Wardlow subtly airs booking frustration; calls big AEW win "tainted"
Top AEW star Wardlow has subtly aired his frustrations regarding his booking in the Jacksonville-based promotion. He even went so far as to calling a major past pay-per-view win "tainted."
Many fans feel Mr. Mayhem has been subjected to inconsistent and underwhelming booking in recent months. Wardlow has not been seen in action since unsuccessfully challenging Samoa Joe for the AEW World Title on Dynamite: Big Business in March this year. Since then, he has been busy ensuring that his stable-mates in The Undisputed Kingdom - namely, ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kingdom and International Champion Roderick Strong - are able to hold on to their belts, as per instructions from Adam Cole.
Ahead of AEW Double or Nothing 2024, a user posted a clip from the 2022 edition of the pay-per-view on X/Twitter. The video depicted the audience in the T-Mobile Arena chanting for Wardlow. The former TNT Champion responded to the tweet with a post of his own, expressing his gratitude for the support he received from his fans.
He also claimed that the night of Double or Nothing 2022 had been tainted for him, alluding to the controversy surrounding the actions of his opponent for the event, Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The Salt of the Earth had no-showed a meet-and-greet before the pay-per-view, which had led to speculations regarding whether or not MJF would show up at the venue to wrestle.
"I hear you every day. It’s what’s kept me going the past year. Sad how tainted this night was for me. But we will get back to this one day. On my life. For anyone that’s chanted my name, even when you didn’t have much of a reason to, it’s meant the world to me. Thank you [folded hands emoji]," Wardlow tweeted.
The outcome of the bout saw Wardlow defeat Friedman in a dominant victory, which in storyline freed him from being contracted to the latter and enabled him to officially join the AEW roster.
Bill Apter thinks AEW star Wardlow should be mentored by Chris Jericho
The topic of Tony Khan's creative handling of Wardlow has been addressed by fans and industry experts alike. While speaking on an episode of Sportskeeda's UnSKripted, veteran journalist Bill Apter claimed that The War Dog could have been presented in the same vein as WWE legend Batista. Furthermore, he suggested that the 36-year-old star could benefit from being mentored by a veteran like Chris Jericho.
"I always said he could be, could have been, the next Batista. But Chris Jericho to mentor him? 'Hey look you are not getting anywhere with anybody here, with all these groups you are belonging to. I believe in you, let me take you over.' And they run all the training films and you know, I think it would be great for Jericho to do that." [26:30 onwards]
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Wardlow in AEW.