Tony Khan was RIGHT to grant recent AEW releases – By Wrestle G
Hello NoDQ.com universe and welcome once again to the ramblings of your boy Wrestle G right here on the website where Wrestling column royalty resides.
Been quite a couple of weeks for me I firstly got to do play by play for a European Ice hockey final right here in my hometown of Cardiff Wales and then a week later I fell down my stairs….. like a rickety old man, I took a tumble, and my ankle has been out of commission, and It’s been a struggle to get around but luckily its not broken and its healing so I can finally sit at my desk and do some writing.
Ok before we dig into the latest releases and how I think it’s going to affect everyone in AEW and the talents like take a look round at some Wrestling Tapas and do a brief look at some interesting stories from around the wrestling world shall we?
Wrestling Tapas
Elimination Chamber is shaping up nicely and we now know that the winner will go on to face Cody Rhodes. I am a big believer in making it a triple threat with Cena, Punk and Cody and leaving Reigns and Rollins to have their match as a 1 on 1 match. I just think Punk being added to Reigns and Rollins muddies the waters and takes away from the special history between the former Shield members. I also think Reigns needs to address the way Rollins helped take his title away last year and that story is so much more impactful if they are just going 1 on 1. Whereas I think the Cody title match will be enhanced by the history between Cena and Punk. You have Punk wanting his big mania moment you have Cena racing for the record-breaking 17th title, and you have Cody wanting to cement himself as THE guy in the company. I really hope HHH takes this route.
We will be talking about AEW releases below but the WWE has been on a bit of a winter clean, and I have to say I see the logic in all of the releases. They were talents lost in the shuffle and with no real room for growth. I think all of them if they continue with their careers will find more breathing room and satisfying creative in other promotions and there is no shortage of places to land currently. And as we have seen with many talents if you go away and learn a new hold and show yourself to be great then the big companies come crawling to you.
AEW Grand Slam Australia is this weekend and the event that started as a PPV in a stadium and is now a themed collision in a Tennis Stadium has been quite the adventure. Sadly, Australia simply didn’t have the same appetite for a stadium show that the UK did, that’s understandable with the different geography of Australia and the ease of getting across that vast country. The Card is certainly stacked for a Collision taping and I’m sure the crowd will be hot. Intrigued to see how it all pans out. I only hope Forbidden door 2025 info is released shortly for London as advertised at All in as I can’t wait to get to another AEW event.
Ok let’s get into the meat and bones of today’s column.
Tony Khan was RIGHT
Word broke this week that AEW had granted releases to a number of wrestlers and most notably Miro and Ricky Starks were let go from their long-term contracts amid falling out with the company and Malakai Blacks contract expired and neither side entertained the prospect of it being extended.
All three men have had a colourful run with the company, before I come to my conclusion lets take a look at each 3 individuals and where it started to go wrong for them in the company.
Malakai Black
Black made quite an impression upon debut as he was on an NXT contract, so he only had a 30 day no compete after his released by the WWE in 2021. So, to see him show up on dynamite in the summer of 2021 was quite the shock and it seemed like a Monday night war type surprise had been pulled off.
While his debut was impactful the story of Malakai’s AEW career was the very definition of stop/start. In January of 2022 the House of Black was formed with Brody King, Julia Hart and Buddy Matthews and it seemed like the stage was set for the group to make an impact in AEW. Lots of trios matches went on and as we went through the months the lack of singles matches for Malakai got to a point where fans seemed confused. Was he injured? Was this a long-term booking plan?
There was a moment where Malakai also took a prolonged amount of time off for mental health issues, this seemed to coincide with his partner Zelina Vega going back to the WWE. AEW did give him the time off that he needed, and he came back to once again be mainly in trio matches.
After his return from his absence a lot of chatter centered around the apparent refusal of Black to do jobs and rejecting storyline ideas. It’s hard to know the truth of this, but I think anyone watching Malakai Black in an AEW ring in the last 18 months it hasn’t come across in body language like someone who is happy in his work. There were bright spots in his time there, his match with Edge although ending in a bad injury for the Rated R Superstar it was a fantastic contest and showed that Black still had mileage as a performer.
Shortly after though it was just more trios matches and more of the same. Come the beginning of 2025 and with a contract due to expire Malakai Black is now a free agent. It never felt like he has comfortable in the company, and it never felt like he was ever going to elevate past the ceiling he debuted with. Ultimately, we all hope his mental health is in a good place.
Miro
Miro the former Rusev in WWE had an inauspicious start to life in AEW, debuting as the ‘Best Man’ for Kip Sabian he was walking around in Minnie Mouse T shirts and talking about how much he loved gaming. It was quite the departure from the Bulgarian Brute we had come to know and love. This departure from being a killer never really connected with the Audience, and after a short hiatus we saw Miro return as ‘Gods favourite wrestler’ a meaner attitude and renewed fire.
Miro returned and set his sights on the TNT title and the crowd were responding. Miro at various times in his career had found a way of getting the crowd invested in him and he seemed to have done it again. Beating Darby Allin for the title and going on to feuds with Lance Archer amongst others had Miro in a bit of a rhythm.
Following the debut of Collision Miro was placed on that ‘brand’ in what was originally a soft brand split to satisfy the CM punk and Young Bucks rift. He made a decent start on the show and ended up in a feud with Powerhouse Hobbs which culminated with a really decent match at All out 2023.
Shortly after this his then off-screen wife CJ Perry arrived and a feud with Andrade ensued. On December 30th, 2023, Miro and Andrade would square off in what would turn out ot be both men’s last match in the company. After this date Miro disappeared, he got divorced in real life from Perry and rumours have circulated like crazy about his disappearance from our screens. The main rumour seems to suggest that Miro continually refused creative ideas put to him and that has ultimately strained his relationship with Tony Khan. During the summer of 2024 reports suggested Miro had asked for his release and it hadn’t been granted. But this week he finally got his wish.
Ricky Starks
Ricky Starks felt at one time like he could have squeezed his way into the same type of echelon as AEW’s vaunted ‘Pillars’ he debuted as part of Team Taz alongside Powerhouse Hobbs and established himself in amongst battles for the FTW championship.
Something about Ricky Starks caught on and sadly his momentum was derailed by serious neck injury that required surgery. Starks returned to AEW quicker than anticipated and carried on right where he left off. Upon returning he got put over Hobbs to end their feud and then went straight into challenging MJF for his world championship. He came up short, but he had flirted with the main event and the crowd had stayed with him.
Feuds with Chris Jericho followed and then Starks ended up on the Collision brand and closely aligned with CM punk. Once Punk left the company Starks continued his good work on collision having an awesome match with Bryan Danielson and then teaming with Big Bill to capture the AEW tag championships. There was an awkward promo exchange with Edge that many feel caught Starks some Heat in the locker room and having lost the tag belts Starks disappeared from TV in February 2024.
During his time in AEW Starks was not shy in his visits backstage to visit Cody Rhodes at WWE events, both at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. This quite brazen support could not have been endearing to Tony Khan or some of the more hardcore AEW fans. Much like Miro and Black it persisted that Starks had asked for his release over multiple months. But was never granted. This past Monday news broke that Starks had finally been granted his release and then Tuesday live on the CW he made his debut in NXT.
All three wrestlers brought something to AEW initially, if that was name value, potential or shock value. But I think by the end of all of their times in the company it became clear that all 3 were not on board with the wider company’s mission. These were 3 guys who felt they deserved more in the company but more crucially wanted it on their terms.
Now part of me quite likes that, you look back over wrestling history, and it is littered with guys who were perceived as difficult to work with but strive for the greater good. I think what happened at the end of all 3 of the gentleman’s time at AEW was a lack of compromise. A willing to see some things from Tony Khans point of view and a willingness to enact his vision as boss of the company.
When relationships get to this point, there is no value in keeping the wrestlers on your payroll. The dirt sheet stories keep coming, allies of theirs in the locker room become more disgruntled, and you have to keep fielding those requests to be released. You also have to keep churning out the monthly pay cheques for no reward. I think Tony Khan was right to keep these guys on the sidelines for a little bit, the last thing you want to do is let a hot talent get straight on TV. But to keep hold of guys indefinitely who are in many ways working against you is not the way to go.
This isn’t a criticism of the talents as such, I think all 3 talents are amazing and all 3 talents have a rightful belief in their own abilities, and so they should. Hopefully Tony has learnt a lot from these cases and hopefully all 3 talents will land somewhere their careers can flourish.
Tony though it feels now has a roster that is buying into his vision, Hangman, Swerve, the Hurt Syndicate, Darby Allin, Moxley, Cope. It feels like Tony has his generals in place and the shows are flowing so much more fluidly in the last weeks and months. MJF and Hangman might indeed be the feud that ignites AEW once again. A happy workplace is more often than not a successful workplace. And with guys now out of the company who were not happy, that can only be a boon for AEW going forward.
Let me know what you all think I’d love to hear from you. Please drop a comment below or you can follow me on X via @Wrestle_G I would love to hear all you have to say there as well.
That’s all from me for now, I will see you right here next week.
Until then,
Cheers,
G