Perplexing AEW Booking
By Scott Keith on 8 May 2024
I've been an AEW fan since they started, but their two biggest angles – the Elite and Swerve as champion – are so bizarrely structured, I'm kind of in awe.
The very beginning of the angle confuses me because it feels like I'm supposed to hate them for taking out the billionaire owner, which is in itself backwards. Going forward, who is the active babyface supposed to be against The Authority The Elite? Kenny won't be able to return for months and months (if ever), Swerve is in a dead-end program (more on that in a minute), MJF is still out (and has the Cole/Undisputed Kingdom stuff to pay off, rather unfortunately), and anyone else like Cassidy or Copeland is tied up in their own feuds. With the way it's referenced Punk's departure from the onset, the angle's most satisfying payoff is for CM Punk to come back, and that's literally impossible.
Then, there's Swerve. In a company where wins and losses are supposed to matter to the extent that they brought back rankings just to reinforce that point, the guy who lost his last match and hasn't wrestled since suddenly gets a random World title match with the laziest explanation ever of “Hey, you insulted us, so here's this guy who sort of kind of has a loose reason for wanting to hurt you besides just wanting your belt.” That's about as weak as it gets for a World title feud.
This company genuinely needs help.
Tony needs a real booker and he won't admit it.