With CM Punk Returning To WWE, It's Time For Tony Khan & AEW To Make Drastic Changes

How can All Elite Wrestling maintain relevancy after losing three major stars to the only rival that matters?

CM Punk is back in WWE to everybody’s shock, but it was the Blue Meanie who put it best on social media by stating, “The Ultimate Warrior and Bruno Sammartino made WWE returns through Triple H. Anyone shocked that CM Punk returned tonight has not been paying attention.”

Triple H said himself in the Survivor Series Press Conference that people change in ten years, noting both he and Punk did just that. What also changed in half that time? The very promotion Punk was “terminated with cause” from in All Elite Wrestling

Once I started writing and covering wrestling, I’ve made a point to take the fan aspect out of the equation and treat it like how any other sport should be covered (there’s plenty that don’t do that, and believe you me, I understand completely the criticism thrown the way of today’s “wrestling journalist.”) However, that doesn’t mean I had to strip away the desire for all wrestling to succeed, particularly AEW.

February 2019, AEW Had A Direction & A Chip On Its Shoulder

In February of 2019, I was standing front and center at the “AEW Ticket Announcement Party” for the inaugural Double Or Nothing PPV in Las Vegas. The company felt young because it was, but there felt like plenty room to grow. Optimism was rife and the speculation for what could be next was palpable. It was a cool moment to be there for, and since then, a desire to see the promotion flourish has always been there for me.

As EVPs, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes felt like the fresh foursome set to revolutionize the wrestling business once more. They showed it at ALL IN in Chi-Town just mere months before, why not with a whole new promotion headed by a billionaire who also loves the business?

Success and struggles all took course through the company as it went through so much in the early years. Despite speed bumps, everything felt always felt intact as they pressed on, signing names and creating speculation as to how those names would find themselves within AEW.

Even when being booed by the ardent Elite fans, Cody Rhodes felt like the fulcrum that the company could pivot upon, but then he was suddenly gone, soon to be in WWE.

It was undoubtedly the first major gut shot for AEW, but thankfully, CM Punk was there to help steer the ship and keep the company hot. Now he too is back in WWE. Least we not forget Jade Cargill, AEW’s legitimate homegrown talent and bonafide star of tomorrow. She’s WWE too. And guess what? Triple H made all of them seem like a major deal when bringing them in. Moving forward, it will be a continuing concern as to who could be next.

What AEW Can Learn From Early NXT & WWE Dynamic

A glaring problem for WWE back in the mid-2010s up until the summer of 2022 was the tendency of new stars from NXT to get lost in the shuffle of the main roster. Under Vince McMahon’s watch, it happened with countless stars, as their black and gold accolades were stripped away in favor of silent gimmicks (EC3) and bad spartan helmets (Karrion Kross V.1) However, Triple H changed that notion and now a call-up means something. They feel valued on Raw or Smackdown and at the very least, given a chance to succeed.

AEW now sadly, feels like it’s picked up that mantle of impending doom for incoming stars. While the talent is clearly there, the TV time isn’t. Whether it’s on ROH, Rampage, Dynamite or Collision stars do get their moments, but there’s too much packed in for anyone to truly stand out. Less is more and AEW has always had an issue of not honing in on select names.

An Unbiased Perspective As What Actions Tony Khan Can Take

Tony Khan is undoubtedly one of the nicest and kindest people you’ll meet in wrestling. And Cornette criticisms be damned, Khan has already done some great things for the business (the trajectory of Sting being a perfect example, Eddie Kingston’s evolution is another) However, there’s glaring issues throughout the product. To me, where it stems from isn’t as important as what needs to be done to solve them.

There’s too much emphasis on the macro, not nearly enough on the micro. Last minute decisions have not only led to frustration from wrestlers, but an inconsistency within the weekly product. I once overheard one major talent quip when not certain if they were being booked for a particular show that very night, that such was par for the course in AEW. Other names like Wardlow and Miro have all suffered loss of momentum due to inconsistency in weekly booking.

This could by all accounts be an easy solution for Tony Khan and an option he’s had available to him basically since the beginning of the company: put your full creative trust in the legends on your roster. Instead of Tony booking out the entire card of a show, imagine getting a Jeff Jarrett and a Jim Ross together, two names who are no strangers to lay out your weekly programs. Why was Cody vs. Dustin such a success story? Because of the storytelling instilled by their daddy. Tony could and should always have the final say, but the heartbeat of the product should be through the people who have done and experienced it.

Secondly, creative freedom for talent should always be there, but there needs to be a cap on where it ends and who ends it. Another veteran name like the above mentioned should have the final stamp if an idea gets put on your product. Allowing Hangman Page to drink Swerve Strickland’s blood should have never happened, no matter how memorable it was. I do know Kevin Nash once said Tony Khan needs a “heater” to handle the tough business, and quite frankly, someone like Kev or Mark Henry would be great for the job.

Third, cohesiveness and communication. Not everybody feels on the same page and therefore, the product overall doesn’t click. PPVs are consistently great, but the weekly television shows now seem forgettable when before they once always felt like event programming. By no means do I have any sort of experience of laying out a weekly slate of several wrestling shows, but I have plenty at watching them and none of the programs pack the same punch.

Finally, when you try to make everything matter, nothing matters. Too many titles, too much talent and too many “major announcements” all turn to white noise, meaning the significance of a star or a belt of gold doesn’t shine as much as it should.

Nonstop Work Is Never Good

Do not think that the dynamic of playing armchair quarterback in comparison to actually being in the trenches is not lost on me. I’ve found that being backstage in on a show is much different than all the would’ve’s, could’ve’s, should’ve’s that you hear from people not on the inside. However, Khan himself has mentioned before that he’s nonstop working, whether that’s AEW, with the Jaguars or with Fulham, and anyone will tell you that is not a good thing. It wasn’t for Vince McMahon and Khan, if willing to have the insight, can take pause to think about taking a pause.

Let your team do the work, take a seat back for a few weeks, and allow yourself to get a different perspective. We all need it, and as a proponent for the success of AEW, I can confidentally say it will only help for the company’s next move. And hey, if this ever makes it in front of TK’s eyes, I’m happy to provide further clarity on anything written.

Dominic DeAngelo currently writes for SEScoops.com, is the co-host for “1 Of A Kind With RVD” and helps produce several podcasts on AdFreeShows.com.

Follow him on X: @DominicDeAngelo or contact via email at dpdeangelo@gmail.com.