History YMMV / AllEliteWrestling

** A common criticism of AEW's pay-per-views are their sheer length, with their post-pandemic events usually clocking in at around five hours each including the Buy In pre-show. As an illustrative example, ''Forbidden Door'' featured thirteen matches, including four on the Buy In, and of the nine on the main card the average match length was around 17 minutes. Even as the [=PPVs=] are agreed to be of a consistently good quality, there is sometimes a feeling that they can outstay their welcome and be a difficult watch in a single sitting.[[note]]Ironically, this happened around the same time WWE, who for a few years had been accused of extremely lengthy shows (their flagship TV show ''Raw'' being three hours long, and several ''[=WrestleManias=]'' also clocking in at around five hours) actually began to fix this by having ''[=WrestleMania=]'' being split into two nights, with even their secondary [=PPVs=] barely surpassing the two hour mark.[[/note]] This reached its peak at ''All Out'' 2022, which clocked around ''five hours'', with ''fifteen'' matches on the card, plus four on the pre-show.

*** The House of Black and Julia Hart storyline started with [[Wrestling/AleisterBlack Malakai Black]] hitting Julia Hart with the Black Mist and made clear he intended for her to join the House of Black. However, it took several months for the storyline to continue to the ire of fans, the only semblance of the storyline even going on being of Julia Hart having her eyepatch after being sprayed in the eye and slowly displaying a despondent and fierce side of herself. When it came time for the House of Black to try and recruit Julia, trying to have her strike Griff Garrison... She refused to, to the disappoint of a great many fans, even if it might've been justified. It would then take until Death Triangle fighting the House of Black for Julia Hart to finally make a proper FaceHeelturn, implying they were waiting until Rey Fenix to recover for Julia Hart to make her move in helping the House of Black beat Death Triangle. At the very least, fans were just glad the FaceHeelTurn happened at all.

* NeverLiveItDown: Full Gear 2023 was not a good event for Jay White. Despite taking the championship a whole ago, basically acting like he's already won it and having MJF battered and bruised, basically served to him on a silver platter, he could not put him a way, making the Switchblade look utterly incompetent, which many had found to be disrespectful to him.

* MemeticMutation:
** [[https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1205307226581278726?s=19 How long can Justin Roberts hold Jon Moxley's first name for?]]
** After Shawn Spears adopted the RedBaron "The Chairman" due to his EstablishingCharacterMoment of giving Cody a stiff steel chair shot to the head, some fans like to refer to Spears as a "false" Chairman, citing Wrestling/LaParka (who had that nickname in WCW) as the true owner of that title.
** Wrestling/BrittBaker's facial expressions have earned her notoriety, thanks to her memorable appearance in ''NXT [=TakeOver=]: [=WarGames=] 2019'' in which she gave a worried OhCrap when her [[Wrestling/AdamCole boyfriend]] was hit by a finisher (by Wrestling/TommasoCiampa) from the top of the cage to a table.
** Excalibur's dramatic reaction to the debut of the Butcher, the Blade, and the Bunny (or as he put it, "THE BUTCHER! THE BLADE! AND THE BUNNY!") got this response, especially after it became clear that the vast majority of the audience wasn't aware of who they were.[[note]]While the Blade and the Bunny were already known for competing in the independent circuit as Pepper Parks and Cherry Bomb, respectively (and in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] as Braxton Sutter and Allie, respectively) by the time of their debut, the Butcher (aka Andy Williams) wasn't even known for being ''a wrestler at all'', but rather for being the guitarist of the band Every Time I Die.[[/note]]
** [[Wrestling/MattHardy Broken Matt Hardy]] and Wrestling/KennyOmega chasing down and striking Sammy Guevara in a golf cart during a street fight became an instant meme due to the [[HamToHamCombat combined ham factors]] of the wrestlers (plus Chris Jericho as Guevara's partner in the match) and the absurdity of using a golf cart in a wrestling match.
** The use of "👉🤪" emojis as shorthand for [[InsistentTerminology "Japanese Deathmatch Legend and the Original Death-Dealer"]] Dr. Luther, whose almost invariably will mug before the camera by [[https://theovertimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ES7yDLxXsAESuqM.jpg sticking his tongue out and pointing to his head]]. This has since become an AppropriatedAppellation, with Luther adding it to his [[https://twitter.com/killlutherkill Twitter bio]].
** '''[X] IS [[EngineeredHashtag #ALLELITE]]''', AEW's method of announcing new signings on social media, is a popular exploitable image format thanks to how simple it is to make anyone look like they've just signed to AEW. This meme is ubiquitous enough that people have thought actual signings, such as [[Wrestling/BigShow Paul Wight]], were jokes at first.
** Dark days ahead for AEW.[[labelnote:Explanation]]A phrase used by anti-AEW trolls around the early UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic days, having since been used by actual AEW fans to mock the idea of any minor setback meaning death for the promotion.[[/labelnote]]
** From the March 31st, 2021 episode of ''Dynamite'', MJF opening the door to find Inner Circle waiting for him immediately spawned parodies using pre-existing footage, including one featuring him as an extra during a WWE Samoa Joe segment.
** Cody's [[https://149566639.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cody-rhodes-don-21.jpg outfit]] at ''Double or Nothing'' 2021 got many jokes comparing it to that of [[Series/TheBoys2019 Homelander]], not helped by the PatrioticFervor theme of his feud with his opponent at the event, the British Anthony Ogogo.
** Armed Anderson[[labelnote:Explanation]]As Wrestling/ArnAnderson chewed out Wrestling/CodyRhodes for losing repeatedly and meekly against [[Wrestling/TommyEnd Malakai Black]] on the September 29, 2021 ''Dynamite'', he gave the example that if someone tried to carjack Cody, he'd let it go and ask not to be hurt, whereas Arn would pull out a gun and shoot the carjacker in the head. The extreme example surprised many online fans, who proceeded to make memes of Arn pulling a gun at the nearest opportunity. Special commendation has to go to Wrestling/NylaRose who speculates that Arn only named his son "Brock" because it rhymes with "Glock". Has became an AscendedMeme with not only a shirt, but also Arn threatening foes with the same gun hand gesture.[[/labelnote]]
*** Armed Arsonist.[[labelnote:Explanation]]The week after the above promo, Arn made another promo from outside Cody's house where he burned some of Cody's wrestling items in a trash can. Needless to say, continuing the trend of extreme measures from Arn also resulted in the aforementioned name.[[/labelnote]]
** MJF's "They call it the Midwest because everything in it is MID!" promo took off on [=TikTok=], with users replacing the Midwest related items with things the uploader deems "mid."
** "It's Wednesday, you know what that means." [[labelnote:Explanation]] The late Wrestling/BrodieLee would tweet out "It's (name of day), you know what that means" every morning. After his passing, AEW fans and personnel took it on as a way to show their excitement for ''Dynamite'' every week. Notably, it became a BorrowedCatchphrase for Jim Ross, who uses it to open every episode of ''Dynamite''.[[/labelnote]]
** In [[Wrestling/KeithLee Keith Lee's]] debut match against Isiah Kassidy, the former throwing his much smaller opponent from one end of the ring to the other spawned parodies including being compared to [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir Uncle Phil throwing Jazz out of the house]].
** John Silver explaining to Anna Jay. [[labelnote:Explanation]] A picture of John Silver looking to be giddily explaining to a cornered Anna Jay has become popular for jokes to people trying to explain something to a friend who's likely not interested in the subject matter. [[MemeAcknowledgement John Silver has even worn it]] on the 9th March 2022 Edition of Dark.[[/labelnote]]
** [[Wrestling/CodyRhodes ADRENALINE, IN MY SOUL, (insert something that rhymes with soul)]][[labelnote:Explanation]]Very prevalent on reddit, people like to make up their own lyrics to Cody's theme song, especially since Dark Order did it on BTE.[[/labelnote]]
** An independent study had confirmed ... [[labelnote:Explanation]]When AEW Owner Tony Khan tweeted out "An independent study has confirmed that much of the staunch anti-AEW online community aren't real individuals, it's a staff running thousands of accounts + an army of bots to signal boost them. Look closely, these aren't real people. Who'd pay for such a *wildly* expensive thing?", it was immediately turned into a {{snowclone}} meme with variants posted by people like Wrestling/BeckyLynch, Wrestling/BuffBagwell and members of AEW like Evil Uno.[[/labelnote]]
** [[Wrestling/CMPunk This Fucking Guy!]][[labelnote:Explanation]]During a media scrum, Tony Khan responded to Wrestling/EricBischoff's claims that CM Punk has been a financial flop in AEW with a profanity-laced tirade on how much of an asset he has been to the company, getting more and more worked up as he speaks.[[/labelnote]]
** [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} Christian Cage]] hates orphans.[[labelnote:Explanation]] Following his FaceHeelTurn and betrayal of his former protégé Jack Perry in Summer 2022, Christian Cage got ''major'' heat from the crowd after he cut numerous promos taunting Perry about the death of his RealLife father Creator/LukePerry, who had unexpectedly died of a stroke three years earlier at the age of 52. This later became something of a running theme when his feud with Perry was followed by a feud with Wardlow (who was raised by a single mother), whom he ''also'' taunted about his deceased father, and then his feud with Darby Allin and Nick Wayne, mocking the latter's dead father for never making it big as a pro-wrestler. Since then, many fans have joked about Cage having an irrational obsession with tormenting men who don't have fathers, predicting that it's only a matter of time before he starts feuding with Brodie Lee Jr.[[/labelnote]]
** MEAT![[labelnote:Explanation]]During the match between Miro and Powerhouse Will Hobbs at ''All Out 2023'', a highly-anticipated hoss-fest, the crowd started chanting "MEAT!" at every impact (a derivative of the "Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat" meme originated by Wrestling/BigELangston) and spinning it into new chant variants like "MEAT FOREVER!" instead of the usual "Fight forever!" chant. This became the new go-to crowd chant for major hoss matches, such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbE6HokMHFM Samoa Joe vs Keith Lee]] on the November 8th episode of ''Dynamite''.[[/labelnote]]

* BadassDecay: After suffering a huge loss against the Young Bucks that also costed him his friend, Frankie Kazarian would go on to become the Elite Hunter, taking many opportunities to attack the Elite and prevent them from interfering in matches, which many found refreshing and cool… However, said coolness quickly dispersed when Kazarian ended up losing to Doc Gallows, whom while was a Tag Team Champion in Impact and had Karl Anderson interfering on his behalf, was still considered more likely to be beaten than Young Bucks and especially Kenny Omega. Heck, the only member of the Elite Frankie had beaten at all and even fought 1-on-1 for that matter was their associate stooge, Brandon Cutler whom can hardly be considered a member, let alone a [[JokeCharacter capable fighter amongst them.]] For many, Kazarian’s run as the Elite Hunter was [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter disappointingly underwhelming and silently ended,]] which fans found a shame, as Frankie Kazarian is considered a fantastic wrestler by a great many.

** Marko Stunt. Some find him entertaining and skilled as well as [[RickyMorton the necessary pin eater]] for The Jurassic Express in trios matches, others find him to be way too small to be believable in the ring and shouldn't be wrestling for a major promotion. Others point out that, his own skill aside, a wrestler that tiny is great to throw around to make other guys look strong and brutal (such as the spot where Wrestling/PentagonJr held Stunt above his head with one hand, then chucked him towards Rey Fénix who superkicked him in midair, which would be much more difficult if not impossible to do with a more conventionally-sized wrestler). Possibly an even better example was when he was chosen as the opponent for [[WrestlingMonster Lance Archer's]] debut match, and made Archer look like an apocalypse on legs as he tossed Stunt around like a half-sized rag doll, concluding by hurling his lightweight opponent from the ring apron into the crowd.

** [[Wrestling/AndradeCienAlmas Andrade El Ídolo]] has split opinions on how his AEW run has gone so far and whether AEW has been using him/he has been living up to his potential that he showed in NXT and even on the WWE main roster.
** Brian Cage came into AEW with much fanfare and an applauded pairing with Wrestling/{{Taz|z}} as his manager, but as his run has gone on -- with Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks and Taz's son Wrestling/{{Hook}} added to/overshadowing him in Team Taz, him being kicked out of the group entirely, and fiery remarks from his wife Melissa Santos on social media about his place within the company -- AEW fans have become much more critical of him, his abilities and value to the company as of now. He has not been featured on TV since October 2021.

*** Wrestling/CMPunk's feuds with [[Wrestling/AdamPage Hangman Adam Page]] and Wrestling/EddieKingston became rather uncomfortable to watch in hindsight when Punk was abruptly fired in September 2023 after getting into a legitimate backstage physical altercation with Jack Perry during ''All Out'' at Wembley Stadium--roughly a year after he was suspended for getting into ''another'' legitimate altercation with Wrestling/{{the Elite}}. During their feuds with him, Kingston and Page both openly told Punk that he was a bad influence on AEW whom nobody wanted around, with Page declaring that he had a duty to protect the company from his influence. After his firing, it became pretty clear that their negative feelings toward him weren't entirely an act.

** The Mogul Affiliates, consisting of Swerve Strickland, Parker Boudreaux and Trench. Much like Gunn Club in Billy Gunn, Swerve is still well-liked, but his teammates are what give the group a negative reception, already off to a bad start with their awkward introduction. Parker has shown himself to still be quite green and not coming off as intimidating as he tries to be, most feeling he should still be training, rather than put on Dynamite. Similarly, Trench being tattoo’d all over doesn’t so much cause worry to any fans than it does weird them out, the same of which can be said for his name. It seems like they were simply put alongside Swerve to give him some muscle. It’s quite telling that both would end up being written off with Trench not even getting to have a match, let alone even shown being taken out, which Swerve accuses Dustin Rhodes of doing before their match and Parker after an awkward showing in an otherwise good match between him and Swerve against Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee. The two were basically replaced by Prince Nana, Brian Cage, Kaun and Toa Liona, who many saw as a much more fitting group for Swerve.

** Wrestling/HikaruShida's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURPrvOdQ2I entrance music]] has been noted to sound a lot like the theme from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: "Captain" Shawn Dean's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4mqlH6hxIU entrance music]] and its initial guitar riff [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGw8DWctAts sounds a lot like]] the {{Leitmotif}} to [[Franchise/StreetFighter Guile]].

** Jade Cargill. While some believe she has potential to be a great worker (to the point ''[=WrestleTalk's=]'' reviewers expressed their wish that she could be the first TBS Champion), others think she's far too green to have the spotlight on her over other favored and well-developed female wrestlers, and find her {{Catchphrase}} "I'm that bitch" obnoxious and nowhere near as cool as she seems to think it is. Becoming the inaugural TBS Champion was just as polarizing, many believing she’ll step up to the plate with others groaning that the result was too predictable. From her matches afterwards though, many would agree she has indeed stepped up to the plate, especially her match against Anna Jay and seems to have dropped the “I’m that bitch” catchphrase for the more hilarious and smooth “Cut the shit, Tony.”

** As of 2022, the tendency to place storylines and character development on YouTube and Being The Elite has been phased out and are regularly built on the main television shows. However, between ''Dynamite'', ''Rampage'', ''Dark'', and ''Elevation'', AEW has a large volume of programming each week, and storylines are started and built on ''all'' of them. A storyline that begins and advances on ''Dark'' may have a segment on Dynamite weeks later, and vice versa. Therefore, anyone who only keeps up with the happenings of ''Dynamite'' and not the rest of the shows is still probably going to find AEW a bit confusing.

*** While Billy Gunn would go on to team up with the Acclaimed once more to the delight of many, Austin and Colten started to lose favour with the fans over time, which came to a head when it was time for the Acclaimed and Ass Boys to fight for the Tag Titles, of which many felt Austin and Colten weren’t ready for with the best they had were beating FTR after their [[DentedIron gruelling third match with the Briscoe Brothers.]] Many sensed and were disappointed when the two would go on to win the titles despite how most were still enjoying The Acclaimed’s run as Champs.

** Many fans have started to grew wary of Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti around the time they became an onscreen couple with their antics being seen as obnoxious and childish by many and Sammy not being a decent talker, on top of Tay Conti not wrestling as much, then. Not only is Dan Lambert being cheered over them saying a lot, but a desired Heel turn didn’t do much to quell the haters, not helped by the fans feeling the feud between them and the Man of the Year both going on for far too long and having the side-effect of the TNT Champion not feeling as prestigious when it’s being traded between wrestlers repeatedly, being used for a gross joke and even destroyed in spite all while being stuck in the middle of a feud that many feel doesn’t fit having a Title in between it. It’s quite telling that the majority who say their opinion on said feud is that they hope Miro returns and takes back the Title (One he lost to Sammy Guevara, no less) after squashing all those involved and in the 2022 Grand Slam Tournament, many were incredibly disappointed to see him beat Darby in unfair fashion, feeling the latter deserved the win far more. The recent back to back real life backstage conflicts with Eddie Kingston and then Andrade El Idolo have further caused people to sour on him. It isn't help that Sammy seems to many people, incapable of not knowing when to keep his mouth shut when both incidents occurred.
** The Mogul Affiliates, consisting of Swerve Strickland, Parker Boudreaux and Trench. Much like Gunn Club in Billy Gunn, Swerve is still well-liked, but his teammates are what give the group a negative reception, already off to a bad start with their awkward introduction. Parker has shown himself to still be quite green and not coming off as intimidating as he tries to be, most feeling he should still be training, rather than put on Dynamite. Similarly, Trench being tattoo’d all over doesn’t so much cause worry to any fans than it does weird them out, the same of which can be said for his name. It seems like they were simply put alongside Swerve to give him some muscle. It’s quite telling that both would end up being written off with Trench not even getting to have a match, let alone even shown being taken out, which Swerve accuses Dustin Rhodes of doing before their match and Parker after an awkward showing in an otherwise good match between him and Swerve against Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee.

* A common theme in CM Punk's feuds was his opponents (Eddie Kingston, MJF, Hangman Adam Page and Jon Moxley) basically noting that he didn't appear as good-natured as he made himself appear, trying to hide the darker aspects of himself. For many, this seemed like foreshadowing that CM Punk would become a Heel later down the line. Come the media scrum of All Out 2022, said aspects would come out in the worst way possible through both said media scrum and a backstage altercation...
** Similarly, the falling out makes the Young Bucks superkicking officials and workers in their feud with FTR a lot harder to watch...
** Wrestling/CMPunk's feuds with [[Wrestling/AdamPage Hangman Adam Page]] and Wrestling/EddieKingston became rather uncomfortable to watch in hindsight when Punk was abruptly fired in September 2023 after getting into a legitimate backstage physical altercation with Jack Perry during ''All Out'' at Wembley Stadium--roughly a year after he was suspended for getting into ''another'' legitimate altercation with Wrestling/{{the Elite}}. During their feuds with him, Kingston and Page both openly told Punk that he was a bad influence on AEW whom nobody wanted around, with Page declaring that he had a duty to protect the company from his influence. After his firing, it became pretty clear that their negative feelings toward him weren't entirely an act.

* HarsherInHindsight: A common theme in CM Punk's feuds was his opponents (Eddie Kingston, MJF, Hangman Adam Page and Jon Moxley) basically noting that he didn't appear as good-natured as he made himself appear, trying to hide the darker aspects of himself. For many, this seemed like foreshadowing that CM Punk would become a Heel later down the line. Come the media scrum of All Out 2022, said aspects would come out in the worst way possible through both said media scrum and a backstage altercation...
** Similarly, the falling out makes the Young Bucks superkicking officials and workers in their feud with FTR a lot harder to watch...

** Wrestling/{{Hook}}, Wrestling/{{Taz|z}}'s son and a wrestler-in-training, has a semi-ironic following on [[Website/{{Reddit}} r/squaredcircle]] despite (or because of) his limited role so far as a background member of Team Taz who takes part in the occasional beatdown. He has his own FanCommunityNickname (Hookers), members of whom simply refer to Taz as "Hook's Dad" and count down the days until his eventual in-ring debut. He finally made his in-ring debut in December 2021, and it's safe to say he has ''delivered''.

** [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} Christian Cage]] hates orphans.[[labelnote:Explanation]] Following his FaceHeelTurn and betrayal of his former protégé Jack Perry in Summer 2022, Christian Cage got ''major'' heat from the crowd after he cut numerous promos taunting Perry about the death of his RealLife father Creator/LukePerry, who had unexpectedly died of a stroke three years earlier at the age of 52. This later became something of a running theme when his feud with Perry was followed by a feud with Wardlow (who was raised by a single mother), whom he ''also'' taunted about his deceased father. Since then, many fans have joked about Cage having an irrational obsession with tormenting men who don't have fathers, predicting that it's only a matter of time before he starts feuding with Brodie Lee Jr.[[/labelnote]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Team [[Wrestling/{{Tazz}} Taz]] were major [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan favorites]] during their two-year run in the company, but many fans felt that they were badly underutilized. Despite the group's basic premise (a gang of street-smart antiheroes with a merciless hardcore-influenced wrestling style, mentored by an aging Wrestling/{{ECW}} legend determined to fashion them in his own image) having tons of potential, they never really became a major part of the overall story: they never had more than four members at a given time [[note]] Five if you count Dante Martin briefly joining the group to [[TheMole sabotage them from within]]--but given that Hook never actually ''wrestled'' his first match until after Brian Cage had long since departed, they were really a glorified trio for much of their history[[/note]], they seldom came into conflict with the other major factions, and their members spent much of their screen-time feuding with ''[[WeAreStrugglingTogether each other]]'' over a title that wasn't even officially recognized by AEW--often making their storylines feel like [[TrappedByMountainLions an isolated corner of the company's universe that didn't really matter]].

** A far, ''far'' worse example came at the end of ''Revolution 2021'' after Kenny Omega defeated Moxley in an exploding barbed wire deathmatch. The match had had a 30-minute time limit after which the ring would explode, but Omega pinned Mox with several minutes to go. With the timer still counting down, Omega and the Good Brothers handcuffed Moxley and left him in the ring to be blown up with it. Eddie Kingston ran in to try and help Mox, only for the timer to hit 0 with both men inside it... and possibly the lamest pyro ''ever'' went off around them, equivalent to a couple of sparklers shooting from the ringposts.[[note]]This was absolutely ''not'' what AEW had intended, being a major screw-up by the 3rd-party pyro providers.[[/note]] It was so pathetic that some people compared it to Wrestling/{{Gillberg}}'s ring entrance. Matters were arguably only made worse by Eddie selling the "explosions" like he was dying, and the commentary desperately trying to put over how they'd lost two guys at once. As far as anticlimactic wrestling botches go, it was compared to the Shockmaster, with a lot of people saying it not only ruined the match that preceded it, but the entire PPV. At the very least, AEW managed to salvage Eddie’s HeelFaceTurn, many agreeing he’s one of the only few who could’ve talked his way out of it, and it led to [[Funny/AllEliteWrestling "69 me, Don!"]]

*** The House of Black and Julia Hart storyline started with [[Wrestling/AleisterBlack Malakai Black]] hitting Julia Hart with the Black Mist and made clear he intended for her to join the House of Black. However, it took several months for the storyline to continue to the ire of fans, the only semblance of the storyline even going on being of Julia Hart having her eyepatch after being sprayed in the eye and slowly displaying a despondent and fierce side of herself. When it came time for the House of Black to try and recruit Julia, trying to have her strike Griff Garrison… She refused not to, to the disappoint of a great many fans, even if it might’ve been justified. It would then take until Death Triangle fighting the House of Black for Julia Hart to finally make a proper FaceHeelturn, implying they were waiting until Rey Fenix to recover for Julia Hart to make her move in helping the House of Black beat Death Triangle. At the very least, fans were just glad the FaceHeelTurn happened at all.

** When Wrestling/{{Danhausen}} made his AEW debut in January 2022, the very first person he "cursed" was Wrestling/AdamCole. An amusing moment at the time, but not so amusing after Cole suffered a nasty concussion at ''Forbidden Door'' a few months later, which took him out of action for the rest of the year. Cole still hasn't resumed wrestling as of this writing, fueling a good deal of speculation about his concussion potentially being a CareerEndingInjury.

** Tony Khan's "there's only room for one Khan in wrestling" promo from ''Dynamite'' which was a TakeThat to WWE Chief Financial Officer and President Nick Khan (no relation). Some felt it was okay, especially since the latter Khan has been responsible for a lot of bad things.[[note]]He's the one responsible for turning NXT into "NXT 2.0," saying they were trying to move the show away from "indy wrestlers," was responsible for many of the company's mass releases, trying to copyright "The Man" and pissing off Wrestling/RicFlair, stated he would be open to expand ''Raw'' to 4 hours, etc.[[/note]] However, others feel that if the company wants to establish itself, the owner making WCW-style potshots about the competition is probably not the way to go about it, especially since WWE rarely, if at all, does the same, making him look bush league.[[note]]Not helping is that the promo around the same time WWE were allegedly planning an alliance with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (albeit seemingly mainly to please Daniel Bryan, who wanted to compete in said promotion), only for Khan to then establish a deal with New Japan for AEW himself.
[[/note]]

** After losing the ROH World Title to Claudio at Final Battle 2022, Chris Jericho looked to bounce back by taking down what he, himself called, a jobber in the following Dynamite. Many expected this to be a quick fight, but to the shock of many, said “jobber,” Action Andretti, not only had an extensive battle against Chris Jericho and even put up a good one against him no less, kicking out of the Codebreaker to the surprise and delight of many, Andretti pinned Jericho ‘’clean’’ in a ginormous upset absolutely no one saw coming but just about everyone celebrated.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Continuing the trend set by previous "runner-up" promotions like Wrestling/{{WCW}} and [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], AEW holds a much bigger market share in the United Kingdom than it does in the United States, where ''Dynamite'' even draws bigger ratings than ''Raw'' and ''[=SmackDown=]'', '''combined'''. Part of this is because AEW has a better television deal than WWE,[[note]]''Dynamite'' airs on the free-to-air [=ITV4=], while WWE's programming is on the BT Sport subscription channel[[/note]] but even so ''Dynamite'' airs in a sub-optimal time slot (midnight on Fridays), and it comes after WWE created a region-specific brand with NXT UK.
* GrowingTheBeard: It is generally agreed that AEW found their footing at the very start of 2020, which is when Tony Khan, besides being the company's CEO, also became its booker, replacing the [=EVPs=] (Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks). The main criticism of the [=EVPs'=] reign is that they tended to book shows in an "indie style" more suited to promotions with smaller crowds and with less importance placed on continuity, which did not gel with a major promotion with a national television show; one example of this is that they tended to use their fame to put over new talent, which while a noble goal, had the result of causing the promotion's top talent to suffer major BadassDecay when they kept losing to far less experienced wrestlers. Their booking style was also a bit more comedy and SpotMonkey oriented, when mainstream audiences appear to prefer a more sports-oriented product. Tony Khan getting the book was right after the infamous "Dark Order beatdown" and "Nightmare Collective" segments episode of ''Dynamite'' at the end of 2019 exposed the worst traits of the [=EVPs'=] booking style, while Khan's style of booking is frequently praised for being much more in-tune with the needs of a major promotion.
* HarsherInHindsight:

* DesignatedVillain:
** Eddie Kingston not tagging Ortiz in their match against the House of Black and then striking Ortiz after being called out by him in a later segment seemed like it was meant to be a FaceHeelTurn for Eddie, giving into the House of Black making it sound like Ortiz is against Eddie. However, Ortiz, instead of trying to calm down a clearly irate, chair-wielding Eddie, he not only never allowed his friend the chance to speak during their confrontation, he proceeded to throw provocation after provocation at him, first by accusing him of going to strike Julia Hart in the match when in truth, he grabbed the chair from Buddy Matthews interfering in the match and was clearly not going to strike Julia when he saw her with Julia, herself, clearly interfering by being in the ring, not even being at ringside untilthen and grabbing at Eddie, making his reaction to holding the chair at her a knee-jerk reaction of self-defence than anything malicious. On top of that, Ortiz proceeded to mention Eddie’s parents when he knows full well, better than most, they’re personal topics for Eddie and say that Eddie’s mentor, Homicide, would call him a coward and a fake tough guy, neither of which many would call Eddie Kingston, not to mention know would absolutely piss him off. It’s quite telling when people could be heard moreso cheering than booing and even seen clapping after Eddie attacked Ortiz with a chair for what he said, whether because they take the Mad King’s side or he’s just that over with the crowd, if not a mixture.

** On the January 4th 2023 edition of Dynamite, the Gunn Club would hold a mock funeral for FTR to celebrate them losing all of their tag team titles, after just losing the ROH tag team titles to the Briscoe brothers in a double dog collar match at Final Battle 2022. While the segment was intended to be a light hearted moment of dark humor, it's age would turn quickly when Jay Briscoe, one of the men in the title match, would tragically lose his life in a head on traffic accident two weeks later on Jaruary 17th 2023.

* HarsherInHindsight: When Wrestling/{{Danhausen}} made his AEW debut in January 2022, the very first person he "cursed" was Wrestling/AdamCole. An amusing moment at the time, but not so amusing after Cole suffered a nasty concussion at ''Forbidden Door'' a few months later, which took him out of action for the rest of the year. Cole still hasn't resumed wrestling as of this writing, fueling a good deal of speculation about his concussion potentially being a CareerEndingInjury.