The Storyline That KILLED AEW

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A lot of people are under the idea that AEW is dying and on a decline and whilst I don’t fully agree with that, it is true to an extent, and I can at least say with certainty that AEW in the last couple years has definitely faced a downfall in both popularity and if I’m being honest quality as well. And I think I can pinpoint where and why that downfall in quality began. I can also very easily identify where AEW’s downfall in popularity began, that of course being the entire CM punk debacle. NO I’m not saying its the sole reason for AEW’s drop in viewership, attendance and overall popularity, but it was definitely the start of it and damaged AEW’s perception to wrestling fans and chances are, might not ever recover from that damage. However the main thing that hurt AEW in the long run, was their RESPONSE to the CM Punk drama. And I’m not talking about the whole security footage thing, I’m talking about what was ACTUALLY going on in AEW and their product fresh off the CM Punk drama. As that second half of 2023 was probably AEW’s worst era especially for their weekly product. It’s probably the worst Dynamite has ever been and that’s thanks in part to the fact that AEW’s big main event storyline post CM Punk drama, was a storyline that divided AEW fans, with everything that could’ve possibly gone wrong going wrong, and based on every metric didn’t draw well for AEW. Today… we discuss the devil.
Video title: The Storyline That KILLED AEW
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[@Top10Wrestling]

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[@joshuahosang6690]

Aew is trash. Tony Kahn is a cancer. Period.

[@jennygholson]

You did get a good sponsorship?

[@rob776]

Garbage. CM Punk and the aftershock killed AEW.

[@bertillonflessel2392]

Okuikk7iulu juillet 7kl7i8 i'll 8oiipimi778877o88p08😊99😊0090😊9😊😊😊😊😊​@@jennygholson

[@AamirKhan-xd4rr]

Propaganda against aew for vees

[@kadharefinley224]

So it started out with Adam Cole as the babyface and MJF as the heel then Adam Cole as the heel and MJF as the babyface and now it’s MJF as the heel and Adam Cole as the babyface. Man this story has more turns than Big Show lol 😂

[@flashfunk0373]

It’s so bad to the point that I don’t care for MJF anymore. Jumping ship will honestly be the best thing he can do for his career at this point. It’ll give him a fresh start but I don’t know where he’s fit in main roster WWE with all the storylines happening right now.

[@mrpink99]

@@flashfunk0373too bad he already re-upped with AEW

[@ziahamm1603]

​@flashfunk0373 I reckon he probably resumes his feud with Punk when he gets there to start with. And then probably eventually Cody. Him v LA Knight would be solid too for the mic work between the two.

[@edgehead2695]

​@@ziahamm1603Unless MJF somehow worms his way out of his current contract, I'm of the mind that Punk retires long before MJF's deal expires.

[@90skpoplover]

Because AEW don't know how to write storylines which explains why 99% of the pay offs fall flat and don't live up to expectations.

[@OZfalconsfan]

The fact people were saying "atleast the devil isnt jack perry" instead of "OMG ITS ADAM COLE" shows how big of a flop the storyline was

[@mrorange8576]

The only good reveal for the Devil would have been them somehow working things out with CM Punk. I think he was the only actual choice that would have made people go "WAIT WHAT!"

[@orebb2204]

​@@mrorange8576I agree. That genuinely would have been a much better reveal

[@Lostmymind1]

@@mrorange8576 I think a good reveal would have been either Brit Baker, or Tony Khan. With Brit, her motivation is that she see's right through MJF, while her boyfriend doesn't. So she's just doing what's best for him. Plus, MJF and Brit have always had a backstage drama that fans know about, that's never been addressed onscreen. With TK, the motivation would be that everytime MJF says ANYTHING about TK, it's always been insulting. Whether it's press interviews, or the post show media show, or just little jabs in promos, he's ALWAYS called TK a money mark, and always teased going to WWE. So TK is basically just playing puppetmaster here. And then they went with the most obvious "we know it's adam cole......it's going to be adam cole.....adam cole would be the most boring answer....." And then it's adam cole. GROAN!!!!

[@Joyceayarait]

I believe TK want Punk to be the devil or he believes he can bring Punk back as the devil before last year's survival series

[@kennycai8695]

@@mrorange8576 Or maybe it was a new signing that owes loyalty to Tony Khan, hence why he is doing Khan's bidding. Keep in mind, this was around the time when Dolph Ziggler and Mustafa Ali were on their way out of WWE, and even with a 90-day no compete clause in place, it would have been a big deal if either was revealed to be the man behind the mask. Especially so for Mustafa Ali, given his lineage (Pakistani-American, just like the Khans).

[@crumpetface]

Airing the footage was a big mistake

[@eastsidenell]

Biggest!

[@nicktasteless360]

biggest mistake for AEW because they proved what CM Punk said was true.

[@williamtanksley7133]

💯 percent. It made everyone look soft. Those are the same kinda people who laughed and talked shit when he got beat in UFC and forgot they weren't behind a computer screen

[@imsljr420]

​@@nicktasteless360 No it showed Pepsi boy lied, but you 🤡s are so enamored with him you guys are blind to it and think he's perfect just like the Jordan fanboys and possibly the Lechoke fans. He did lie when he said "I didn't punch anybody". I looked it up and just swinging at someone even if you miss counts as assault.

[@mvrtinxz650]

What did they honestly expect to happen ? They literally showed one of their biggest stars getting choked out ina shoot by one of WWE’s biggest stars. Like wtf.

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

It died after Tony feared for his life

[@silentotaku8]

I feared for my life just watching punk point at Tony off-screen.

[@dwightyboy5324]

"Real Glass!"

[@richgames2377]

Yet its not dead at all lol

[@michaelbreen7865]

@@richgames2377 No, it's UNDEAD!

[@Paolo-qr4kv]

​@@dwightyboy5324 cry me a river

[@joleree1]

The Punk issue was huge. If you can't turn the Punk/Bucks/Hangman drama into massive money what are you even doing in the business?

[@natedizzle106]

Well said. Could have been the hottest storyline in years if Tony Khan actually knew what he was doing. Instead he wet his pants and squandered the whole thing

[@ChrisSuswal-de9tj]

Seriously. With FTR joining Punk you get everyone's stupid ego in check for 2 seconds and talk about their payouts for the huge match they're gonna have. You don't have to be a tough guy boss or anything to get everybody in line. Money talks way more powerful than anybody's voice could

[@experienceanimation217]

They seriously fucked up with the punk situation. They even fudged the Young Bucks and FTR situation after that, which would have been money for them.

[@nwo2cool]

It's the Bucks' egos. They were the ones who didn't want to do business with Punk. They weren't willing to hash out with him. TK splitting them to different shows was never going to work out. The Elite were jealous little children who doesn't want Punk around.

[@codemeister1121]

First off, Punk got injured during his match at All Out 2022, so he couldn't have wrestled if he wanted to. Two: He and The Elite weren't willing to work with each other. Hell, Khan tried to arrange a sit-down between Punk and the Bucks, but they weren't willing to do it

[@BeastModeBeatsDNG]

All this story did was prove how hard it is to sympathize with Adam Cole after what he did to MJF. The only reason he's a Babyface now is bc the fans missed him. The story had promise but fell off a cliff the moment they dropped it to have Max feud with DG and Osprey. Yes, their time out due to injury also played a factor into why the story couldn't work, but switching their roles (Adam Cole from Heel to Face and MJF from Face to Heel) was the biggest creative blunder this story could have made.

[@Marveryn]

they should had move away from the story as soon as cole was injure and they discover how long it would take him to heal. That was time to recalibrate and come up with something different. Maybe let the devil be rodric strong. kind of like rikishi who did it for the rock.

[@dangerousdays2052]

Babyface MJF was trash. The sooner they turned him heel the better.

[@adambaker8349]

Theres much bigger blunders than who is face and who is heel that killed this story because it should have culminated at Wembley but it didnt and it over stayed its welcome to where the majority just didnt care anymore.

[@theironshrek]

Here's what I think caused the downfall cody leaving, punk leaving kenny omega getting I injured bad booking and wwe getting better

[@andrewcooke4251]

I would say it started with Cody. The product was starting to lose steam just before he went back to the wwe. It’s pretty obvious he was holding a lot together.

[@theironshrek]

@andrewcooke4251 and he kept the bucks from doing a hogan

[@andrewcooke4251]

@@theironshrek imagine being a billionaire owner of a wrestling promotion and having the young bucks acting like hogan? Arguably the biggest wrestler of all time. 😂 Tony Khan is the main problem because he’s got nothing resembling a spine

[@sixxjr]

The biggest thing for me was the week they showed the Punk footage, it was their highest viewership of the night. People cared more about beef from MONTHS before than the actual promotion.

[@ravenbeast8639]

All of that did cause the slow down. But the downfall is 100% on TK's scrawny ass. It's like he gave up but doesn't want to admit it! Dude doesn't listen to anyone and keeps making the same mistakes over & over. he's just letting the inmates run wild and provides ZERO direction for any of his talents. Now nothing they do seems to work for them!

[@Hellwolf36]

This was stupid on a lot of fronts: >Complete mess with booking >Storyline made no sense at points >It ruined MJF's credibility as a heel >It gave us babyface MJF, which was already cringe as hell >Degenerate segments with BTE style humor >A dragged out feud that did nothing to advance either man >Cole got injured and came back worse than he started >No exciting payoff

[@hfield07]

not to mention the weird post-devil reveal where the faction that took out the top draw did absolutely nothing to build themselves as a force within the company.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

MJF as a good guy wasn't too bad, but it wasn't meant to last. Similar to when HHH came back in 2002, MJF had no choice but to be a good guy but was a matter of time before he became bad again. If I had my way MJF would take all of Cole's buddies away from him and have him form the Undisputed Kingdom.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Them being friends was great TV. The problem was that they ruined it by that Adam Cole reveal. It was too obvious and too predictable compared to it being too plot twisty instead.

[@Jessica_Roth]

@@hfield07 Seriously. How does the belt go from Samoa Joe to Swerve without at least SOMEBODY from Ultimate Kingdom (or whatever it was called) getting to hold it for a few months? Or at least Matt and Mike getting to unify the ROH tag belts with the main straps. The Elite got to hold more gold. Which means that MJF was betrayed and wiped out by the #2 (or perhaps #3 behind the Patriarchy) Evil Faction. Way to make Max look like a bum.

[@SpongiousBird]

Yeah, I remember that dumb restaurant segment. And the kangaroo kicks... please never do that again Maxwell :(

[@perryco34]

It was so bad. That it literally ruined their biggest star. He has yet to recover.

[@elcactusdelamuerte506]

Tbf he’s had like two matches since then hasn’t really been given the chance to recover 😂

[@perryco34]

@@elcactusdelamuerte506 shows how bad Tony books things.

[@elcactusdelamuerte506]

@@perryco34 By that logic anyone who's out injured and isnt being pushed is being booked badly?

[@Hero-hs4gt]

His return tattoo is going to haunt him for life lol

[@b-rye223]

@@elcactusdelamuerte506 he showed the whole world that he got a company logo tattooed on him just to prove a point that he isn’t going anywhere and was trying to cosplay HHH’s 2002 return with that leather jacket - forever killing off what made his character as a heel believable in the first place cause he had to expose himself as being the biggest mark ever which is the irony of his heel persona. He will never be able to recover or at least be as believable as he once was.

[@TheMC1102]

At least this storyline led to Samoa Joe having a short, but sweet World title reign. Silver linings, you know?

[@milesmayhem3869]

You missed an important part when MJF returned in "Triple H Leather" and buried Adam Cole and the whole Devil-Angle. Nonsense booking 101

[@corrinnelindsey6568]

It’s sad. When WWE was shit during the pandemic the fans wanted something new and they got it. Now that WWE is getting better AEW is going downhill. I honestly think some people who aren’t doing anything in the company right now might pull a CM Punk on Tony Khan then leave

[@devinbalzano5088]

The Hardy’s, Ethan Paige, Andrade, and I belive Shawn spears(he might have left prior to this storyline) and Lexus king clearly saw the writing on the wall

[@tedwilson2844]

@@devinbalzano5088 Dude they did not leave! 'There contracts were up and AEW did not want them on there roster anymore!

[@gfear24]

Thing is, AEW was never really that good. It was just marginally better than late Vince era WWE. Vince leaving and HHH taking over creative made WWE much better, and exposed to the fans just how bad AEW is, and in turn people stopped watching AEW. AEW didn't get worse because WWE got better. It fell off because AEW got exposed as bad because of a change in booking in WWE.

[@jeffdakid5845]

@@devinbalzano5088don’t forget Jade

[@hamilstarr4292]

The bucks deserve a lot of the blame … their gimmick that changed to a baron corbin gm copy was so sad & flat. Punk leaving was definitely the beginning & it’s sad now .

[@tankkilla7488]

If the mox storyline doesn’t pick up steam it could be the final nail in the coffin. I’m a huge fan of his too but after a couple weeks it started treading water instead of advancing. Add some people to moxs crew. Maybe house of black or bring Miro back and have him join. For something that affects everybody too many people ignore it. Also put marina in the ring and have her start wrecking the women’s division.

[@elcactusdelamuerte506]

I’d rather see HoB vs Mox and friends over them teaming up. Spooky vaguely magical monsters joining a stable thats supposed to be legit fighters trying to convince everyone they are shooting on the rest of the locker room doesn’t sound like a good combo I might be wrong but didn’t miro ask for his release again just a few weeks ago and has heat with PAC that’s been going on nearly a decade he still comments about to this day? I don’t think he’s getting on tv anytime soon let alone working with PAC

[@CrazedGinja]

I reckon make it a invasion storyline similar to Nwo but without 30 people being in the group

[@garethdeere4822]

If lol It's terrible orange Cassidy as the man fighting them 😂

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Its not picking up. No one cares about another aew takeover story

[@dranzerjetli5126]

​@@elcactusdelamuerte506you do know they will fk it up as usual. Its like they don't care about the cool factor.

[@dizzle1119]

MJF was my favorite wrestler until this Devil storyline, and at this point I'm indifferent. ...and the fact that Tony Khan returned to this Cole/MJF stuff after how awful the Devil stuff was is further proof that he isn't talented at the job/s he's trying to do in AEW. Where is Wardlow?

[@941zeke]

Hes injured

[@dranzerjetli5126]

At this point if I was ward low I would want to send feelers to wwe instead because aew clearly cannot book big men well.. Just remember how great ward low was after that mjf punk feud and later on he was forced out of that world championship contendership for no reason.. Also arn Anderson did say wardlow was given bad advice by someone else and its not wardlows fault for the bad booking.

[@Denji.99]

Where is ricky, miro, etc 😂

[@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309]

MJF is still a great wrestler, not his fault the booking screwed him hard. Wrestlers can't control the way they are booked.

[@dizzle1119]

@@CynicalGamingBlogTerry309 I didn't say he isn't good. I said I am now indifferent toward him. ...and I feel that way because of things that aren't his fault. That makes it even worse. Thanks for pointing it out.

[@alternative7586]

The storyline was great in the beginning. One of the only things holding AEW together in Fall/Winter of 2023. And then Adam Cole got injured, and then MJF got injured, and then Wardlow got injured. You can see what my point is, right?

[@romelmunoz7957]

The very first moment Adam Cole got injured they should have pivoted and change or modify the storyline on the fly... but they didn't. From there everything collapsed...

[@Hunkzilla]

Trampoline wrestling will do that to your body.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Should have made Samoa Joe the mastermind instead of an injured Cole. That was stupid.

[@illiboi8072]

They coulda kept it going once they came back just like they’re doing just you know not switch roles. It don’t make sense

[@dranzerjetli5126]

​@@romelmunoz7957Samoa Joe as a mastermind behind the devil attacks was a way better idea than making it Adam Cole instead

[@Ramza2004]

Cody leaving was not such a big blow. He could have still ended up being WWE champion without it affecting AEW that much. The biggest events that really impacted AEW is firing CM Punk and him rejoining WWE (as divided a fanbase as CM Punk has, he definitely drew in the huge crowds regardless of what anyone says) and Kenny Omega getting injured. If Punk was still in AEW, Omega never got injured and then you have all the other new things going on like the Hurt Syndicate, AEW would be so popular now. TK being a businessman, I’m really surprised he let go of Punk.

[@dangerousdays2052]

Wrong. AEW's ratings were at an all time high before CM Karen showed up. His fan base of 40 year old virgins isn't as big as you think it is lol. 😂😂

[@OffLeatherWings]

The whole CM Punk situation literally divided AEW fan base in half. Many of their viewers were lapsed fans who wanted to see Punk back. Once it was apparent that he didn’t get along with the key people who are the ethos of AEW stands for, a lot of those fans wanted him to go back to WWE and only tuned in for Punk exclusively. Breaking CM Punk so bad that they made him want to go back to WWE after he hated that company for over seven years (Punk was still salty about them when he first came to AEW) was a terrible look for AEW. That whole situation did some irreversible damage to that company.

[@dangerousdays2052]

@@OffLeatherWings Like I said, CM Karen is cancer. There's a reason why they put a behavioral clause in his contract at WWE looool. 😂😂

[@SpaghettiYOLOKing]

​@dangerousdays2052 as reported by Meltzer, right? Amazing how regardless of a behavioral clause or not, there's been ZERO issues for a year with Punk in WWE. But yeah, he's the cancer. Sure. Couldn't be The Elite and their butt buddies. Nope, no way. Punk definitely would have handled things better, but I honestly can't say that I would have lasted as long as him in the same situation. My patience would have been worn thin by the end of the Hangman feud, which is where the shenanigans really started to ramp up. Punk said what needed to be said because as harsh as it was in probably the only place saying such things would get actual results, a media scrum, he made many valid points. And it put TK in the hot seat to actually step up and be a boss, not a bro. But did TK actually do that? Not really. Showing the fight footage with Perry only showed that it all went down just as Punk said and was nowhere near what TK described when justifying firing Punk.

[@dangerousdays2052]

@@SpaghettiYOLOKing Wrong, the behavioral clause was reported by multiple sources lol. COpe harder. CM Karen is a joke and anyone that is a fan of his is a 40 year old virgin. Touch grass looool 😂😂

[@themastermind2517]

my only issue is why is everyone acting like swerve didn't have An amazing world title run

[@Hunkzilla]

😂😂😂😂😂😂 Easily the lowest drawing world champ in wrestling history. The only AEW wrestler who had a good reign is Chris Jericho !

[@mikemadsen7926]

Lowest drawing champ ever as well as mercedes toupee

[@Hero-hs4gt]

People stopped watching after the devil deal so Swerves run was virtually unseen.

[@FelipeJC-z5t]

yeah, the bad stuff overshadows it all

[@perryco34]

Tony is literally speed running WCW’s mistakes.

[@elcactusdelamuerte506]

You say that but I think dynamites something like 10 episodes short of surpassing Nitro’s run. Pretty sure their new tv deal is for more than two months so they’ve failed that speed run.

[@brianwalsh1339]

That’s what I’ve been saying for years

[@richgames2377]

But he's really not lol

[@user-dq6hs4ry6z]

​@@elcactusdelamuerte506never even reached close to its succes though

[@Notsbaby]

Aew has already outlived wcw lol

[@CarlosColon-m7i]

Turning MJF face was a terrible decision

[@Camryhhhh]

In my opinion it was good for a while but when he came back i didn't get it 💀

[@johnathanrush4666]

HORRIBLE decision

[@jimmysdadgoingcrazy]

Tony Khans money is the only thing keeping AEW alive. AEW is dead in terms of their cultural relevance and appeal. The shows are lifeless and their roster has aged significantly

[@mikemadsen7926]

Aging originals and old wwe guys. Danielson can't go anymore omega is dinged up we are really seeing the results of aew,s unprofessional reckless style

[@gregthegroove]

Their 🤡 EVPs ran off their number ratings draw and refused to bury the hatchet. There’s a n alternate universe out there where AEW did big time business off of the punk/elite real life beef and are doing 1M+ viewers a week still. Jackson brothers got their feelings hurt and Not mature enough to move on killed it.

[@1stKindChris]

AEW had 5 years of doing the same thing.... the same guys are on top, they haven't created new stars. Pretty simple

[@corrinnelindsey6568]

And there’s people who work there who are either injured or aren’t doing anything but collecting that paycheck

[@MoesAk47]

Facts Aew has been exposed for being a reincarnation wcw brand who keeps signing ex WWE talent but can't create new homegrown stars.

[@JimmyRaptis]

@@MoesAk47 hurt locker....

[@richgames2377]

But that's not true at all lol. Why do you people who don't watch feel the need to make things up about it??

[@richgames2377]

​@@corrinnelindsey6568same with every other promotion lol

[@MiguelangelLopez-hm9ig]

Tony klown killed aew

[@KesiaR666]

Being a ripoff of WCW without the entrainment value is what killed AEW on top of Tony Khan not stfu about WWE for 5 years.

[@brianwalsh1339]

At least WCW in its death throes was funny in a stupid way. Even TNA is better than AEW right now. AEW going downhill is just kind of sad…

[@TheAc550]

@@brianwalsh1339Stop lying. WCW was unbearable😂

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Losing punk killed aew nothing else nothing more.

[@sadboi88]

AEW is in no way a WCW knock -off. They only thing they have in common is being the second biggest promotion after WWE. If anything, AEW is Ring of Honor with a big budget and a better tv deal

[@calebmaybin6896]

I still don't buy MJF as a Babyface, even from a Cool Heel perspective. Isn't he supposed to be a spoiled rich kid who rigs matches in his favor but still has to cheat to win and rarely ever gets his comeuppance - he's basically Stephanie McMahon. Even as a supposed die hard AEW Pillar he's made it no secret he'd abandon them if persuaded financially.

[@richgames2377]

MJF is a heel lol

[@xnlac]

When he got that tattoo, i knew he got paid a ridiculous amount that WWE wouldn't ever give him.😂 tony just hemorrhages money

[@Hunkzilla]

Which is why I dont get why the AEW fans dont get on his back the same way they always trash Mercedes.

[@skeletonbuyingpealts7134]

​@@HunkzillaMisogyny

[@DanielDeLeon69]

I Totally Thought Top10Wrestling Was Talking About The Whole Elite Talking Over AEW Storyline That Also Could've Killed AEW.

[@andysalem3955]

And now the Death Riders are taking over and the young bucks are returning as babyfaces ( no one will care)

[@dkcunderwaterlevelmusic5021]

Turning MJF babyface completely ruined him for me... it was so bad

[@nicktaylor2657]

No they should of had him stay face until Cole was able to wrestle But he had to turn heel by attacking Daniel Garcia Now Cole is the face and MJF MJF doesn't even get his revenge 😮

[@onlychild8784]

Funny how Vince being in WWE actually helped AEW but once Vince left..WWE and NXT got 100x better and all they do are promos and a few matches

[@natedizzle106]

Almost as if mainstream audiences value characters and storylines more than watching the same flippy flop matches every week. #RussoWasRight

[@WalkingCowboy]

@@natedizzle106 You're a damn idiot if you really think AEW hasn't characters and storylines

[@skeletonbuyingpealts7134]

​@@WalkingCowboy Such as?

[@lightingthief4482]

​@@natedizzle106lol yeah right

[@natedizzle106]

@@lightingthief4482 only marks would disagree with me

[@MitchellinMan]

It's sad that Warlow is not being used, again

[@941zeke]

Cause hes injured!!

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Ward low was one of my favourite in aew. That punk mjf feud with ward low was chefs kiss. Beautiful. I only watch matches that involves my favorites like cage ward low Hobbs archer etc not these thin ass underweight jobbers.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

​@@941zekeyes bcoz his booking was so good when he was TNT champ when he should have been booked as world championship contender

[@Denji.99]

@@941zekehes probably not.. Ricky and Miro aren't injured

[@b-rye223]

MJF getting that AEW tattoo forever killed his character….he will never be able to be a believable heel again like he was prior because he decided to reveal himself to be the biggest mark ever just to prove a point that he wasn’t going anywhere & wearing that HHH jacket made it even cornier…. I can never take him being a heel & calling people marks the same anymore. RIP to that great character he had

[@hfield07]

this was a really bad story that then led to a nonstop avalanche of bad creative ideas. the elite EVP takeover, the learning tree, and the nonstop booking of one note orange cassidy didnt help to recover things. and let us not forget the reveal of the backstage punk footage that made tony look weak.

[@juanjvelazquez2595]

I honestly believe a lot of AEW fans are scared to criticize their own storylines and only like to jump and criticize the storylines related to one wrestler to pretend like the only thing wrong with the company is that person (First Brandi, then Cody and now Jericho) because I can't comprehend how they can pretend this storyline is not a complete and utter disaster. Revealing the devil was someone who would be out for a year was already moronic but then having a double turn without any explanation is even more stupid and (I won't claim this is 100% true this may be a BS rumor) if this was done because MJF wanted to be a heel just say no to him. Run this story like it was supposed to be and then have MJF turn heel afterwards if he wanted to be a heel so bad. If this storyline had been done by any other wrestling company it would have been buried by all their fans to the ground but instead it has shown 2 major flaws of AEW: 1- It's fans watch the show with rose-tinted glasses which is a bad way to watch the show since if you don't protest the flaws of your product they will never change 2- Tony Khan is too giving to some of his top guys. We have heard stories about how some of the decisions were pitched directly by Ospreay, Danielson, Moxley and MJF and while some are good, some hurt the product and imo he needs to step his foot down and now when to not make decisions that will make your wrestlers happy but hurt your product.

[@richgames2377]

Or maybe we just like AEW lol. Why does AEW get you marks so worked up??

[@NeoZurg]

DAE we're having Fun™️! Tony is booking for the Sickos and the Dub has gotten a multi million TV Deal and 5 star bangers from Meltzer. Moxley is going to start the Reset AEW needs. We are unstoppable!

[@mrorange8576]

I used to watch AEW every week for a couple years, even AEW dark before they killed it but like after the conclusion of the Devil storyline I just started to turn off. I keep up with general story lines here and there but the quality drop makes me stray away from anything other than clips and the occasional banger match. It sucks because I want to like AEW but apparently you can't even give basic criticsm without being a "WWE Drone" in the super fans eyes who have probably watched less actual AEW content than I have. They still have banger matches but theres no reason for me to not just watch those as highlights on youtube or watch some way more wacky stuff from some random Indie if they aren't giving any reason to be invested.

[@socks92]

​@@richgames2377 and again here you are to the rescue lol. Funny that its only a mark when its for wwe. Look how aew fans act, look how you act and tell me yous arnt marks. Funny that when wwe was doing bad wwe fans said it was bad. But aew doing bad and aew fans cant admit to it

[@kennycai8695]

The problem with the Devil storyline was that it dragged on for too long, and this is one area where AEW's booking philosophy failed them. Even for a mystery character, the hype can only last for so long before the audience goes from "oh my gosh, who could be behind the mask" to "just reveal who you are and get this over with". Considering when this storyline happened, my guess is that the Devil was supposed to reveal some major acquisition from WWE, cause you know hardliners love their middle finger moments. As for who might have been under the mask had AEW gotten their way in the free agency market, my guess is Mustafa Ali. Being a fellow Pakistani-American like Tony Khan (albeit from different regions, the Khans are from Lahore while Mustafa Ali's ancestry traces back to Karachi), Ali is the perfect proxy for Khan to get himself involved in angles and storylines. Hindsight has also proven that Ali can get himself over outside the WWE bubble, so there is some truth about Ali potentially joining AEW after he got his release. Would Ali have worked as the Devil? Maybe not, but the "wow" factor of having Ali in Jacksonville would have been better for AEW than Adam Cole at this point.

[@DCmanNEW52]

Make dynamite and Collison two episodes of aew and eliminate rampage. Just 4 titles are needed on either sides. Eliminate all the old wrestlers who makes no sense in the promotion. Roh should not be connected and they should seal that thing.

[@JWS1985]

And they have All In schedule in a baseball stadium next year. How do they expect to fill it up?

[@meatwad376]

The real question is how do they expect to hide all the empty seats

[@andrewjustandrew]

Adam Cole has the body and mic skills of a manager… Vince was right. He’d be a great manager but he isn’t a believable champion-caliber wrestler.

[@romelmunoz7957]

It's funny how Adam Cole has the body to be a manager but he's wrestling and MVP is a manager but has the body to be wrestling 😅

[@richgames2377]

HHH doesn't agree lol

[@oceancycloneblue5356]

Yeah hes dead in the water right now. Only thing hes got going is the boom in his entrance. And then the bell rings.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Even I see it now. 😂😂 its kind of funny tony khan hired those people who lost against his originals and pushed those losers instead.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

​@@richgames2377hhh also hired mistico

[@gjfwang]

'Killed' is harsh. Its no different from bucks taking over aew, attacking tony and omega. and then the storyline ends with them dropping the belts to private party and going on vacation. No resolution to attack on tony or omega

[@CornBreadtm1]

HHH taking over WWE is what killed AEW. No reason to watch a second rate program where everything is worse. WWE isn't even 3 hrs anymore! And the stars of WWE while AEW died? Cody Rhodes and CM Punk smh. AEW was always just as bad as the Devil Storyline, it just didn't have to be better because WWE suck under Vince before he left.

[@sonomni]

The two hours is temporary until Raw is finally on Netflix.

[@MainEventHeel]

AEW doesn't have "ERAS"

[@TheArgyleProtocol]

They have 2 eras: the pandemic era (2019-2021) and the shit era (2022-now)

[@nou5033]

pandemic era was definitely their best era 2019-2022

[@benrichardson8099]

Cody leaving and brawl out was the beginning of the end..

[@D0xmer]

This is when I started calling Tony “mid Kahn” and haven’t stopped since

[@DaReal3THAN]

Kinda sucks these smaller companies too wwe keep failing, why does it always have to be a war? Why can’t it just have different shows, just more wrestling at the end of the day

[@moonhead8550]

Agree 100%

[@DylanOnRoids65]

The biggest flop is that they didn‘t recapitulate on the return of MJF. He came back from injury, punched adam come and cut a promo. It should have been a big build up, a massive revenge angle where he would cost him a title or where he would take out every member of the undisputed kingdom. That would have created such a massive babyface mjf and a massive heel cole for at least a year or so. You could even throw in a young tag team to help mjf for example to build them up, it was a massive miss from AEW

[@northleedspoppa]

MJf as the top guy Burying FTR Allowing Moxley any input in his own character Orange Cassidy Bucks Kenny getting sick A lot of reasons for the current situation

[@flashfunk0373]

I feel like Max as the champ the first few months of his reign was good then the friendship storyline with Adam Cole happened. I enjoyed some parts of it but it would’ve been better suited if it was a mid card storyline, not the top of the card.

[@FirlirikiTempotujuh]

dont forget allowing Jericho to keep stealing others tv minutes every damn week

[@Hunkzilla]

Cassidy reached his peak 4 years ago...

[@mrorange8576]

Na I think they didn't push Orange Cassidy enough. His International title run is arguable the best in AEW history titles wise and the dude is an absolute bout workhorse. They just made his character too silly instead of having him be a laid back cool guy for way too long.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

​@@mrorange8576orange cassidy lacks a cool storyline. Matches don't matter only stories do.

[@XayedAli]

The story was worse because we never got the conclusion of the Punk v MJF rivalry that was teased for over a year.

[@peasantpoet]

Punk would've lost, tore a muscle, and get knocked off TV for a while. Danhausen would've stepped in, cursing MJF week after week until the fans stopped responding, then creative would panic as the well they tapped into for way too long had long since run dry. Punk would finally return after MJF went away to deal with his own injuries and float aimlessly around because TK added more former WWE talent to his collection, pushing Punk back into the nebulousness afflicting most AEW stars. Eventually, backstage drama erupting because of poor leadership would see contracts not get extended, renewed, etc, and there'd be an exodus of stars. In the end, we'd never see the next rematch were Punk finally stood victorious, MJF cemented as the best heel in the business, or AEW viewed as a viable alternative to WWE. Instead of Pepsi competing against Coke, we're left with the Great Value diet cola competing against Coke and Pepsi.

[@najacipedo6898]

I honestly think that was the original plan. Punk was starting to get booe'd on Collison (and All In) and was teasing a heel turn (doing Hogan's "hearing" the crowd aswell as his leg drop, mocking Cena's Five Knuckle Shuffle, painting and introducing his own version of the AEW championship...) while MJF has just turned into the top babyface in the company with Cole. The original plan was probably for MJF to triumph over his evil "hero" and unite the AEW championships.

[@XayedAli]

@@najacipedo6898 the promos would have been epic

[@DaCaptainDerpy]

I really was hoping we would have gotten a payoff by now

[@willieroland5814]

This storyline got bad after the double turn.. cuz why is Cole suddenly a heel running after mjf, when he’s the one who turned on mjf

[@ryanwaslawski6088]

AEW has been on a steady downward spiral since brawl out. The way that situation affected storylines was obvious. AEW was bland af for next 6 months.

[@Hunkzilla]

Apparently CM Punk was prepared to make amends and exploit the situation and make it a storyline but those little babies known as The Young Bucks refused. 😂😂😂

[@dranzerjetli5126]

​@@Hunkzillanah they wanted to wait 6 months to see if punk would be chill or not. But to be fair they should have made the entire thing a feud immediately after brawl out. Vince may be a piece of shit rapist but he definitely knew what's good for the company.

[@noeljoynerlucasfanguillen3504]

Karma for aew for talking shit about wwe for 5 years

[@davidburke7777]

If you’re constantly telling people why WWE is bad instead of showing them why AEW is good then you come off as insecure.

[@noeljoynerlucasfanguillen3504]

@davidburke7777 lmafo aew good 🤣🤣🤣🤣 when was the last time they was good you 🤡🤡

[@noeljoynerlucasfanguillen3504]

@@davidburke7777 insecure is funny coming from you seem like you are

[@ytz_loop3938]

​@@noeljoynerlucasfanguillen3504last week

[@romanvillegas7280]

"YEET!" 'Couldn't agree more💯🔥🔥🔥👍👍

[@beejay271]

I would love to see the timeline where CM Punk never went to AEW. I'm curious at where AEWs popularity would be at this point. 🤔

[@TheArgyleProtocol]

I'd rather see the timeline where Cody says "You know what? Fuck WWE" and stays, and challenges for the title and becomes a homelander style heel on AEW.

[@socks92]

​@@TheArgyleProtocol so you rather cody had made a bad business decision

[@TheArgyleProtocol]

@@socks92 Would it have been a bad decision if he was the number one heel star right now making the company money?

[@socks92]

@@TheArgyleProtocol bad for him probably. Bad for the company probably not. But why be the big fish in a little pond if you can be the biggest fish in the ocean. Aew has no names as big as what wwe have and for your career to be great you need great rivals just as big or bigger then you. He has main evented the last two WrestleMania shows. Thats most wrestlers dreams to have 1

[@goatbrook9065]

Yeah man aew was like the cool brand in 2019 to 2021, they kept getting more and more stars, ratings were good , creative was solid aew was for suee the cool wrestling company. In the last couple years that reputation definitely took a hit and it didnt help wwe got really good since triple h took over in the same time aew got mid. It just made aew look worse in comparison. Aew roster talent wise is just as good as wwes so it isnt impossible to turn it around and be cool again but many things will have to change for that to happen

[@kilowhisperer5057]

Know what's crazy? When the punk aew stuff was happening EVERYONE blamed punk and defended Tony Khan and aew. I find that just hilarious.

[@CrazedGinja]

Tony khan is like vince russo to me he believes his on hype

[@imsljr420]

When did that happen? I remember from the start everyone ran to punk's rescue.

[@CastoBoyMania]

​​@@imsljr420 Not really. AEW fans were all against him. Called him a cancer.

[@kilowhisperer5057]

@imsljr420 big wrestling news channels blamed punk wrestlelamia, wrestle talk ect. Go back and find the videos they had a huge bias against punk.

[@TheAc550]

The IWC cornered TK to fire punk. Which i believe he fell for & fired punk. Which at the end was just a token wwe wanted and needed to put a nail in the coffin for AEW after all the mess they had with punk.

[@jvomkrieg]

Its starts before punk, it starts with Cody leaving because he saw the writing on the wall.

[@SirHRDking]

AEW this and last year has been like wcw/tna in their worst years. Not only has this storyline hurt them but other storylines going on are also affecting the product. Probably one of many bad things i can say about last year was too much anticipation and expecting punks return to have a massive feud with the elite but instead we get a saturday night show and suddenly punk is masked in like 3 feuds at the same time whilst the elite are having their usual faction wars with BCC (that stable has lasted longer than the shield now) when punk left, the whole post brawl out 22 effect kicked back in and was only saved by edge's debut, something which is also getting huge criticism and a missed oppertunity for edge and christian to face off with the hardy's one more time and have that one last match even when their feud did end but christian still has his little faction, teasing killswitch to turn for far too long but looks like there won't be any payoff to that now that his career is probably over. Edge could return as a heel with the group or get rid of nick, his mum and killswitch all together could salvage anything thats left of that storyline. The negativity for AEW this year is not a good sign going forward and in the last few weeks, I noticed how the stage set is now flat, smaller walkway and no pyro...remember TNA in 2013 from lockdown onwards? Even though the undisputed kingdom storyline has flopped when there's no reasons when it shouldn't and the fact its still 2024 over a month to the new year, it still did get off to a somewhat alright start. Obviously nothing on wwe as its the road to mania but it was carried by swerve's story to the title which was like a RTWM itself and joe getting a title reign that lasted not too long and the young bucks reinventing themselves as heels even though its a bit mixed with jack perry and okada being tagged along and hangman slowly going villanous due to the swerve sky rocketing to the top was all and well but then the tides just had to turn once again so we're back down to the bottom as it seems. Some matches this year have been alright, like anarchy in the arena, B&G, hangman vs swerve and whilst the MJF heel turn made no sense, he has had alright matches with will and danny. But speaking of will, as fun as his matches and story's are, they're being far too over done when it doesn't need to be over dramatised. Its like that was the criticism for hangman vs swerve's lights out match but the only difference is that the storyline up to that point had a strong hate feuled like chemistry riding high going into that match and that match did deliver very well and is up there with punk vs drew imo. Fans always craved for violence this, none of the disney PG watered down shit that like you expect in wwe but its suddenly too much? Sure the booking has been bad but sometimes, the fans aren't always soo clear themselves. Its like they forget that its all fake and not legit. Even with the plastic bag segment... Outside of the undisputed kingdom, another big problem is that there's too many titles which is obviously well known and there has been far too many big heel factions presented this year. Starting off with the kingdom to the new elite, don callis family still existing, daddy christian club, that group swerve started but turned on him if it even still exists and now the BCC which is now death riders apparently. Most if not all have been about "we're taking over AEW this, we're changing the game like we're the next NWO or bullet club that" and its that much of a mess that the whole BCC shit is crossing paths with the young bucks. Kinda seems like they made a vince mcmahon or russo AI and they're just following whatever gets chucked at them because I doubt they even know what they're doing with whatever is going on now and it wouldn't surprsie me if whatever this story is flops as well. MVP and Lashley coming in with their overhyped group from TNA when it came at a time where TNA sunk badly that year and thunderdome era wwe which fucking sucked is going to fail miserably as seen by the reactions to shelton losing to swerve. All the same age and veterans in their own right but shelton is just a wing man yet again and that ain't right. Even the name sucks. From BDC to hurt business to syndicate? Having the name hurt indeed hurts whatever they're about and now they're wwe rejects once again, they all in fact seem to be "hurt" and i bet that'll be used in a promo too. TNA has had a strong year this year and the way AEW is going, if TNA ends up regaining the number 2 spot like this time next year, AEW will fall into the category of yet another new company that had a great idea and hype but died category. And if thats the case, TNA is here to stay forever and there should be no one starting up a brand new so called major promotion.Thing is, AEW always did seem overrated because it was always just some youtube show on TV but a different lore created.

[@apparentlylivin]

They aired that footage out of spite. They should have turned the Brawl Out into a story. They didn't capitalize and now the consequences are here

[@Otherlevel51]

The downfall started the day Cody left. Booking went down the drain. If your booking is 🗑 eventually everything turns to 🗑.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Cm punk.left. Cody's booking and stories were terrible and forcing qt Marshall.and Brandi on TV was.pure torture.

[@Otherlevel51]

@dranzerjetli5126 Cody was bring in 1 millions of viewers. Something Tony can't do

[@decepticonxhunter4850]

The ppl who say the downfall started after Cody left make it sound like AEW had a peak when Cody was there. It was bad even then, and Cody had a lot to do with it being bad. Contrary to what the IWC wants to believe, there is a definite, logical reason why Cody got booed there.

[@Otherlevel51]

@@decepticonxhunter4850 cody as a performer got booed. As a booker cody had successfully differentiated AEW from WWE. The minute he left Tony started copying everything WWE was doing. In interviews cody said he knew AEW was in trouble when the signed Adam Cole and CM Punk. That's when he left. Not because he hates Cole or Punk but he understood the position AEW had in the market places. The goal was to be and alternative to WWE, once you start bringing in WWE guys for big money you have put them on TV. And that's always causes conflict in the back. Which it did.

[@cjtquk]

The mistake was MJF turing babyface during his first reign as champion. Now both are worse off than before.

[@williamdunn9000]

AEW is still alive

[@JohnnyOrgan]

Losing FOUR headliners in the space of months really didn't help TV viewership either. Punk, MJF, Cole and Omega were THE major draws of the company. EDIT - FIVE including Rhodes.

[@marksguitars5617]

Couldn't agree with you more! A lot of people want to point at Punk or Cody leaving as to what messed up AEW, although their departures did hurt but it wasn't the end. I was at all of the Grand Slam events and the crowds have diminished year after year, they even used a smaller stage and runway this year. I am a fan but this is not good. I thought All In at Wembley in 2023 was great, especially the story with MJF and Cole winning the ROH titles and then having to face for the WC later that was stuff people can talk about for years! That's Devil story killed it all, terrible pay off and it really hurt. I think that AEW has peaked and are now in a valley. It has happened to WWE/F in the past but they came back and hopefully AEW will do the same but I have my doubts. If this Moxley story doesn't pay off I can see more problems ahead.

[@eLite-Tiss91]

Trust and believe many people think the butterfly effect was "Real Glass cry me a river" no it was the Young Bucks bargain into CM punk locker room which causes it, EVPs should NEVER DO THAT!

[@Azzman2049]

You don’t think aew is on a decline ? Plummeting ticket sales, empty arenas and retinas are in the toilet. The whole thing is in a decline

[@tearsoftomorrow7872]

The storyline itself didn't kill the company: it was just another storyline ruined by injuries, like there have been many in the history of the business. It was the stubborn insistence in wanting to keep the storyline going AFTER the injuries, even at the cost of bringing about twists and turns that made absolutely no sense, that killed the entire thing.

[@MACHINArebirth]

The stupid thing about AEW is having wrestlers like MJF and Adam Cole fighting for that belt when they're like 5ft8

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Mjf should have been a cowardly heel or a fighting underdog baby face.

[@vinnyfazio9587]

The biggest blow to AEW was Vince getting run out of WWE for good. The whole reason AEW was able to gain a foothold is because many fans were sick of Vince's poor booking and wanted an alternative. As long as Vince was around, seemingly forever, WWE was never going to get better so people flocked to AEW. Once Vince was gone and HHH and co improved creative dramatically, a lot of the disgruntled WWE fans went back to the product. There was no longer the same need for an alternative so AEW had to sink or swim on its own merits instead of just as an outlet for frustrated former WWE fans. TK has never been a very good booker and with much of the good will gone, AEW has been unable to become cool again and probably won't unless TK gives someone else the pencil or WWE goes back to Vince type creative. More likely is that TK's dad will eventually get tired of throwing money at a loser product or TK will get bored of his fantasy wrestling hobby and get his dad to bankroll something else.

[@samdath3439]

And cm punk is living his best life.

[@dangerousdays2052]

CM Karen got massive go away heat in WWE and even free pizza couldn't change that, so now he's off the roster to go make some low budget B movie horror move looool. Simp harder. 😂😂

[@nuclearnadal4601]

Ah I remember how AEW fans all over social media were claiming how this is the greatest storyline of all time, comparing it to the Bloodline saga and all that, look what happened now. AEW is all about, here your favourite indy darling, here's his debut, 2 weeks later here he goes against a dream opponent that you all wanted, 2 more weeks later goes on of the bazillion championship, then drop the title after a while, get injured or get lost in the shuffle. Long term storytelling isn't their forte.

[@dxov1597]

Dude your screen is nasty 3:57

[@thedog6021]

What about the prime, we just going to let that go? Nasty man

[@lipplazar]

That footage killed AEW - for them saying Phil was a liar, and he was just being himself telling the truth as always

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

CM Punk is older than those wrestlers. He should've handled their personal problems behind the scenes. Yet, he went on TV crying like a baby. It was so embarrassing. And even with Jack Perry. He could've laughed it off and walked away. Yet, like a child he wanna push people. And throw temper tantrums

[@dranzerjetli5126]

He didnt went on TV and complain the brawl out was backstage and on media scrum. You know who actually went on TV and decided to shoot on punk. Bobby fish and hangman Adam page. 2 people not even 1. Also jack perry incident was backstage as well not on TV. Tony khan and his cronies the bucks put that on TV and got their biggest ratings in a while too 😂😂. It was lol aew that time.. Aew has become a joke after punk left.

[@HJozteldrasfurion]

Nah, AEW's decline in quality began way before that, to me anyway, it was not long after Cody left, when TK decided to become a Vince McMahon and book EVERYTHING HIMSELF, THAT was it, to be fair though, attendance had been bad way before that, when AEW's product quality was still great imo, so making the effort wasn't paying off, a shame. MFJ and Adam Cole's friendship and tag team, with the Roderick Strong stuff, storyline (alongside everything Christian Cage does), were the highlights of everthing going on in AEW at that time imo, I found it so fun to watch and entertaining and wanted to continue seeing where it was going, including The devil stuff, I don't agree that it started going downhill when you say it did, though I did not like that they made The righteous loose to MJF by himself (Before this storyline, the only thing making me care about AEW (besides Christian Cage stuff) was The righteous with Stu rivalry with the Dark order on ROH, great stuff, then they dropped the ball with that one as well and it also went nowhere). @11:38 is where it went bad and I didn't like, Adam Cole should have remained heel. Not the first time they've done dumb inconsistent stuff like that, I remember they've done it with Dark order, and with Rocky Romero, being face and then for just one random match all of a sudden they're heel, then back to being face.

[@Jsmash_424]

This did not kill AEW😂 Y’all reaching

[@nwo2cool]

The Elite takeover killed AEW. Nobody took the Young Bucks seriously as a threat. They're like bully kids claiming a turf in high school. They're kinda like those 2 villains: Emperor Geta and Caracalla from the movie, Gladiator 2.

[@TheGraveyShow]

AEW is fucking unwatchable at this point. I haven't watched in months.

[@oWo4L]

Truly the worst storyline I’ve seen since Vince made hornswaggle his son. You’re telling me they invested 6 months into the story, then 6 months later they switched Cole and his whole crew to faces and MJF to a heel? I mean what an absolute disaster. Straight up told fans to deal with it lol. This company is lost and in complete shambles.

[@ElijahSchmitt-o8g]

I honestly just like Top 10's Nacho Libre mask

[@OWlsfordshire]

Hangman vs whoever the hell his first opponent was as world champion is the storyline that killed AEW. AEW was at max hype right before Danielson/Punk/Cole signing. Right after they signed, Tony gave Hangman the world title after he returned from months of maternity leave. Hangman's title run killed all hype AEW had and he had ZERO presence as champion. MJF vs Punk kept some fans tuning in for awhile, but the hype was gone.

[@danieltherman997]

I agree that maybe hangman wasn't the hottest guy back then, but now he's one of the biggest original stars with the new music, and persona. But they completely dropped the ball with him, he came back and immediately lost to swerve. Then he lost the Owen tournament. Then he lost to jay white (iirc). They could build the entire company around him. Him and white should be feuding for the world title right now. And i feel this way about half of the roster. Just total underutilized potential

[@deyampert3738]

If not for Shads money, AEW would not have made it 5 years! Just imaging them without all of the big money free agents and needing ratings, attendance etc! The Warner money doesn’t make them profitable because they spend over 200 million a year to operate! Their talent roster is 100 million and it’s growing! Add LASHLEY, MVP, Shelton and Riccochet and now you prob at 110 million! They don’t cut anybody! I bet Indy or Corbin pops up in a couple months! 2 mill each! 😂😂😂

[@mikemadsen7926]

It's true they lose atleast 100 million yearly just on wrestling contract alone. With this cable deal they won't even break even

[@Pryda_OFC]

while the storyline was solid at first it became worse with time, But was mainly due to cole injury that fucked everything and later mjf injury

[@klawstecno2083]

Tony is why this company is what it is now! When Tony Khan choose Perry over Punk, and them they show the footage proving that Punk was right all along, overshadowing their build of Swerve Strickland as next world champion AND the poor build of Adam Cole/MJF feud, followed by the situation with Chris Jericho is some of the things that lead to this point.

[@burnedsmackdown4209]

I still love AEW, but it has lost so much of the quality that made it so good in 2020 as I cherish those episodes during lock down

[@dranzerjetli5126]

It was good in 2021 with punk and in the beginning until that moxley jericho feud. The middle was very meh

[@LightChaser2099]

Yeah it’s a damn shame they went out of a business. I can still feel them on Wednesday nights 💔😭

[@DamariJackson24]

BRUH😂.

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

I get tired of these "can they co exist" storylines in WWE and in AEW

[@YaBoii315]

What’s “Killing” AEW Is That They Book To Cater To The Internet. Which Isn’t A Bad Thing, But The Internet Is Such A Niche Audience Because Not Everyone (Meaning The Casuals) Pays Attention To The Online Gossip. Like Even When They Had To Address The “Brawl Out” Situation They Didn’t Even Explain What Happened. Tony Khan Just Hops On TV & Was Basically Like “Well Y’all Read Online What Happened, So Punk & The Young Bucks Are Striped Of Their Titles”

[@jay5286]

So it killed Aew who just got 550 million tv deal and has a pay-per-view coming up that will do 8k and was just #3 on all of cable lmaoo the bots are delusional

[@mrorange8576]

You didn't even listen to the first 20 seconds of the video. He literally says it isn't killed, he just points to the popularity downfall and attendence issues which regardless of deals is undeniable facts, fans are turning off AEW and as someone who used to watch even AEW dark every week it annoys me to see people ignore issues instead of wanting things to be better. You're the delusional one commenting on videos without watching them and the definition of a bot.

[@mikemadsen7926]

Right and we're just going to pretend that every single show they do isn't 3/4ths empty and ratings dwindling. Aew just canceled a collision show due to low attendance

[@Bulleteeth]

"I don't agree that AEW is declining or dying" Proceeds to show empty venues and crowds smaller than Grade School recitals...FOR A NATIONALLY BRODCASTED WRESTLING PROMOTION!!

[@xnlac]

This is the prime example of "Tony couldn't book a table at a restaurant"

[@AHeroAlmost]

“The Devil” storyline was never going to work & was painful to get through ..It hurt everyone involved & no one got more over from it .. Why they thought it was a good idea to keep it going recently is mind boggling ..

[@cinister1]

I would argue that Hangman going into business for himself against Punk is what killed AEW.

[@Hero-hs4gt]

At minimum it got the ball rolling.

[@expendable-b4z]

0:21 For me, AEW began to go south by the time Cody left and allowed the Elite and Tony to run creative on their own. From the Punk debacle to DoN with half-ass booking at that PPV and subsequent booking issues not even tied to the Punk stuff, AEW began to lose that professionalism that I feel helped keep them more grounded (To some extent, at least more than before Cody's departure).

[@danmrn16]

Jericho and stupid Learning Tree is completely unwatchable Worse then retribution faction.

[@bashamd96]

Retribution is at least laughable bad Learning Tree is just painful

Thought the devil storyline was intriguing for the reason most thought it was punk. The Cole and mjf pairing was entertaining until the reveal. When the rumors mentioned punk was going back to wwe, really hope the devil was hammerstone or a popular new face to the company.

[@Rungusman69]

Aew died the moment they fired there biggest star ever

[@jonathanalvarez2909]

I never enjoyed this story at all. Cole and MJF becoming friends just didn't sit well for me, MJF should have just stayed as the villain of the story and not turn him into a baby face.

[@Beep-Boop101]

AEW had no chance of succeeding?, because they are in the the business of being a thorn to WWE instead of actually running the business as a business

[@drradon]

MJF never should have turned back heel (presumably because he wanted to). It's just in shambles as you can see with Roddy and Adam being heels trying to force being babyface right now turning a big money program into a fart of TV.

[@TheJKX86]

I honestly think it began when they lost Cody and Tony took over as head booker.

[@Adam_Lees]

At the time, this storyline wasn’t the worst but AEW is so dead right now, it’s insane how far it’s fallen. Obviously they’ve been unlucky but it needs a complete shake-up, actual writing and solid story lines, I’ve seen better in KZbin comments ffs. The amount of talent they’re wasting with this garbage is painful to watch.