"They were going crazy for him like Goldberg" – WWE veteran holds Tony Khan responsible for screwing AEW star over
A wrestling veteran is holding AEW President Tony Khan responsible for ruining the momentum of a star that could have been the company's version of former WWE Universal Champion Goldberg.
The star in question is "Mr. Mayhem" himself Wardlow, who has drawn comparisons to the WWE Hall of Famer in recent years thanks to his unstoppable power and his entrance that has fans chanting his name in a very similar fashion.
However, in recent months, it seems as if the big man has lost a little bit of momentum, even ending the year with his ponytail being cut off by the now former AEW TNT Champion Samoa Joe.
RIP to Wardlow's ponytail https://t.co/c0Quiwwofx
So who is to blame for Wardlow's lackluster finish to 2022? Speaking on the Jim Cornette Experience, the former WWE manager believed that while MJF was accused of taking a lot of the spotlight away from Wardlow, Tony Khan should be the man held responsible.
“How did Wardlow get sideways with somebody and who is that person? Because they were going crazy for him like how Goldberg was coming out... People were complaining about MJF, ‘Well you know he stole Wardlow’s spotlight.’ When Wardlow beat him flat in the middle with his foot on his chest after the f**king powerbomb, but somehow MJF’s behind the scenes manipulation stole that spotlight. So the way to try and eliminate the damage that may have been done in Tony Khan’s eyes was to book Wardlow in a program with a fake lawyer and unnamed security.” [5:02-5:50]
Cornette also mentioned his loss to Samoa Joe, and highlighted that fans won't see a satisfying conclusion to that story due to Joe losing the TNT Championship to Darby Allin.
“And then two weeks ago, Samoa Joe kneecaps him and then beats him and then f**king knocks him out while he’s looking at him and cuts his hair off. Wardlow’s revenge is to be determined because Darby Allin beat Samoa Joe one, two, three in the middle of the ring last week on television right after he did it. So the point is, we can talk about people getting hot if they’re not in the boys' club in the tree house they don’t get the spoils of the game.” [6:01-6:35]
It remains to be seen what's in store for Mr. Mayhem upon his return to the company.
Wardlow had the third longest AEW TNT Championship reign in the belts history
Despite some people believing that Wardlow's reign as the AEW TNT Champion was underwhelming, the big man was very active as champion.
Wardlow held the title for a total of 136 days, meaning his reign is the third longest in the belt's history. In second place is Miro with 140 days, while the current champion Darby Allin held the title for 186 days during his first reign.
And the powerbomb gets the victory for the TNT Champion Wardlow tonight on #AEWRampage on TNT! https://t.co/PEwyMmUPwq
"Mr. Mayhem" also made seven successful defenses of the AEW TNT Championship after beating Scorpio Sky for the title in July 2022. Along the way, he defeated the likes of Orange Cassidy, Jay Lethal and Brian Cage before eventually losing it at Full Gear to Samoa Joe.
Powerhouse Hobbs was also involved in the match at Full Gear, where he was the man who ended up being choked out by Samoa Joe, meaning that Wardlow wasn't properly beaten for his title.
Do you think Wardlow will win back the AEW TNT Championship? Let us know in the comments section down below!
Please credit the "Jim Cornette Experience" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.