>>11039098Punk's injuries contributed, Brawl Out contributed, Kenny returning in a trio instead of as a single is a very underrated aspect of AEW losing some heat, I think, I think people wanted MJF to turn face at the end of last year and were disappointed when he turned heel. I think the Double or Nothing cycle of shows was not well booked and did not utilize the roster well. There's a lot of factors, but I think it's natural that when the industry leader is heating up, especially to the degree that WWE heated up this year, the secondary brand or challenger brand or whatever you're gonna call it is just naturally gonna lose some momentum. But the biggest contributing factor is probably Brawl Out.
I think Wardlow just hit his ceiling pretty fast when he separated from MJF, honestly. His booking wasn't great, but I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for him to show me something special and I just never saw it and it kinda made me think that whatever was great about him was just the story he was in with MJF.
I dunno if that person that can really heat up AEW is on the roster right now. I think MJF is one of those people. I think Hangman could've been at one point but every time he's getting momentum, he just vanishes from TV for months, it feels like. I don't know if Cole is one of those people or if it's simply the story with MJF. Jungle Boy needs a lot of work. Darby has only been able to get to a certain level. Orange Cassidy is very over with crowds but his record as a TV draw is hit and miss. Maybe it could be Swerve, Ricky or White? It remains to be seen if they got a big push if they'd be able to get to the next level. I kinda think Mercedes Mone could be that person, in certain spots, she has shown the ability to be a real breakthrough star, but it also felt like her feeling really special in New Japan only lasted so long. But maybe being back on American weekly TV, that'd change? I dunno.
