"Have you ever seen that before?" – Wrestling veteran questions lack of authoritative figures in Tony Khan's AEW
Tony Khan and AEW recently came under fire by Jim Cornette, who questioned why there were no speakers or figureheads for the promotion, especially when making announcements.
During the most recent AEW Dynamite, Khan and NJPW President Takami Ohbari addressed the crowd. The two were initially going to detail their partnership and cross-over PPV when Adam Cole and Jay White interrupted them. The two stars instead made the announcement, leaving the presidents looking puzzled.
In the most recent Jim Cornette Experience podcast, the former wrestling manager found several flaws in handling the AEW/NJPW announcement. Cornette critiqued Khan, saying the AEW President isn't a public speaker:
"They've no one representing the promotion, no person in charge of speaking on behalf of AEW on television except for Tony Khan. Apparently, they had realized that on an announcement like this where matches revealed that he couldn’t do this, he’s not a television performer or a public speaker, and he’s in over his head." (from 0:29)
Cornette questioned whether something like the announcement on Dynamite had ever happened in wrestling before:
"So they actually have the heel wrestler make the big announcement on behalf of the promotion? Have you ever seen that before in your life? They need [an] AEW President, they need a commissioner, they need somebody that the people don’t mind listening to and can say these things in an authoritative way." (from 1:19)
Matt Hardy recently defended Tony Khan's booking of Satnam Singh
During the most recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the star touched on the fan controversy behind Singh's debut. A handful of fans on social media believed Satnam was still unknown to the crowd:
“I get the ramifications for debuting him and wanting to use him and highlight him, it’s a big deal. The use of turning the lights out and then turning them back on, if you do that, it builds anticipation with fans and I feel like it has to be a known star. It’s got to be someone when the lights come on they’re like, ‘oh my god, it’s him!’ There’s automatically anticipation from the crowd." (H/T - WrestlingInc)
.@SamoaJoe's victory celebration is cut short by the TV debut of Satnam Singh @hellosatnam here at #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS! https://t.co/dlXYNyRKv0
Tony Khan has been booking wrestling for three years and, as such, has come under fire for many decisions. While AEW itself is still new compared to other promotions, there'll undoubtedly be many learning points for the promotion.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Jim Cornette Experience and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.