I’ll get right to the point:

Last night wasn’t great. Though I’m not going in depth about the thing you think I’m going to talk about, all I will say is that the best thing AEW can do at this moment, is to move the hell on. And not just move on from mentioning the incident, but moving on from this entire story in some regards.

But how does AEW do this after using a real-life scuffle to further an ongoing feud, including the likely return of Jack Perry? As a self-admitted superfan of this company, I understand that it will be hard to remove the black cloud that was brought back into the fold last week and last night. As far as the footage itself; it is incredibly mid. It resembled fights I witnessed a lot in Junior High school growing up on the west coast. There are blame on all sides for this particular incident, but like Junior High, we all just need to chill out and eat some Totino’s pizza rolls or something.

Overall, it wasn’t a smart move. So how to we move on? By putting on of the best shows of the year at the April 21st Dynasty PPV. A statement show.

But it needs to be different. In essence, Khan needs to forcefully forge a new path for the company that rocket launches them into the future — and well past any prior controversies.

And you can do this all in one night. Let’s begin.

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The Bucks Must “Lose” Their EVP Titles in Story

Unfortunately, anytime the Young Bucks wrestle a match now, there stands a chance that “C.M. Punk” chants will break out. This is not good, and this needs to be scrubbed as soon as possible.

So how is this accomplished? By taking the Bucks off of television for now. While I have personally enjoyed their heel EVP gimmicks, they should lay low for a bit because you don’t want a wrestler from another company become a phantom face anytime they appear on-screen.

If I’m Khan, I book a stipulation into the Bucks/FTR match at Dynasty. This being that if the Bucks lose, they lose their EVP titles. Of course, this is only in story, but it takes them off screen for now.

You do this by a double-swerve. Jack Perry returns as “The Scapegoat”, but instead of going for FTR, he attacks The Bucks first. He also attacks FTR as well. Jack Perry has been scapegoated by “everyone” and needs to stand alone as a heel who just hates everyone. Or maybe he even joins the House of Black? Maybe Sammy Guevara (another scapegoat) joins him? Use your imagination. Distance Perry from the Bucks and the incident is the point here.

Anyway, FTR eventually comes out victorious as new tag champs, The Bucks are out — and you have future storylines with “who will be the new EVPs?” and have some fun in-story. Maybe the BCC become the new “EVPs” or The Acclaimed, Bullet Club Gold, the Don Callis Family,  etc. Use your imagination.

Regardless, doing this sheds that dark cloud and shows that the company is willing to move on from all of this.

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Lean Into the Storm/May/Shirakawa Love Triangle

It goes without saying that Storm will likely defeat Rosa at Dynasty, probably due to interference by Deonna Purrazzo. But we also need to see Mina Shirakawa interact with Mariah May as well.

Mina Shirakawa is great. I’ve seen her live in Tokyo, and she’s a dynamic talent. A positive out of Dynamite last night was her appearance after the Mariah May/Anna Jay match. They are clearly building a story between Toni Storm, current apprentice Mariah May, and Mariah May’s former Stardom tag team partner in Mina Shirakawa.

Run with this. 

You have a plethora of matchups and slow-burn storytelling built into this angle. This includes a Mina vs. Storm Forbidden Door match with Mariah May right in the middle. This could even lead to Mariah May vs. Toni Storm at All In: London in August. Make this a continued focus on the weekly shows and PPVs.

This is a good one. Don’t let it slip away.

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Swerve Strickland Must Win the AEW World Championship

One of the best things Khan can do to look to the future is to book a new world champion, and one who is deserving as such. Swerve Strickland is extremely over, and let’s face it, his time is now.

Strap this championship to Swerve and let him ride that wave into Wembley in August when he faces Will Ospreay. We all love Samoa Joe, but the brand simply needs a positive change. Even more positive if MJF is the reason Joe loses his championship to Swerve, as Joe was the reason MJF lost his championship to begin with.

Of course, this is injury pending, but seeing MJF again would be welcomed.

Regardless of how you do it, Swerve Strickland must walk out as AEW World Champion after Dynasty goes off air. He must be the one to carry AEW on his back for a little bit while the dust settles, and book some simple hero vs. villain matchups that play to Swerve’s strengths.

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Who Attacked Mercedes Mone? Britt? Jamie? Saraya? Statlander?

Another story that was lost in the shuffle of the All In footage controversy was the interview with Mercedes Mone. Mone was attacked towards the tail end of the interview in darkness, not revealing who the assailant was.

It is vital that the attacker is neither Julia Hart or Willow Nightingale. 

Julia Hart has been incredible on this run, but along with new tag champs, and a new world champion, the time is ripe for Willow Nightingale to become TBS Champion. However, it’s clear that Mercedes Mone shouldn’t lose her first match at Double or Nothing, and this is far too fast to take the TBS championship off of a hot Willow Nightingale if she wins at Dynasty.

We can bring the Mercedes/Willow feud back another time. But this is a great opportunity to build a potential feud between Merdeces and her attacker. Could it be Britt Baker? A returning Jamie Hayter? Perhaps a heel Statlander?

Again, use your imagination.

If I’m calling the shots, it’s Hayter AND Britt, which sets up a tag team match at Double or Nothing between Baker/Hayter and Mercedes/Saraya. Yes, Saraya, where there is a built-in story and the question of if Mercedes can “trust” Saraya in her first match back after offering an old friend some help.

Who knows, this may even lead to the introduction of AEW Women’s Tag Team Championships in some form or another. 

But we could also turn this into a one-on-one match between Mercedes and Saraya as well; or Mercedes vs. Britt. If we pair Mercedes with Willow up against her attackers, there’s also a built-in tension between Statlander and Willow in that case.

You can book this many ways. But it needs to be a bit of a mystery, and the attackers should not be Julia, Skye, or Willow. But it should be revealed who it is at Dynasty.

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Squash Chris Jericho

Aside from the blemish last night that was the backstage junior high school fight; the Jericho/HOOK match was sad. It made me sad. Didn’t it make you sad?

Jericho needs to go away. He’s a legend. We get it. But his current stay is long over-welcomed. Take a lot of time off and come back fresh for a retirement tour or something. 

We need to see Jericho vs. HOOK 2, and we need HOOK to SQUASH Jericho. An actual squash. HOOK kicks ass, leaves, barely breaks a sweat — and Jericho looks so defeated that he does nothing but leave in personal disgust.

For AEW to move on from their past, they need to look to the future; and that means continuing pushing one of their brightest young talents to the moon. That’s HOOK. LFG.

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Okada Needs to Separate Himself From the Bucks

At first, I liked the Bucks/Okada pairing. Okada as a heel is fun, and it works. But that sort of changed after last night, in my opinion.

The one thing you don’t want to do is have the stink from last night rub off on Okada. It’s simple, really. Okada defeats PAC. The Bucks come out to congratulate Okada, and the Rainmaker doesn’t reciprocate. He simply doesn’t “need” them. Okada leaves them hanging and walks off. This especially has a better effect if the Bucks/FTR go on first, with the Bucks losing. They would seem “pathetic” to Okada in some regards.

He then goes on to defend the Continental Championship in some of the best matches of the year. It’s really that easy. And with any luck, we see some amazing feuds coming on his behalf in the future.

Even setting up Okada’s next potential opponent in some form at Dynasty is a good idea; be it a returning Daniel Garcia, HOOK, or even Konosuke Takeshita and/or Will Hobbs. The possibilities are endless; but this happens when Okada drops Matt and Nick and moves on, which he is perfectly capable of doing.

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MJF Returns

I alluded to this earlier, but MJF returning would send another message to wrestling fans that AEW is here to stay, and that they are moving on.

Even if MJF isn’t cleared, he can still cost Joe his match with Swerve, and remain on television in a non-action form until he’s ready to go. However, having MJF at Dynasty in some form or another is a huge win for this company right now.

AEW needs this MJF. Especially now with the influx of new free agents signed over the first quarter of the year. MJF is a reminder of what AEW can build from scratch, and what amount of talent they do have. Let MJF lead the charge, and along with Ospreay, Okada, Mone, Willow, and many more — get AEW back on track to where they were just a few weeks ago. It’s been a subjectively good year for this brand, and sometimes we need a reminder of why.

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Start Building the Dynasty

The theme for Dynasty should be easy:

A focus on building AEW’s dynasty through their youth and new stars. In addition, by also putting on the best wrestling in the world. Danielson vs. Ospreay should deliver on all levels and establish Ospreay as AEW’s true ace. “Restore the feeling”, right?

Everyone watching AEW should feel as Ospreay looks in the above picture. No drama, no tribalism; just a load of fun and the best wrestling in the world. AEW Dynasty has a chance to establish that.

You also do it by crowning new champions.

Swerve, Willow, FTR — these title changes need to happen to look into a brighter future for this company. Last night was a bit of a road bump, but the momentum needs to keep moving. Dynasty is a chance for this company to turn it around in a span of four hours.

And it is possible. But to do so, Tony Khan must look to the future, forget that WWE even exists, and move the fuck forward.

-TKW
@tokusenpuroresu