Jim Cornette on If Vince McMahon's Retirement Was The Worst Thing To Happen To AEW

[@DannieRay23]

Even when Vince retires, he still kills his competition. What a talent.

[@stewartmcrae8007]

Yes the is one of a kind in a class by himself

[@shaunkenneally7597]

True symbol of a Gangster legend, He leaves the game , and takes out his Chief opponent.

[@stewartmcrae8007]

@@shaunkenneally7597 Yes big respect to Vinnie Mac what a absolute gangster he is the boss

[@SuperbNProsper]

Legendary

[@morse3850]

He is BOSS on a whole other level

[@Myrridan19]

Jim is right about Vince. He's such an amazing heel that he has spawned a independent promotions and hundreds of indie wrestlers that want to take him down. That's lasting heat on a level no other heel has even come close to.

[@ThaBlackKing]

Greatest Heel of All Time Baby VMac

[@marvellegends_uk]

I'd argue that the elite are the worst thing to happen to AEW.

[@shadowedlvnar1635]

Fr

[@Madashell1200]

Seconded

[@QuickManEXE]

I'll agree with that too.

[@Treklosopher]

Spot on.

[@thedoctor3528]

The elite live rent free in you people's heads. No, i dont like them either but you guys need to go out and touch grass.

[@keito9158]

Vince is the unconquerable king of the wrestling business. It just cannot be done, no matter how much money or talent you have. As JR once said, "Vince wins even when he loses."

[@kcazzzzz]

i actually thinks vince set himself up. by releasing his own scandal, he made triple h into the biggest babyface to both wrestlers and fans. of course to do that he first need to make himself look bad, all while releasing marks into aew's lockerroom, mark wrestlers who will cause unrest in aew the moment triple h comes into power. marks like miro, andrade, aliester black, the revival, etc. he is playing chess while tony is playing checkers, thinking many steps ahead

[@DaggerPrince]

@@kcazzzzz maybe this is what he meant at the share holder meeting when the share holders were talking about how AEW is getting many talents and vince was like "Well then maybe we should help them with that." like to let them go in so that they would sign a deal and then want to come back when Triple H goes in power n cause problems n expose Tony Khan.

[@carolynbuckley8733]

Remember when Vince beat God? Lol yeah he's not losing to any mere mortal.

[@tyemimms2184]

@@carolynbuckley8733 😂😂😂😂 true 🙌🏿

[@stewartmcrae8007]

@@carolynbuckley8733 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Ted_Bell]

The funny part was Tony Khan sending out a tweet for "Outlasting and being the final one standing" Re Vince. I was laughing so hard. It's not getting easier for you dude. People are starting to see through him and his indirect management "skills"

[@FuckBalls64]

Whereas Vince was like "You will never control me, no matter how good your idea is," Tony is the exact opposite, "PLEASE walk all over me, no matter how shitty your idea is"

[@EV87_]

Didn’t he call himself the most tenured ceo in wrestling or something?! Even though he’s not lmfao

[@gullyblanchard5750]

Vince being gone just exposes TK even more because now Vince can't be the scapegoat for why AEW is failing.

[@jcc3333]

Vince never lost,power. It was all a shoot .. Vince stil runnin shit

[@socialistbatman1211]

That’s like me showing up to my great grandmother on her death bed and gloating that I “outlived” her.

[@bryanjackson9033]

Pretty much what JC said. Their hardcore fanbase were pissed off people who had a grudge against Vince and wanted to see him and the WWE fall and go out of business. But, Vince has said this before that he has never been a person to listen to negative people and he’s always done what’s best for business. AEW pretty much just gave their audience anything they wanted and they ate it up and they loved it. Now 3 years later Vince has resigned and stepped down as Chairman/CEO and Executive Producer of Raw and SmackDown and AEW’s good times have come to an end.

[@mikem10481]

Vince never felt threatened by AEW. He knew that after early successes, AEW would fuck it up themselves. After the Punk fiasco with the Elite, Vince was like, I told you so.

[@crteuber3771]

The end of the WWE as the "evil empire" in front of the fans became the end of the aew identity

[@daleharris3809]

With or without Vince retiring, issues like the Brawl Out were going to occur, because the EVPS don't know how to put good business ahead of their own egos and Khan doesn't know the difference either way. Cody saw the writing on the wall and retreated back to the WWE, and I think it's important to remember that Vince was still in charge when that occurred.

[@MikeD8318]

I think Cody was forced out by those bitches.

[@tommyt420]

I wouldn't say retreated, he built himself up and increased his value for years including building a rival promotion. Then being a smart business man jumped to WWE knowing that Vince would pay out the ass like he did when Jericho made the jump during the Monday night wars. Cody may be mid in the ring, but when it comes to business he's all elite.

[@justoneguy2487]

Jim is 100% correct - the foundation of AEW was not built on a love for pro wrestling but a hatred for Vince McMahon. Many fans claim they wanted to see an alternative to WWE but no, they wanted competition that threatened to put WWE out of business.

[@remixchild]

Sheesh, at least Paul heyman had the excuse of trying to be the nirvana of wrestling.

[@waynetables6414]

​@@remixchild I remember Heyman saying that.. ironically, Kurt Cobain would have despised ECW for how toxic and masculine it was.. that dude probably never would have never worn another flannel shirt for the rest of his life if he survived

[@ReinEngel]

What's so amazing is that most everyone involved in that company basically said "NJPW, Dragon Gate, and Chikara... but with money behind it will definitely destroy WWE!"

[@wilcee238]

Trying to figure out the worst thing to happen to AEW, is like trying to find the killer in Clue. “It was Colonel Twinkletoes backstage with the sex doll!”

[@Am0ment0fB]

Wrong. It was Pockets with the barbed wire dildo in his mom's minivan. Ha.

[@Kratosx23]

GOATED comment. 😂

[@markcampbell2702]

This is the best comment I've read from the Cult of Cornette lmao

[@Ryw316]

"I was just expressing my art!"

[@rdu239]

The Elite are the main problem in that locker room, the other entitled children like Britt Baker,. Jade Cargill and Matt Hardy are small issues.

[@eriksparks9179]

I think the worst thing to happen to AEW was the presence of the Elite. If they weren't in executive positions and had no influence over the show it would be okay having them around as just talent. The fans that like their flippy bullshit would get their segment on Dynamite and the rest of the fans could just enjoy everything else. Unfortunately the Elite know they can't stand out in an environment where FTR, CM Punk and MJF are the stars because they highlight just how awful the modern style of wrestling is. That's why they want a trios division and six man titles and for Tony to bring in all 180 lb indy goofs. They need AEW to be a 3 ring indy circus because that's the only environment they fit into.

[@aoisora1445]

Omega can still work, the Bucks need it to survive

[@christhornycroft3686]

The worst thing to happen to AEW was the EVPs running CM Punk out of the company. Love him or hate him, he was drawing money for that company. Hulk Hogan was a politicking joke in the 80s and 90s, but he was a draw, so if anyone had a problem with him, they were gone. These days, because everything is run by billionaires who just have toys rather than businesses, nobody cares about making a lot of money. They're just living out their childhood fantasies and feeding their own egos. That's not just in the wrestling business. That's business in general.

[@619AJ]

When Vince “retired” a lot of the marks were celebrating that the ship was sinking. The ship was sinking alright, but it was AEW, not WWE. 😂

[@detmorales9151]

Damn you sound like a huuuuuuuuuge Huuuuuuuuuge WWE mark 😬

[@lucasrodriguez550]

@@detmorales9151 but its true

[@ValiantWrestling]

@@lucasrodriguez550 Not really, WWE is also sinking because Cripple H & Stephanie are no Vince McMahon.

[@619AJ]

@@ValiantWrestling WWE stock just hit an all time high, bud.

[@freddyreyes4831]

Worst thing to happen was TK listening to some newsletter writer about whose a star and who isnt

[@josephkerr2807]

A guy who never worked in the business btw. And not listening to guys like Jim Ross and Arn Anderson who were hugely successful and actually worked in the wrestling business.

[@freddyreyes4831]

@@josephkerr2807 he had so many good people there and did nothing with them….. but it will come back to bite him

[@ValiantWrestling]

He doesn't listen to Uncle Dave anymore though, he listens to the Bucks, Olivier and Irvine for bad advice now.

[@Ted_Bell]

"Thanks for crowdfunding my business!" -Tony Khan, Billionaire

[@G_Six]

I believe he wasn’t involved then. That’s why AEW didn’t own the rights to the first All In early on.

[@DarksaberForce]

Son of a billionaire said by Last.

[@imverygerby]

I think Vince’s plan was to bloat aew’s roster honestly

[@lriv.032]

Oh of course it was, he admitted it. He once told an investor “ ha, maybe we’ll give them (aew) some more.”

[@Am0ment0fB]

The worst thing to happen to Aew is when Tony had his feelings hurt by a tweet of Regal yelling Wargames. Ha.

[@Cruising_On_Lake_Havasoma]

Useless trash.

[@vspecmaster]

- Cody leaving - Vince leaving - Punk leaving

[@jesuszamora6949]

-Regal leaving. And I imagine this time next year, the rumors of MJF's departure are going to be in full swing, followed by MJF at Royal Rumble 2024.

[@christopherthiess3922]

William Regal is gone

[@eddiew2325]

@@christopherthiess3922 Marko Stunt and Joey Janela

[@Sky_Blaze]

@@jesuszamora6949 I really don't get why people keep hyping Regal his best years are so far behind him did you see him in AEW he could hardly talk...he was slow and hesitant like he had brain fog

[@jaweiss34]

@@Sky_Blaze His best use is as a trainer and the backstage knowledge he provides. AEW couldn’t utilize him properly because they’ve got a bunch of indie guys who think they don’t have to listen to veterans.

[@OddEyes1]

Also the years of Vince screwing Triple H’s guys and seemingly undermining him plus his health scare painted Triple H as a more sympathetic figure to the fans than even Tony. It made it easier for the fans to forgive what WWE had done.

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

In many ways yes, The entire point of AEW was to be an "Alternative" to WWE, Now that's He's gone its kinda pointless.

[@markcampbell2702]

Boy oh boy times have changed in 3 years.....they started as an alternative, now have changed to a WCW 2.0

[@paulprimus1666]

@@markcampbell2702 More like WCW 2000 2.0

[@ralphso5567]

@@markcampbell2702 3.0. 2.0 was TNA before they changed to impact

[@MrSniperfox29]

But they were never an alternative to the WWE, they were an alternative WWE

[@goodday2760]

@@MrSniperfox29 This.

[@ReflectionOfPerfection]

It was a combination Cody leaving and Vince retiring. Cody going to WWE threw the office out of whack to the point CM Punk had enough. How many fights broke out after that? Kingston taking a swing at Guevara, Andrade trying to knock out Guevara, Steel and Punk fighting Omega and the Bucks. The other part is Vince getting out out to pasture gave the book to HHH and Hunter's at least made Raw & SD watchable again. I wasn't expecting 1998 Raw popularity but just watchable is an improvement. Plus AEW's entire mantra was to stick it to Vince bit now he's gone. They have no identity

[@stevieavail5773]

Here's a real question: If Vince was exposed in the press and forced to retire even earlier... would we even have an AEW?

[@nixrob6145]

WCW would still be around possibly. We'd get to see people who got released during the Merger still rise

[@lriv.032]

Probably so, because Tony khan has wanted to start a wrestling company since he was a kid, it was GONNA happen since he’s born into wealth. But you wouldn’t see alotta former ex WWE guys there like you do now

[@stevieavail5773]

@@lriv.032 Maybe Tony would have just bought Ring of Honor and that would have been enough for him? I don't know, it's just a guess.

[@jesuszamora6949]

I'm willing to bet "no." Hatred of Vince's WWE was the ONLY thing that allowed people to accept this sub-standard trash for as long as they have.

[@PastingKing]

No.

[@kjdee140]

Yes and no. Vince's retirement may have led to Triple H stepping up to improve the product, but AEW caused its own downfall. If they had just kept their mouths shut about WWE and focused on making their own product better, AEW's ratings would be higher. If Tony Khan knew how to manage a target and let real bookers manage the wrestlers, they wouldn't be in this mess.

[@jesuszamora6949]

Agreed. AEW was a dumpster fire from the off, and the cracks REALLY started showing in the facade after Cody left. The fall of Vince only accelerated the process a bit.

[@kjdee140]

@@jesuszamora6949 AEW's just waving a red cape at nothing at this point. What's a bullfighter without a bull to fight?

[@rayrome7244]

Agreed but if AEW fails then what? All that talent can't go to WWE cuz let's face it alot of them will be in catering doing absolutely nothing. Mox would just be in the shadows of Roman n Seth if he went back to the E, MJF would be completely watered down n be a Miz 2.0, Wardlow would be a jobber to Braun n Bobby, Jade would be fed to Charlotte or Becky, FTR would be jobbed out to the Usos, Darby n Jungle Boy would for sure be jobbers, I feel that AEW still benefits alot of talent that would be absolute shit in the E n it's amazing how as soon as HHH took over creative everyone has turned their backs on AEW. Yes AEW has ALOT of work to do starting with taking away the head booker position from TK cuz his fan service has helped no one but WWE is not all that right now either, besides the Bloodline what else does the E have? Nothing, Seth is lost in the Midcard vortex along with Lashley and Styles, every tag team is being fed to the Usos, u give a KZbin influencer a title shot over ur established guys!? I'm sorry but WWE is only slightly better than AEW atm and that's being generous

[@detmorales9151]

@Kjdee140 WWE under HHH run lowest ratings in WWE history and WWE under Vince McMahon run ratings were higher Plus football didn't affect the Raw ratings like it has this year under HHH

[@rayrome7244]

@@detmorales9151 I agree in a financial/ business perspective but entertainment wise HHH has put on a better product, can't deny that he's actually trying to give the fans something good even under corporate eyes. The only problem is that he's a lil limited, something the WWE marks can't admit, AEW at least can put on a title match at least a month, WWE barely showcases any of its titles. I know fans will say putting on a title match once a month devalues the title but at least AEW makes it worth it

[@henrygvidonas9573]

No, the worst thing, in general, was that Tony didn't heed the advice you gave him on the phone in late 2019/early 2019, Jim. The fundamental structural problems in AEW would still be there if Vince was still around. It's all rooted in Tony's insistence on being the booker/head of creative and making on-screen performers company executives who can (and do) abuse their positions to big-dog the roster and undermine/sabotage better performers. The fact that AEW's entire identity was built on being the "anti-WWE" really didn't help with anything this year, that's true. But the Punk situation, that the EVPs politicking and Tony's laughable leadership as the booker are entirely responsible for, was much more important in my opinion. Tony could have shut that problem down at almost any point in time before the dressing room fight happened. He had months to tell the EVPs to stop feeding Meltzer with false info about Punk - or find new jobs somewhere else. He could have told Punk to stop talking and discuss the issue behind closed doors, at the "press scrum" - instead he just let him talk himself into holding nothing back and nodded sheepishly, silently confirming every single thing Punk said until it was too late.

[@electrolettuce5624]

If the elite were around in the 80s, guess what position on the card they would be in?

[@Am71919]

Custodians

[@sgt.sanders4903]

@@Am71919 lmfao

[@Mistertbones]

Jobbers to the jobbers.

[@MrLuckytrucker21]

Getting pinned by iron mike sharp! lol

[@pellet1167]

The random "home town hero" jobbers that show up here and there to get beat up and make the adults look strong lol

[@DarkBlueBaker]

I guess I recall the first "All In" differently. I remember Uncle Dave saying they couldn't sell 10,000 seats and Cody said, hold my beer. I initially was under the impression that it was Cody's company backed with the bucks. I'd never heard of Tony Khan at that point.

[@ducklife420]

that was how i saw it then cody and tony had their fight and tony decided he was in charge and it has gone downhill ever since

[@danielcasteel3426]

Cornette is 100% correct. The description of the original AEW fan is me. 35 year old man who's watched wrestling religiously for 32 years. To say I've been done with Vince, his TV, his ideas and his company is an understatement. I wanted so badly to see an alternative and rode with AEW for every show, every week. But it was very apparent that this isn't for me. They hooked me with the "lapsed fan" push and they lost me within 6 months. I was completely checked out after the first year. The endless dives, odd booking, referees mean nothing, rules are nonexistent, every show ends in a shmoz. I went from loving it to fucking hating it very quickly.

[@bobgrenier5867]

You are not alone in this! I'm also 35.. Been watching wrestling my whole life.. I just wanted something different from what WWE was doing. AEW was OK for the first 6 months to a year.. then I quickly realized that AEW is not what I'm looking for hahaha It's pretty bad.

[@bobgrenier5867]

Dude.. 💯

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

The worst Thing to happen to AEW were themselves, The ratings are in the toilet, They now see just how many eyes CM Punk brought to that company compared to the Hardly Boys and Twinkle Toes

[@gsb408]

I was a longtime disgruntled WWE watcher. Started watching AEW when CM punk and Danielson joined, I was hooked. Soon as Papa H took over, WWE got better, Punk left and all the Elite BS came out. Now I’m back to wwe and can’t stand to watch AEW

[@forestcitykitty8019]

Vince lives in AEW’s head rent free 😂 greatest heel ever!

[@mrbludclot3798]

The fan base is by FAR the worst thing to happen to AEW

[@rdu239]

Instead of getting potential new casual wrestling normies, AEW is more busy catering to their smart mark crowd, the geeks that will eat all their silliness, but they are so niche and small

[@lriv.032]

It’s not a fanbase, it’s a cult bro I’ve been telling people this 😂. Try arguing with an AEW fan about year ago and you wouldn’t be able to get ANYTHING through them. I think now they’ve kinda realized that their product is terrible so they don’t do much sht talking anymore

[@Drollpanther]

@@rdu239 there is no such things as casual fans. This isn’t the late 90s. Wwe killed the wrestling audience. You either like wrestling and watch or you dont

[@tomr3422]

@@Drollpanther not sure they killed off casual fans - as I am a fan of Professional wrestling and would watch it but there is no product, just the silly, goofy stuff on tv these days. WWE tired to kill off wrestling and was sort of sucessful but still plenty of wrestling fans that cheered when AEW started and quickly realized it was just more sillyness.

[@rdu239]

@@Drollpanther There is, casuals are the family or simply couples that watch wrestling for the fun and having to spend time, these people do not care about dirt shits, wrestler contracts, weekly TV rating numbers, podcasts etc, these people do not engage on these kind of "inside trading" things; they buy a ticket or cable subscription with pro wrestling included on its channel library and they WATCH wrestling.

[@kishoremb9809]

The worst thing to happen to aew is Tony Khan. Point blank period

[@rdu239]

Biggest Ls in Tony Khan/AEW 1. Cody leaving 2. The All Out incident that really divided their crowd (one side really hates Punk, one side really hates the Elite) 3. Purchasing ROH, honestly TNA/IMPACT has more credibility compared to ROH 4. Siding and bringing back the Elite 5. AEW epically failing on Wordlow and Miro

[@williamwolfxrivera9929]

Also the Jonathan Grisham mistreatment, Jeff Hardy's DUI arrest.... again, That Marina Shafir Promo and The Thunder Rosa fiscal

[@travisboyle285]

The Forbidden Door ppv with a company that doesn't get any ratings for their show on US TV.

[@lsj6721]

@@travisboyle285 haha that is the funny thing about fans dreaming of AEW-WWE crossover, saying that it will benefit WWE as well. The big league will never financially benefit from working with the little leagues

[@MrSniperfox29]

@@lsj6721 Ironically as was proven when AEW (the big league) worked with Impact, neither side benefitted at all from it.

[@ValiantWrestling]

Cody wasn't even a draw, he's not even a has-been, he's a neverwas just like his half-brother couldn't get out of the shoadow of his daddy's success.

[@TrestinMeacham80]

I think it's time to bring back Jack Tunney

[@Am0ment0fB]

Don't be ridiculous. We need Nick Bockwinkle. Ha.

[@trevorhembrough1290]

Stanley Blackburn

[@Mistertbones]

Eddie Marlin

[@Cruising_On_Lake_Havasoma]

@@Am0ment0fB Trash.

[@arturoalmazan5262]

from the grave ? lol

[@michaellee8816]

Vince Retiring + People liking Papa H + KO and Sami Zayn re signing with WWE and not jumping ship + Scrum + the idiocy of the EVPS + The Buckaroos not putting over FTR........

[@johnnygrind77]

There have been studies about group evolutions in things like business, the mob, etc. and no matter what kind of group they were observing, there were 4 categories that individuals fell into: The leader, the lieutenant/enforcer, the joker, and the nerd. When they took all the leaders and put them into 1 group, instead of having all leaders, they all fell into those 4 categories. AEW's problem is that the jokers and nerds think they are leaders and no one is there to be a true enforcer and put everyone in their place...

[@rofbagging9749]

The worst thing to happen to AEW (aside from TK on drugs) was winning the Wednesday Night War and TK winning Booker of the year. Made his ego too big

[@goliath6711]

People have been trying to force up a WWE rival ever since WCW closed down because they just wanted The Monday Night War II. TNA was going to be it, ROH was going to be it, Lucha Underground was going to be it, English dubs of New Japan were going to be it. By the time AEW came along, all it had to be was the Not Vince McMahon Wrestling Show and those people would have eaten it up no matter what. Now that WWE is also the Not Vince McMahon Wrestling Show, of course the tide is shifting.

[@undercoverbrother67]

Remember in the immediate aftermath of Vince being ousted when Tony (rather unprofessionally) gloated about it on Twitter? How's that working out for you T?

[@Kratosx23]

AEW was created to be a place where WWE guys who weren’t used could be used. When he left, their purpose died. Their sole purpose as a company right now is grooming MJF for the WWE, to where he won’t have to endure 5 years of bullshit there before he gets a push.

[@ThatDoesntWorkForMeBrother]

AEW need to do some serious soul searching because right now that company is a runaway train with no driver, not a legit one anyway.

[@eddiew2325]

@@ThatDoesntWorkForMeBrother the future is Darby All in and Jeff Jarrett

[@levibradley5098]

I've seen a few comments like this and while I agree I think it goes deeper than that. AEW is very hypocritical, think about it. When has WWE ever stated that they were Sports based? Never. But AEW promised from the get go, that they would be sports based and then feature comedy routines like Orange Cassidy and push them to the moon. AEW also promised to be wrestler friendly, and we all know how that turned out, EVPs have run off wrestlers and experienced vets are going back to The E. Bottom line is this, AEW killed AEW, if Vince was still alive and in power for another hundred years then this still would have happened, and the AEW marks including Tony Khan have no one to blame but themselves.

[@ValiantWrestling]

@@eddiew2325 Jeff Jarrett broke hundreds of guitars and never drew a dime. He's hardly a future for AEW unless they want to continue declining...

[@cathallynch1]

One interesting possibility is that AEW made Vince's life easier as he didn't need to feel guilty cutting wrestlers when there was both TNA and AEW to go to.

[@FishJesus420]

The elite hold back aew more than anyone else besides maybe Tony

[@mississippimeatloaf1637]

I wish Tony Khan would hire Ole Anderson to run things in all elite wrestling

[@trevorhembrough1290]

Ole would be beaten to death by a black guy five minutes after walking into the arena his first week on the payroll and we all know why.

[@sgt.sanders4903]

That would be wonderful having the elite set up the ring and carry the wrestlers bags

[@MrLuckytrucker21]

You forget about father time!

[@botchamaniajeezus]

If he’s not dead he’s gotta be really old these days

[@TheMrAlgoh]

That's Never ever gonna happen. Tony would throw a fit and close down AEW if he can't play wrestling booker, Which was the whole damn point of starting a wrestling promotion! Oh, I forget, and to make friends!

[@thedoctor3528]

It ABSOLUTELY is one of the big reasons aew isn't hot right now

[@dkupke]

Cody leaving. It’s obvious he was the peacemaker in AEW.

[@thegarygnushow7921]

Putting the belt on Hangup Page was a HUGE mistake. Putting the belts on Swerve/Lee was a mistake. Putting the belt on Pockets was a mistake. Putting the .......fuck it. Nvmnd

[@kingslayer2999]

840,000 for this week's Dynamite and a Sinking Demo means the answer is YES!!! Tony Khan Buying ROH was the Worst thing then Cody leaving Vince retiring and CM Punk exposing the company are the worst things and they happened all in the same year 😂🤣😂

[@ssjgotenks2009]

@@joegreene7619 hell no wwe is bettter nwo that vicne is go ti watchbel and raitn ar odwn cos must fans dont wnat watch 3 horus lame and foot ball

[@Mr92094]

@@joegreene7619 I saw this comment on a video probably a year or two ago that said something to the effect of maybe the issue isn’t Vince is out of touch it’s just there is no wrestling talent left for Vince to work with as shown by all the WWE defects being bums in AEW too and I think that guy was right. Both HHH and TK sinking by being “Not Vince” is pretty much confirming it

[@illuminatedstorm]

@@joegreene7619 You realize a big part of that last 7 weeks number is Football correct? Raw has always dipped in the Fall and always will as Football is pretty much the only ratings juggernaut left for television.

[@jameswhoever3730]

Yes. That was it. All momentum AEW had dissolved, the cody Rhodes left, and CM Punk thing was the nail in coffin. But it ain't elite, its lack of striking the iron while hot, and now theres a very very slim chance they get out this hole. But, everybody thought Vince was out back in the day, and they actually did better, so theres a chance, but unlikely.

[@Zroolmpf_Celmbror]

"ITS JUS LIKE DEM REPUBLICANS!" Oh boy. Here we go.

[@EV87_]

I bet in a couple years anyone worth their salt jumps to WWE and AEW is left with nothing but the group of “friends.” In a couple more years they’ll be reduced to a bare bones roster and fan base and basically be another Impact putting on shows in ballrooms, Jericho will retire, and Tony will be almost 50 still partying with the wrestlers.

[@OWlsfordshire]

No, the guys TK got from WWE did NOTHING for them. Cole, reDragon, Black, Claudio, Athena, 100 NXT guys, etc. Punk was the only needle mover and he wasn't a recent WWE termination.

[@jeanclaudevantom692]

Nah... the worst thing that happened was cody leaving.

[@dngn4774]

There’s a full omnibus on why that’s not true. We like to look back on Cody’s run with rose-tinted lenses but he just didn’t fit in there.

[@ronaldsprowal9978]

Agreed Cody Knew How Run AEW ...

[@darthraider450]

@@dngn4774 this. Cody was booking himself in feuds and burying the runs of talent like Malakai just because he locked himself away from the AEW belt, and kept on plugging himself into TNT title matches. Cody was almost at the "go away" nuclear heat stage before he and brandi left.

[@Ted_Bell]

You just know after 5 years or whatever the shoot videos about people's time in A.E.W are going to be hilarious.

[@mike584]

According to Matt Hardy, when he and Edge were having their Lita related personal problems, Vince literally threatened not just thier jobs, but to outright blacklist them if either of them went off script during their PPV match that night. Objectively speaking, that's how you nip a bud before it grows and it's an example Tony needed to follow a long time ago. If Tony was going to be enough of a mark and pushover to let wrestlers obtain executive power, the least he could've done was remind EVERYONE involved who the CEO is. He lost that chance and he doesn't even realize it.

[@jjbjjb273]

Tony better get his shit together in 2023 Jim cornette has be right all along about aew from the very start.

[@2ColdScoprio]

Vince McMahon was trying to hand AEW the “war” for 3 years. They never capitalized 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@aaronrumph3291]

Sorry now a new company can never win a "war" even if WWE was 10 times shitter it would have still be the best wrestling show on TV according to viewership

[@lriv.032]

@@aaronrumph3291yea you can’t compete with WWE at this stage, even on their WORST episode, they’re still the best wrestling company to ever exist and always will be

[@JorgeNunoSequeira]

I don't think so. Regardless of what happens in WWE, the worst thing that happened to AEW is, was and still will be either TK's booking or the Elite being themselves.

[@erikiceberg]

The Elite single-handedly make AEW sour to anyone who is akin to the product. This company is at the point where it’s possible to make their shows the best they can be, which is serious and competitive wrestling programs. The Elite set the tone in the position they are in, both in the company and on the card; this show feels PHONY BOLOGNA when they try to tell the audience and the rest of the boys their way is how it’s done. They have their place as talent, and that’s where it should stay going forward. 😅🤣

[@AxelKalo]

I think the biggest problem is the segmentation they have in the roster. It's crazy that there are some people who never cross paths like ever. It's like they have two separate rosters

[@it_punkkid7298]

Because the elite only play with there friends that is it they don't mess with the other guys because they make them look bad or out shine them

[@it_punkkid7298]

Why you think when they came back the first people to work with was the death triangle they make them look good

[@rl318]

Two, more like three or four plus whatever wrestling school indy stuff they have going on with KZbin.

[@Pupsterization122]

You’re so right who do you have in mind that never crosses

[@aeris...5389]

I disagree with all hate Vince gets for because we live in the digital era where we are entitled to want things now and it’s cool to hate on the mainstream . Let’s not forget how important he was in creating some of the best entertainment in the attitude era to making wwe as big and mainstream as it is today.he was responsible for some of the greatest wrestling stars with stone cold the rock , John cena , undertaker and triple h to name a few. Vince himself made professional wrestling transcends and become a part of the culture. He knows the business more than anyone. Raw and smackdown was still doing better than aew even when Vince was in charge. Vince leaving exposed how paper thin aew is and now Tony khan has no excuse to use the Vince card to say his product is the alternative to wwe when it’s just a glorified nxt

[@anonymousbo0318]

Vince is the big winner, which shouldn't shock anyone. Unless you're a virgin fanboy

[@pleaseshutup7053]

How is Vince the winner?

[@RKOWNEDU]

The worst thing to happen to AEW was Tony Khan running it as his make believe fed rather than hiring a booker to make this company an actually promotion.

[@reginaldshort8486]

The worst thing to happen to AEW is Tony putting himself before his promotion before it ever got established.

[@JunoStatic]

If tony went up against atitude era vince he would hace no chance in hell

[@WallyHays]

Man, AEW saw Vince retire in the midst of all of those terrible hush money and sexual impropriety scandals and within a couple weeks the Buckaroos we're breaking down Punk's door. It's like TK had to have the biggest dumpster fire in the business...

[@xylsky1300]

Cornette left out the part where some people hate aew is because the way they act towards their wrestlers. They are protecting the friends over actual talent. Its like that glass at the zoos where the jackoff visitors can taunt the lions and gorillas and they cant do anything back because khan glass is blocking them from getting their hands on the evps

[@pixelfiendcombo5742]

I’m fairly confident the worst thing that ever happened to AEW was pissing off Jim

[@bigsteve8921]

Basically there was never a large anti wwe crowd. It was anti vince crowd. Everybody loves WWE. All the good memories. But vinve had just stayed too long. Then vince left everybody was like Hey vince is gone we can come back!!! Lol

[@doclank3d6]

Tony Khan is the worst thing to happen to AEW. He treats the promotion as a tree house club with a indoor trampoline. He clearly didn't have a lot of friends when growing up.

[@mancavespotcast4078]

AEW never signed a global mainstream name like The Rock, John Cena or Batista... maybe even Goldberg. Larger than life characters/attractions will always stand out over pure wrestlers this is why guys like Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant will forever be synonymous with pro wrestling yet guys like Bob Backlund and Bret Hart will never be thought of as thee attractions or thee guys.

[@jackdaone6469]

Well, Backlund and Hart WERE "the Guy" during their time. But yeah, there's a dearth of Larger Than Life personalities right now.

[@darksideon]

This is what happens when you build a company on a singular vision. AEW's whole existence was all about not being like the evil WWE & Vince, so now that Vince is gone what is their identity? Now there's a guy(HHH) who has no problem using people no matter what they look like, and he's more willing to work with other promotions. So what advantage does AEW have now? The less dates is about to be a thing of the past since they brought Jarrett in to spearhead their house show initiative, and them bringing in more people(possibly Sasha) is going to bloat an already bloated roster.

[@awallner1]

The Wall Street Journal put Vince McMahon in his place not AEW.

[@wvang0013]

Yes it was because Triple H is hungry for success while Vince was living off his spoils of the Monday Night War.

[@Sansri16761]

Pandering to Dave and the IWC is the worst thing that happened to AEW besides having the Elite and anti draws like the dark order and the factory

[@robertnapier624]

Dave being I presume uncle Dave being I presume Dave meltzer?

[@Sansri16761]

@@robertnapier624 indeed

[@Thepeopleschamp1983_]

The real reason why Cody rhodes left aew is because they told him he couldn't be aew champion because it would look like he booked himself to become aew champion like Jeff Jarrett did to tna wrestling, so they strip him for being evp.but then turn around and let kenny omega not just won the aew champion, but then also let the young bucks become tag team championships, and then let Adam Paige win the aew champion, while being evps,after they already told Cody rhodes that's the reason why they didn't want him to become aew champion because he was a evp,that's why he left aew,they told him one thing but let kenny omega and the young bucks and Adam Paige do another thing.

[@davey3884]

Tony was the worst thing to happen to AEW, yes he financed it, yet he has no idea how to book, he's letting the inmates run the asylum. He has/had some good talent, but he should of let an experienced booker do the booking.

[@JPS47]

All the frustrations pointed towards Vince McMahon turned to Tony Khan and Mr. H is only making WWE slightly better.

[@experienceanimation217]

I'd say Tony. He's the money man and let's it all happen. He didn't capitalise on Bryan Danielson, he didn't pick up on the fanbase growing behind Kingston, he didn't do business with the heat that punk and the cheerleaders gathered at that post show scrum and He let FTR get booked into a dark closet. And now they can't even break and keep a million viewers. Pretty sad tbf.

[@willkenshin]

Besides Vince retiring, I think the worse thing to happen to AEW is Tony actually being more of a mark than a booker for his promotion. Tony caters too much to the twitter fanbase. He even claps back at those that criticize him on twitter...What booker replies to a a fan calling him out??? Also, we all know WWE was never getting dethroned but AEW did have a chance to be a true number 2 but instead, it's just another TNA Impact, another company that exist with WWE, that's all nothing else. It's not competition, it's just there even tho Dave always try to spin it as AEW is actually competition to WWE

[@AntLox]

TK coming on screen was the worst thing to happen.

[@rl318]

It was bad for AEW because it eliminated the mythical devil they were fighting an imaginary moral wrestling war against and made people look at how shaky and thing the foundation of AEW was, to begin with.

[@vycanismajoris6871]

The Young Bucks trampoline circus is the worst that has happened AEW. To that extent that Ive stopped watching the product.

[@IndigoUchiha26]

The elite are the worst thing to happen to AEW

[@peytonlong5573]

Second to the elite existing but yes Vince was the reason so many were so fed up, that AEW happened and also it gave so many the hope and belief Cm Punk would come back to wrestling and it took him a year to realize this is bullshit

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

Worst things to happen to AEW 1) Tony Khan 2) The Elite 3) Vince McMahon retiring 4) The Pandemic

[@chasincash8594]

AEW has gone downhill after Cody left

[@ducklife420]

if i was tony i would hire vince as a wrestler and make him champ

[@joshmills7925]

Cody rhodes leaving aew was the worst thing to happen

[@AxeDharme]

Eh, everything comes and goes in cycles. Right now Helmsley is in his honeymoon period where he can do no wrong. AEW had its golden period in 2019-20. Helmsley's will continue until the end of next year. His true test will come in Jan 2024 onwards.

[@Sky_Blaze]

No Tony Khan and the elite are the worst thing to happen to aew...they all hold this company back

[@ronniejdio9411]

Perfect storm 1. Vince retired 2. Tony buys roh 3. Aew is hit w tons if injury 4. Khan is obsessed w forbidden door 5..the elite punk brawl

[@z2ei]

By far. Tony's only draw was being "the good boss" .

[@LobsterRavioli]

The Elite is not entertaining in my opinion. My biggest issue with AEW is the fact they never finish a storyline. Every single MJF feud for example, has ended as soon as it became entertaining. The exception is MJF and Jericho, that became nauseating. But punk and MJF ended before it really took off.

[@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact]

If the injury and locker room brawl didn't happen, Punk and MJF would have continued their feud.

[@G50-o5w]

2:33 Think that 'Feeling Vince-y' could be a new WWE t-shirt....with two meanings. 😛

[@PricefieldPunk]

It is. Hell even the JAS doesn’t make sense just cause Vince retired and wwe isn’t sports entertainment anymore

[@jetrobertsdj]

The moment it was announced that the promotion was called All "Elite" Wrestling, was the moment that the boat was already pointing in a very limiting direction. It's like if in the 80s, they called the promotion Dusty or Lawler Championship Wrestling. Ego much?

[@jamiewalsh9184]

Tbh they should have been banging on WWEs door while Vince was still destroying his own product. But Tony couldnt book a doctors appointment

[@Epsilonsama]

Gotta be honest I stopped watching AEW this week for the first time since it started back in 2019. At this point I'm just burned out of the bullshit.

[@ksink74]

Vince leaving was the worst thing that AEW didn't do to themselves.