When AEW pulled off a WWE! 5 storylines that were abandonedÂ
AEW was initially praised for being the alternative to WWE in not just booking but also character portrayal. However, in recent years, the promotion's booking and disregard for certain storylines have diminished its reputation with fans online.
Interestingly, the company was once praised for "long-term booking" decisions, such as Hangman Page winning the AEW World Championship. That particular story had no follow-up, but the promotion has made far worse storyline decisions.
Continue reading as we list five forgotten storylines AEW never referenced again.
#5 Highest Flight: Lio Rush and Dante Martin
Lio Rush was originally introduced to AEW as the next big star, and his well-praised in-ring performance was always an attraction. However, instead of sticking to a singles run, Rush was eventually paired with Dante Martin and became his manager/tag-team partner. However, after an online altercation with Tony Khan, Rush quietly left AEW.
Lio Rush's abrupt exit was never addressed, and he simply disappeared from television afterward. Dante Martin eventually continued with Team Taz before double-crossing them and joining his brother Darius again. To this day, Lio Rush's exit has never been addressed, and he was never written off of television.
#4. The Nightmare Collective was one of the most hated AEW factions
Brandi Rhodes was once a leader of her very own faction that fell under the Nightmare Family. Similarly to The Factory, the stable was villainous but consisted of almost all females.
Brandi was interestingly joined by Awesome Kong, Mel, and Luther. Unlike the rest of the Nightmare Family, The Collective used "voodoo" and Gothic themes.
While they weren't unceremoniously shuttered, due to Brandi Rhodes burning her uniform, the faction is likely only remembered by hardcore fans. During an interview, Rhodes claimed that she realized that fans were simply not warming up to the storyline and that they felt it was time to end things instead. Additionally, Awesome Kong retired from wrestling not too long after.
#3. Andrade El Idolo had his original manager quietly swapped out for Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Andrade's AEW debut was one of the most peculiar things in the promotion's history. Vickie Guerrero's introduction of the debuting star was overshadowed by the crowd, who booed her so hard that hardly anyone heard who she was introducing.
The audience naturally changed their tone once they saw Andrade El Idolo, but the moment forever tarnished his debut.
Vickie was then unceremoniously dropped, and sometime after, El Idolo introduced Chavo Guerrero Jr. as his new manager. Chavo's eventual exit was, however, written off much better, but according to the veteran, it originally wasn't meant to be permanent.
#2. QT Marshall and The Bunny's random romance angle
QT Marshall and The Bunny never had complimentary personas in AEW, but despite this, the two were involved in a brief on-screen fling.
Wrestling is no stranger to pushing romantic angles between two wrestlers, even if both parties are married, but in the end, this storyline went nowhere. After some online backlash, the angle was promptly dropped.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, QT Marshall compared the angle to the WWE romance storyline between Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell. The star attributed a bout with COVID-19 as one of the reasons why the storyline was shelved. Additionally, he also blamed the fans for not accepting the on-screen angle. The Bunny has since parted ways with All Elite Wrestling.
#1. Frankie Kazarian, The Elite Hunter
Frankie Kazarian and SCU initially made quite the impression within All Elite Wrestling and quickly became the inaugural AEW World Tag Team Champions. However, the faction eventually broke up, and Christopher Daniels seemingly retired. Scorpio Sky went on to become a singles star and capture the TNT Championship, while Kazarian briefly became "The Elite Hunter."
At first, Frankie Kazarian seemed to be going up against The Elite all by himself and managed to take out many of the faction members. However, the angle was unceremoniously dropped, and even a feud with Scorpio Sky couldn't convince Frankie to stick around. Eventually, the veteran parted ways with AEW.