"He should not be in that spot" - Wrestling veteran says Tony Khan should have never hired backstage AEW personality
A wrestling veteran has shared his view that Tony Khan should not have hired a backstage personality in AEW.
Speaking on an episode of Castrating the Marks, former WWE head writer Vince Russo revealed his thoughts on Will Washington in response to a conversation between the latter and Denise Salcedo on the After The Week podcast. The former Fightful correspondent was hired by AEW in 2023 as a Wrestling Administration Coordinator.
In response to a question from Salcedo, Washington spoke about working alongside Bryan Danielson. He claimed that The American Dragon is one of his favorite wrestlers and reflected on his feelings interacting with Danielson as a colleague.
Russo criticized Washington for behaving like a "mark," calling him out for candidly voicing his personal thoughts about talent.
"Bro, not only is he acting like this to Bryan Danielson, but he's also telling somebody on a podcast that he's acting like this. If he didn't say nothing it would be between him and Bryan Danielson, but now he's coming out and saying on a podcast, 'I am a mark', and just like the marks made it to the ring, this mark has made it to the back. And I'm in the back, and I'm a mark, and they know I'm a mark, and they're gonna pick up that I'm a mark." (5:04 - 5:35)
Russo went on to question Washington's professional credibility.
"You know why, bro? Because he's not a pro. I mean, period, end of story. He's not a pro, and that's why he should not be in that spot." (6:18 - 6:28)
Vince Russo called out Tony Khan regarding AEW talent failing to get over owing to a bloated roster
Tony Khan changed the landscape of wrestling when he founded AEW in 2019. Since then, the company has surpassed several milestones and positioned itself as one of the major wrestling promotions in the US. According to Vince Russo, however, Khan has made one grave error - namely, having a stacked roster without enough room for everyone in it to get over.
AEW has frequently faced criticism over its tendency to sign top stars from all over the world while failing to utilize its already over-filled roster. The company is expected to continue this trend in 2024 amidst rumors regarding the imminent arrival of Mercedes Mone and Kazuchika Okada.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo, the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion suggested that the President of AEW needs to make concrete decisions with regard to his roster so as to enable talent to get over with the audience.
"Bro, that all goes back to, you know, we've talked about this many times.. He's got way too many people on the roster. He's gotta decide on, 'Who am I going with?', that's what he needs to decide on. But bro, he made that statement early on, I don't.. 'I'm not firing anybody, I'm not..'; oh, oh, oh, okay bro, then nobody's gonna get over because there's too many bodies." (4:52 - 5:16)
Do you agree with Vince Russo's critiques of AEW? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!