it being spilled out to the public the way that it is. I have four different angles and you can decide for yourself at the end.
CM Punk Wanting to Change AEW
The biggest and flashiest signing that AEW ever had, CM Punk seemed ready, motivated to wrestle again, and excited to work with the guys that were on the roster.
From news that is coming out recently, as soon as CM Punk came into the company, he wanted to change things. I don’t know exactly what he wanted to change but the rumors is that it had to do with the on air product that AEW was putting on, which their fanbase actually loved.
There was also heat on him because the younger guys didn’t want to listen to his advice. To be fair, there were people in the company that could offer advice to them but at the time, I am not sure if those people were actually giving them the advice.
To be honest, as far as in ring talent goes, there is only three people consistently on television that has reached the same heights in the business as CM Punk.
If I was a young wrestler, I wouldn’t understand why I wouldn’t want to listen to someone like CM Punk. From hearing him in interviews and people talk about how he was backstage before the All Out media scrum, they tended to say that he was pleasant to talk to and generally happy.
On top of that, he had nothing to do with the Eddie Kingston backstage issues or the Andrade backstage issues, so I can’t fully say that it is his fault all the way.
Chris Jericho and the Other Veterans Not Taking Charge
I think that everyone understands that AEW has a very young roster. They also have a roster that for the most part, has never been involved with a large promotion with a consistent backstage.
If they have been signed to work for companies like WWE or Impact Wrestling in the past, I think that they have more experience in dealing with a backstage like that, but if they have only dealt with indy backstage with constantly changing talent from time to time, I can see how they get out of hand sometimes.
You would think that the leadership role would fall to the veterans and the ones who experienced being in a fairly consistent backstage before. Currently, those people would be Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, and Jon Moxley.
I don’t think that it would be unfair to say that those are the three guys that you would look at to get the guys in order, BUT it would be unfair to put that on them if they didn’t have any intention on doing so when they first joined the company.
If you look at those three guys, Jericho was suppose to just be the face of the new company, Moxley had his own personal issues going on and shouldn’t be forced to deal with the young guys, and Danielson isn’t a vocal guy like that and haven’t been there from the start.
Tony Khan Being Everybody’s Friend
Everyone loves Tony… right? When AEW first got started, that was the narrative that was going around and I think that Tony Khan not only wanted everyone to love him, but really got bothered if you didn’t love him.
I think that more almost everybody else, Tony is to blame for the backstage being like it is. With Jericho, Moxley, and Danielson not stepping up, I can understand because there was someone by the name of Cody Rhodes that was keeping the backstage in order when he was there so no one else had to do it.
After he left, many of the cracks started to show. It was known that Tony was trying to be the cool boss and just wanted his wrestlers to be happy and wanted to fans to know that his wrestlers was happy so that he could get a hug and a pat on the back.
As the owner of a wrestling company, especially one the size of AEW, you can’t let the inmates run the asylum. Even if some of the talent call you a jerk or asshole, you have to put your foot down when the time comes.
Because Tony tried to be friends with everyone, everyone respected him as a friend but not as a boss. What made this harder is knowing that Tony did not have a wrestling background and that he was actually fans of most of the people he signed.
Now, there is nothing wrong with the boss being a fan of a wrestler’s in ring work or talent but when you are a fan of the actual wrestler then turn around and tell them what to do, there is a problem.
Dave Meltzer Boosting The Elite’s Ego
This is something that has been going on for a while and I also think that it has something to do with the backstage
environment that ties back to CM Punk.
Kenny Omega and The Youngbucks might not be my cup of tea, but I understand that wrestling fans today love them to death. So does Dave Meltzer, to the point that he puts them on levels above everyone else like they are God’s gift to wrestling.
He even goes as far as to break his own scale (which in itself is absolutely ridiculous) to give them praise. I think that this boosts not only their egos, but the egos of the fans.
Who are the fans of The Elite? Most of the younger indie talent that AEW got backstage. When a bunch of young wrestlers grew up watching Kenny Omega and The Youngbuck constantly get four, five, and sometimes more star matches from Meltzer, who do you think they are going to listen to when they get into a company with them?
The Elite. And if The Elite say that they love your match that goes 200 mph with 10 spots and no selling, why in the hell would you listen to someone like CM Punk who is just coming into the company, try to tell you to slow your match down and sell more?
It comes down to do you listen to your heroes or to the guy who made it to the top of the wrestling business for over a year straight.
CHECK IT OUT: To get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrmJD9BaY5w
