Whilst All Elite Wrestling is often highly praised amongst fans for its match quality across their weekly TV and PPV outings, another highlight across their various shows is the number of talented talkers who are able to sell upcoming matches and provide them with the hype they deserve, including the likes of MJF, Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, and Darby Allin.
Speaking to the LA Times ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite, AEW President Tony Khan emphasised the importance of allowing his performers to speak in their own words with minimal scripting.
“What’s great about AEW is you hear the wrestlers speaking in their own words and I’m not trying to force the words into their mouths. I don’t write word for word scripts for anybody and we have the best talkers in pro wrestling.”
-Tony Khan
Another aspect of AEW that is often praised by their fans is the company’s willingness to listen to the opinion of fans when moving forward with booking ideas, with there being several previous examples of plans that were altered due to varying crowd reactions.
One instance of this that seemingly almost happened centred around MJF’s return to the company last year, with a large portion of fans clamouring for a babyface turn due to the overwhelmingly positive reactions 27-year-old was receiving at the time.
Tony Khan has now revealed that he did indeed consider pulling the trigger on a babyface turn, although he ultimately decided against it, believing that the current AEW World Champion is at his best when playing the bad guy.
“I listen to the fans. When the reactions were so massive, I had to at least think about [making MJF a good guy], but MJF is the world’s best young pro wrestler and one of the best pro wrestling heels of any age I’ve ever seen and I think his ability to antagonize the other wrestlers and the crowd is unparalleled. AEW is at its strongest when MJF is at his worst as a villain.”
-Tony Khan
MJF’s next AEW World Championship defence is seemingly set to be a fatal four-way match between the company’s “Four Pillars”, with Jungle Boy, Darby Allin, and Sammy Guevara all looking to rise to the top of the promotion.
Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite is set to feature Daniel Garcia taking on the returning Adam Cole, as well as Kenny Omega putting his IWGP US Championship on the line for the first time against The United Empire’s Jeff Cobb.
