As the world of professional wrestling nears the conclusion of 2022, there continues to be shifts in the industry, particularly within All Elite Wrestling, the Khan-owned organization that enjoyed the novelty of being a new entity in the business for the first two years of its existence, but much of this year was plagued with several of the well-documented backstage issues, as well as a laundry list of injuries.
This potpourri of negativity has created legitimate questions about if Tony Khan can survive the shark tank of the pro wrestling industry on a long-term basis. Sure, he can afford to fund the project indefinitely, but there’s a difference between keeping the doors open and progressing as a commodity in the sport. Bob Carter picked up the tab for his daughter to play TV star in TNA for years, but most agree that after the failed Monday night experiment, the company spun its wheels until it fell off a cliff. Obviously, All Elite must avoid complacency to be a competitor in the sports entertainment genre. So no, All Elite Wrestling wasn’t going to fold because wrestlers got into a locker room fight, that happened in several promotions over the years, but at the same time, perception is reality, and if the fans view AEW as a dysfunctional group that won’t a competitive entity in the future, they might choose to use their “wrestling budget” elsewhere.
This past Tuesday, there was a scary incident with Adam Page when he took a clothesline and landed on his head, which gave him a concussion. The match was stopped almost immediately and the medical staff were in the ring while the show was still on the air. Thankfully, Adam Page tweeted that he’s resting and seems to be okay after some very tense moments of uncertainty before the show went off the air. As much as his title reign was fumbled, Adam Page still has the potential to be a top guy for AEW, especially when you take into account that he’s probably only now just starting the prime of his career. That being said, this incident speaks to a bigger problem, not only in AEW, but across most of the indy circuit as well. By nature, most of the indy scene is based on those that want to move up the ladder to land a contract, which makes sense because a national contract provides the most financial security in the business, and as much as some might argue about star ratings, the ability to draw money is the true measure of success in the sport.
That being said, in the social media age, there’s a tendency for those on the indies to use dangerous stunts to get noticed, and the fact that sometimes it works, reinforces a negative aspect of the sport. All Elite Wrestling was cultivated by much of the “indy style” and some of that continues to be a part of its presentation. At some point, Tony Khan or some of the veteran coaches have to step in to tell the roster to work smarter. Adam Cole, who has the potential to be a main stream star, continues to be on the shelf from a concussion that he suffered in June, and there’s some doubt about the future of his career. Keep in mind, the ability to draw money is the entire point of the pro wrestling business. Adam Cole can’t draw for the company if he’s not medically cleared. Adam Page isn’t going to be on the card to sell tickets when he has a concussion. CM Punk said a quarter of his brief All Elite stint on the injured list before he suffered another injury in his first full match back. Sports entertainment is risky enough as it is, there’s no reason to make it exponentially more dangerous with extra head drops and unnecessary risks. Hopefully, Adam Page is back soon, but this close call should be a cautionary tale going forward to avoid more injuries in the future.
Speaking of the previously mentioned CM Punk, The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that his longtime friend and All Elite producer, Ace Steel was released for his role in the backstage fight following the infamous All Out media scrum. Meltzer also claimed that Punk, who had surgery to repair a torn triceps that he sustained in his match at the pay-per-view, is in negotiations for a buy out on the remaining years of his contract, with the non-compete clause as the major point of discussion for the deal to be finalized. I have to say, I don’t know the terms of the contract, but I;m not sure how there would have to be a buy out of the deal, especially when there’s usually a release in pro wrestling, it terminates the contract, with pay only continuing for the standard 90-day non-complete time frame. Regardless of the details, it seems all but confirmed that Punk’s run in All Elite ended. If that’s the case, I’m not sure even the most diehard All Elite fans could automatically call his tenure a success. I’ve already written extensively on the CM Punk situation so I’m not going to retread all of that again, but the bottom line is, the ratings were the basically the same before Punk arrived as when he finished his run in the organization. The company already sold out pay-per-views because there are only four pay-per-views a year and they have a fan base that’s willing to travel to those shows. Ultimately, the brand awareness of the promotion based on CM Punk’s involvement didn’t go through the roof either, AEW didn’t get some NWO-type boost from his debut. Did CM Punk draw money for All Elite? Sure, but I’m not sure the difference between that and the money the company would’ve drawn anyway was enough to justify the entire media scrum debacle. The biggest benefit to CM Punk’s year on the AEW roster, three months of that time he spent on the sidelines, was Punk’s wallet.
Finally, Kurt Angle revealed on his podcast that Tony Khan tried to sign him to an AEW deal a few years ago. Angle claimed that he wanted a 10-match deal for $300,000 a match, which would give him a three million dollar contract. As much as I think Angle is one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time, I take anything he says with a grain of salt, considering that after his release from WWE in 2006, he claimed that he was in negotiating to fight Randy Couture and a potential jump to an MMA career, which never happened. Granted, it’s possible that Angle wanted a three million dollar contract, but I doubt it was given any serious consideration, especially at that point in his career.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Twitter @jimlamotta
