>>13901040Tony Khan has the budget and the autism (in a good way) to fund AEW for the next 40 years, but his ideas for modern wrestling are mismatched
He is attempting to implement NJPW ring-centric style in the US and is doing so by hiring mostly ex-WWE wrestlers who are known more for their talking/characters than their wrestling. When he does sign non-WWE acts like Okada or Ospreay, the contracts are seen more as rewards for their years of service to Pro Wrestling smarkdom, not a reflection of their market value or ability to create an ROI for AEW.
It feels like when your rich friend buys the new $900 video game console with the $300 deluxe controller and $150 ruby edition game, and invites the crew over. You sit there and watch while tries to figure everything out, barely goes over the first boss, jobs hopelessly to the second boss - and refuses to let anyone else have a turn. "No, I'll get it this time, just watch. OK, just one more. Wow, I was so close, just one more run..." -- The game looks awesome, it's unlike anything you've ever seen before, you can't afford anything like it, it's better than sitting at home...but how long until you get bored? Will he really never let anyone else have a go at it?
I'm not "mad" at Tony, I don't wish him/AEW to fail, but his strategy is confusing to me. I think AEW is old enough for him to know who's there to help AEW grow, who will do silly gimmicks, who will put over Infantry on AEW Collision in a Tag Tourney match if it makes storyline sense, etc --- and who's just an asshole sitting at home, refusing to do jobs, won't put young talent over, won't sacrifice anything at all for the long-term benefit of the company
Once Tony starts firing/releasing more people, I will actively root for AEW a lot more. Right now I'm another bewildered onlooker, hoping they right the ship - but with knowing TK would prefer to lose money doing things "his way" rather than make profit doing things the WWE/Cornette way, it's disappointing
