AEW maven Tony Khan had a media call before All Out yesterday. These can be fascinating encounters, where he’s there basically to promote a show and most of the people who question him throw balloons suspended so he can do like that. However, often people ask him something that makes his favorite train impossible to turn, and you can almost hear the squeal of brakes and the figurative crowing to see who dares to interrupt the process. If you’re a wrestling fan and are familiar with the backstage interview, it’s like when a wrestler throws his catchphrase and poses as if to end the interview, only to be asked one question other and watch him or her go into the brain. This is not how it works!
It was no different yesterday when Samantha Schipman of DailyDDT.com asked Khan why Thunder Rosa was only being inhaled and exhaled to announce that she was injured, would not be able to appear at All Out on Sunday, and would not be. had to be the interim champion and had to do it backstage in a pre-recorded segment. It is curious as the previous champions, who were injured and unable to defend their titles were given 5 to 10 minutes and a segment in the ring in front of the crowd. Thunder Rosa does not.
To say that Khan’s response was brusque would be an understatement:
On the surface, this is not wrong. Rosa can be an attractive promoter at times, and that’s hardly her forte. She won’t draw like CM Punk for eight minutes on a mic in the ring, but again, it’s a standard like comparing someone’s ax skills to Ares. There are some no one can touch. AEW’s women’s division is generally lacking in really good commercials, aside from Baker and sometimes Jade Cargill.
But the question must be asked… How does Khan think any woman in his company achieves a must-see status no matter what they’re doing if they’re underrepresented? Thunder Rosa’s strength may lie in the matches she participates in (although some of her peers may disagree), but she doesn’t even have time every week to do it. If it’s possible to have a peak hour player made simple through ringtone mode, then they should set their ringtone mode on regular TV and build buzz and momentum through good matches. . Rosa, like really anyone else, was never even given that chance.
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If Baker is the only true plus on the mic for the company, she only got that way because Khan allowed her on TV every week when she was nursing a leg injury during their pandemic stay at Daley’s Place. Her taped segments with Tony Schiavone during her “rehab” were hilarious, but she was allowed to grow into it. It’s hard to remember that Baker’s first foray into AEW, at the company’s dawn, was as a babyface and it very much did not work. Baker was allowed trial and error. Who else has been?
Khan is more than happy to let his male wrestlers find their feet, if they ever do. Jungle Boy has been given multiple promo segments, and his promos would be politely described as, “sucking ass.” Darby Allin keeps ending up on PPV shows, even though his act for over a year has consisted of nothing more than standing next to Sting and occasionally diving into a coffin. We have been served a heap of The Ass Boys for months, even though it’s still not clear what they are good at [Editor’s note: Good fodder for Welcome! and Danhausen]. But through repetition and practice, they have carved a niche among AEW fans.
Who got that in the women’s department? Who was allowed to go into a niche after weeks on TV? Not even their champion. Creating personalities that bring people together takes time and patience as well as work, and Khan simply hasn’t put that to any woman. It’s not like they lack talent. Fans will be happy to see Athena or Ruby Soho or Kris Statlander (when healthy) or Hikaru Shida or Toni Storm every week. They never make it, and when they do, they’re pushed into the pre-main event period, where seemingly inappropriate toys go.
If Khan insists that these women aren’t stars like Punk or Moxley or MJF, how does he plan to get them there? Sasha Banks won’t walk through that door, not now, and the women’s division in WWE has been heavily featured if not anchored at least on Monday Night Raw. It’s not just a coincidence that Raw’s TV ratings have skyrocketed since HHH took over and left the women’s division fresh and excited.
It was easy for Khan to point at the rating and raise his hand. If he’s really interested in making a real star out of his women’s division, we’d know by now, and sure enough, the extra 5 to 10 minutes of TV watching is barely there. must be a great sacrifice. Sunday is another chance to start the division, with a four-way match between Storm, Shida, Baker and Jamie Hayter that could be a highlight of the show if given time to breathe. Any of the four can win and lead a gear change in the division. But I’ve written that more than a few times, and so have many others. If Khan wants a real female star, he should at least prove that he has a roadmap to get there. Most seem like he doesn’t even care to get in the car.
