Five Mistakes Tony Khan made with AEW that can’t be made with ROH
Fans want to see what Tony Khan does with Ring of Honor and there are some wondering if there is a long-term plan in place.
On March 2nd, 2022, Tony Khan announced on AEW Dynamite that he was the new owner of Ring of Honor. This includes the ROH brand and its assets, most notably the promotion’s extensive tape library. The purchase of Ring of Honor is exciting for fans of that brand and AEW. Khan has made it clear that he plans to make sure that Ring of Honor is represented well because he is already given ROH guys like Jonathan Gresham and Dalton Castle television time on AEW programming.
A television deal with ROH could help create more opportunities for the roster to shine which is a great thing, but it could also create more problems for Khan if he isn’t careful. Khan has made it clear that he will be an ROH booker going forward, which will make fans question if Tony is overworking himself. In this article, we will be discussing the five mistakes Khan made with AEW that can’t be made with ROH.
Five Mistakes made with AEW that can’t be made with ROH
5. The Women’s Division
There is no such thing as the perfect wrestling promotion. AEW still has its problems, and one of its biggest problems is the women’s division. The women’s division is still lacking that massive push that it deserves to Highlight the women’s division. Khan has done an excellent job of booking other card areas, but when it comes to the women’s division, it is still lacking in presentation.
One of the critiques that wrestling fans have given AEW is the lack of star power in the women’s division. AEW has signed some of the best wrestlers globally, which has caused problems for the company because they only have so much time. AEW has proved that they can make stars from unknown names such as Britt Baker, going from indie nobody to huge star in AEW.
Ring of Honor is a company known for its great wrestling, which should be easy for Khan to book with the talent he currently has. The new Ring of Honor will need to build its women’s division from the ground up and have the proper storylines and stars for the company to build around.
4. Midcard championship
A half-finished TNT championship debuted in the Covid pandemic era of AEW and helped create some great moments for the company. The TNT championship was treated with respect, and each champion was booked strong. Former title holders like Cody Rhodes, Mr. Brodie Lee, and Miro really resonated as top champions rather than mid-carders with a championship.
AEW has had moments where the TNT championship felt more critical than the AEW world championship. The WWE has had problems like the last couple of years of making sure that the Intercontinental and U.S titles are treated like big deals, and now recently, it feels like AEW has been having trouble making the championship feel essential.
The Ring of Honor world television championship is currently being held by Samoa Joe, who has been defending the title on AEW Dynamite. Samoa Joe is the right wrestler to hold the tournament because he is someone who can make the championship feel essential.
3. Making wrestler’s debuts matter
From the outsiders arriving in WCW to AJ Styles debuting at the Royal Rumble, the shock debut or return is one of professional wrestling’s greatest pleasures. When it comes to AEW, some of the company’s most important moments have come from wrestlers debuting, such as Jon Moxley’s arrival at the first Double or Nothing and CM Punk’s debut on Rampage’s first dance. The problem here is that Khan has spoiled wrestling fans with surprise debuts and guest stars to the point where they don’t matter anymore.
On a recent episode of AEW Dynamite, Jonny Elite debuted as a mystery joker for the Owen Hart cup, and that felt like something that should’ve felt like a big deal, but it didn’t. The upcoming Forbidden Door event is something fans have wanted since AEW started, and now we’re getting it. The arrival of Hiroshi Tanahashi should feel like a game-changer, but it doesn’t because of the weekly surprises Tony has given wrestling fans. The restart of Ring of Honor wrestling means that old and new names will be added to the brand, which is suitable for the company. Tony Khan should be careful how he debuts new talent on the ROH brand because he doesn’t want fans to think that the wrestler they’re seeing for the first time on the show is just another wrestler on the roster.
2. Unhappy wrestlers
In the world of professional wrestling, being an unhappy wrestler is going to happen because wrestlers will feel like they aren’t being booked how they should. Recently Tony Khan has been in the news because of the ongoing contract situation with MJF. MJF made news for going AWOL over Double or Nothing weekend and threatened to overshadow the storyline he’s in with Wardlow. MJF and Khan have found a way to take a real-life problem and bring that into a wrestling storyline where fans don’t know what is real and part of the show.
Khan has to be careful when using real-life situations because it could backfire on him. Cody Rhodes was allowed to cut pipe bomb-like promos on AEW television when he was halfway out the AEW door. Wrestling fans need to understand that Khan is a billionaire and AEW is a company that has to make money. Ring of Honor will be the perfect spot for wrestlers in AEW who might feel like they haven’t gotten the right amount of television time.
1. Booking a solid world champion
The first three years of AEW were built around the story of Hangman Adam Page working his way to the top and becoming the AEW world champion. Adam Page was the perfect champion at the wrong time because his long-awaited coronation as World Champion almost coincided with three of the biggest signings in company history CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Adam Cole. AEW signing those three huge names made Adam Page winning the championship seem less critical than it was. Adam page had great matches throughout his world title reign, but it always felt like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson were treated as more prominent stars in the company. Tony Khan has to make sure that when he starts booking the ROH world champion matches, he’s booking that champion to look unbeatable.