How AEW’s drama could harm their future

Full disclosure I have been going back and forth on posting some pieces I have wavered on with this blog and my attack the glass blog, so after some time thinking it over I decided to post a couple one for each blog to test the waters so here’s one of them. In the world of pro wrestling, AEW has attracted significant attention. Owned by Tony Khan and with wrestling superstars CM Punk the Elite, and others AEW has become a hopeful alternative to WWE’s supremacy in the sport. AEW’s meteoric rise over the past few years can be attributed to its unique roster and unwavering support from its loyal and passionate fan base.

However, there has been a recent surge in drama surrounding CM Punk, The Elite, and Tony Khan. The unfolding chaos may ruin any success of the company, and if not addressed promptly AEW risks losing its grip on the very fans that have propelled it to success.  AEW’s inception came in 2019, with the mission to provide fans with an alternative to WWE’s product. Featuring wrestlers Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam “Hangman” Page, AEW cultivated a vibrant roster and developed interest in this dedicated fan base.

The company capitalized on its momentum by signing former WWE superstar CM Punk in August 2021 that sent shockwaves through the wrestling world and dramatically increased AEW’s visibility. With the stage set for continued growth, it is essential for AEW to maintain its focus on providing a consistently entertaining product and avoiding internal strife. The Elite is a faction composed of several AEW wrestlers, including Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Adam Page.

While the group’s success has been instrumental in AEW’s thriving, recent events have created a rift between this faction and CM Punk. Punk, who is known to be outspoken and opinionated publicly criticized The Elite for the way they went about business so far. In return, some members of The Elite have taken exception to Punk’s remarks and engaged in heated exchanges and gossipy attempts to turn fans on Punk (More on the main source of that in another article). This war of words between the tight knit group and one of AEW’s biggest names has potential to damage the harmony of the locker room, ultimately destroying AEW’s success.

Tony Khan has played a pivotal role in the expansion and achievements of the company. Collaborating with veteran wrestlers to revive their careers and attempt to give young talent a platform to grow, Khan’s eye for business and wrestling acumen has been important as well as contradicting AEW as WWE’s potential competition. However, with the growing beef between CM Punk and The Elite, Khan must step in to resolve the high school hallway level drama between both parties before it kills the company.

AEW has built its reputation on providing fans with an alternative to WWE’s product while prioritizing high-quality wrestling. Starting personal issues between some of the most prominent stars in the company takes away from the vision and may lead to potential and their most loyal fans turning away from the product. A locker room’s harmony is pivotal to a wrestling company’s success in creating a cohesive and entertaining product. If the animosity between CM Punk and The Elite persists and continues, AEW risks losing the support of the talented wrestlers stuck in the middle of this nonsense.

In my view, to stop the ongoing strife between CM Punk and The Elite from hurting AEW, action needs to be taken immediately by Tony Khan.  For starters Khan must have a sit down between Punk and The Elite to reach an understanding and do business to better their product. Also, Khan should either put a gag order or severely penalized wrestlers who go to certain wrestling outlets or journalists to push certain narratives or agendas while creating a deep divide in the locker room which creates a disregard for professionalism of AEW and its image. By doing this the company should develop possibly create good conflict and issue to build up/ bring in more viewers to the show by making real-life conflicts into on-screen interest.

AEW has successfully established itself as an alternative to WWE for some of the wrestling audience. The key to that is going to be the company’s ability to deliver enticing issues, high-quality wrestling matches, and a dynamic roster of wrestlers. But the recent drama surrounding CM Punk, The Elite, and Tony Khan can be the potential death blow to the company being another WCW situation. By acting quickly on what needs to happen to keep AEW growing and stop any potential nonsense from hurting them while continuing its ascent and potential in the wrestling world.