The Pros & Khans Of AEW’s Big Angle On Dynamite

The ending of last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite sure got social media talking, didn’t it?

After being gone for eight months, Jack Perry returned to AEW at the Dynasty pay-per-view, showing up to help The Young Bucks defeat FTR, giving the Bucks their third reign as the AEW Tag Team Champions. Three days later, Perry would show up on Dynamite and cut a promo about wanting nothing but what was best for AEW, and he called Tony Khan out to the ring so that TK could reinstate him and they could move forward in an amicable fashion.

After TK agreed and shook Perry’s hand, Perry hit Tony in the midsection with the microphone, sending the AEW Boss to the mat as fans looked on in shock. Immediately, the Bucks and Kazuchika Okada ran to the ring to check on TK and to chastise Perry for his actions. The Bucks helped TK to his knees, but conveniently had him in prime position for a BTE Trigger. Before they could hit it, Okada stopped them, and just as they were about to come to their senses, Okada motioned for them to go up. Just like that, the Bucks picked Tony up and destroyed him with the move formerly known as the Meltzer Driver, now called the Tony Khan Driver.

Seemingly every Referee on the AEW roster then ran out to the ring to check on Tony and send the new Elite away. In an unintended hilarious moment, a group of wrestlers ran to the ring, but only after the Bucks, Okada, and Perry were gone. To really put the angle over the top, Tony’s father (and AEW co-owner), Shad Khan, made his way to the ring and looked visibly angry as he received updates from the medical staff tending to Tony as the show went off the air.

Well… let’s talk about it.

When it was announced that TK and Perry would be in the ring together, the thought of TK getting attacked crossed my mind. It seemed like a possibility, but I assumed it wasn’t going to happen. Although we’ve seen Tony Khan make appearances in front of live crowds in the past, it seems like most of those were before or after shows were on the air. He has never seemed like someone who wanted to be an on-air personality, although he never seemed to have a problem with wrestlers and commentators saying his name on-air repeatedly.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see that he was willing to participate in a storyline that involves him being on the receiving end of any sort of physicality.

I’ve been very clear on the way I feel about Tony Khan, the way he books the company, and the way he carries himself on social media. I do feel that he is one of, if not, the biggest thing currently holding AEW back from reaching their true potential.

With that said, he gets respect from me for doing what he did on Dynamite. Like any other pro wrestling boss that has allowed themselves to take any sort of on-screen beating, it’s something they don’t have to do. They can sit in an office somewhere, watching their bank account grow, and never approach any sort of danger whatsoever. Nobody would fault them for that. From Vince McMahon to Dixie Carter to Eric Bischoff and on and on… there is a long history of wrestling bosses (to varying levels of bossery) getting their asses kicked on television for the good of the product.

So… kudos to Tony Khan for that.

Did it turn out okay?

That’s debatable.

TK sold the first shot by Perry with every bit of clumsy awkwardness that he is known for. He gets hit in the gut with a microphone, selling it by literally leaving his feet and collapsing to the ground. Then, almost as if he forgot his cue, he waits a second or two before grabbing his midsection and selling the pain he was in.

I won’t give him shit for the sell of the Meltzer/Khan Driver. He did fine there, selling it as if he were dead. The problem I have with it is the move itself. It looks ridiculously dumb, and even when the Bucks are performing it on a trained pro wrestler, the move doesn’t come close to looking like it makes any contract. It’s simply flipping and flopping for the sake of flipping and flopping. Having to pull it back to protect TK only made the move itself look worse.

Immediately after the show ended, I saw a ton of people talking about the Bucks, Okada, and Perry being an nWo-like group looking to perform some sort of “takeover” in the company. First of all, that’s a hilarious comparison to make, simply because the start of the nWo came after attacking Eric Bischoff, which means Tony Khan played the Eric Bischoff role here. I’m sure he would LOVE those comparisons, folks.

Secondly, I can’t take any comparisons between the two groups seriously for one reason. At that point in the group’s history, the as-yet-unnamed nWo consisted of Scott Hall, a 6’7″ badass that was one of the toughest guys around, and Kevin Nash, 6’10” and another one of the sport’s toughest guys. Both men walked and talked the parts they were playing. Let’s just say that Jack Perry, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson do not. Even if you call yourself their biggest fan, you can’t say it’s because they come across as the biggest and baddest dudes in the sport today. Sure, they’re bigger and badder than Tony Khan, but so is Negative One, so what are we really saying here?

The Bucks and Jack Perry bring a lot to the table, but being able to carry the “tough guy” characters isn’t going to be a strong suit of theirs.

In the immediate short term, although the angle got social media talking, it didn’t do anything for the ratings and viewership numbers that Dynamite saw. Why? Well, it couldn’t have done anything, because it wasn’t something that was hyped or promoted. We got a really casual, last-minute mention DURING THE SHOW that Tony and Jack were going to have a face-to-face meeting in the ring, and that was it.

Those viewership numbers, though? The episode saw 683,000 viewers, which was the lowest for an episode of Dynamite since October 10th, 2023 when they aired on a Tuesday and went head-to-head with NXT. It’s the lowest number for an episode of Dynamite that aired in its regular time slot since the January 6th, 2021 episode had 662,000 viewers.

Will the buzz of what happened to Tony Khan help the viewership numbers for this week? I would think so. All sorts of pro football media ran stories on the angle because TK is the Chief Football Strategy Officer for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars (Shad Khan is the team’s Owner). Pat McAfee… you know, WWE employee Pat McAfee… mentioned the entire thing during his NFL Draft show. TK went viral on social media because he was shown at Jaguars headquarters wearing a neck brace during the Draft. The entire thing got way too much attention after the fact for there not to be a bump in viewership on Dynamite this week.

Does that mean Dynamite will reach the one million viewers mark for the first time since February 22nd, 2023? Of course not. They’ll get more than 683,000 viewers, though. If they don’t… holy shit, if they don’t… it might be time for some wholesale changes all over the company.

The weirdest thing about all of this… I’m excited to watch and see what sort of follow-up comes from this. I’m a weekly viewer of all AEW programming, but this has me very intrigued. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about where the angle could be, and should be, going from here.

I will gladly tune in and continue watching the shows, waiting to see the next step in this story. When it comes to AEW, it is always about following up and following through. They’re great at putting on spectacular matches, memorable segments, and exciting debuts of new signees. More often than not, the follow up to those things fails to capitalize on any momentum that was initially built.

We shall see, won’t we?

We. Shall. See.

For now, I’ll give the whole thing a “thumbs up” that is slightly more enthusiastic than the ones Orange Cassidy gives. Don’t let me down, TK.

Weekly Power Rankings

Ilja Dragunov vs Trick Williams: The match was a lot of fun, but the vibe in the arena and the moment where Trick was finally crowned the brand new NXT Champion are what have this in the top spot here. At multiple points during the entire thing, the upper level camera was shaking because the arena was rocking so hard. A very special match, culminating in a very special moment for a man who continues his meteoric rise through the ranks.

The Attack On Tony Khan: As I said, it’s all about how the company follows up and follows through from here on.

Swerve Strickland vs Claudio Castagnoli: As you’ll soon see, it’s pretty clear that I enjoyed Swerve’s first week as the AEW World Champion. He has a ton of momentum right now, and here’s to hoping that he has a title reign befitting of someone with that momentum.

Swerve Strickland vs Kyle Fletcher: Like I said, I really enjoyed Swerve’s first week as the AEW World Champion.

Sheamus vs Shinsuke Nakamura: Even though he isn’t in the same physical shape that he’s usually in, Sheamus continues to prove he can have banger after banger after banger after banger. Unfortunately for Mr. Nakamura, it has now been two-and-a-half months since he has won a match, televised or otherwise. The match that he won two-and-a-half months ago? That was his first win of any kind in three months. Yikes.

Ricochet & Andrade vs JD McDonagh & Santos Escobar: If you look at who was involved in the match, you can already picture what type of match this was, even if you didn’t see it. Lots of fun from bell to bell. Hard to ask for much more.

Becky Lynch: Congratulations to WWE’s brand new Women’s World Champion. It sucks that it had to happen because of an injury to Rhea Ripley… and it also sucks that it came as a result of winning a Battle Royal… but congratulations nonetheless.

Casino Gauntlet Match: At this point in pro wrestling’s lifespan, it’s almost impossible to come up with new match types. AEW, to their credit, has tried to come up with a handful of new ones. Many of them didn’t quite “hit” with me, but I was actually a fan of this one. It made things extra wild and extra frantic. As long as they don’t run the concept directly into the ground, I’m a fan, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again down the road.

Chuck Taylor vs Trent Beretta: Okay, can we move on to Trent’s actual push now? For a long time, he has been one of the most underutilized members of the AEW roster, and this heel turn could be exactly what he needs to move on and accomplish bigger and better things.

Cody Rhodes vs Carmelo Hayes: The match being put together was fun. The match itself was fun. It’s just too bad that all anyone will remember here was… whatever the hell they were supposed to do when they attempted springboard moves at the end of the match. Cody is lucky as all hell that he didn’t completely tear his shoulder with the way he landed. Shit, can you imagine if he finally “finished the story” and then suffered a serious injury less than three weeks later that required him to drop the title and miss several months?

Rey Fenix vs The Beast Mortos: It was good to see Rey make his return to the ring after being on the shelf for the last six-and-a-half months. It was also good to see The Beast Mortos make a rare appearance on AEW television.

Roxanne Perez vs Lyra Valkyria vs Tatum Paxley: This was one of those fun matches that seemed to build and build and build, finally hitting us over the head with a super hot sprint of a finish. Everyone was sure that Roxanne would lose here, then end up getting drafted to Raw or Smackdown. With a win here, the plans for her immediate future aren’t as clear anymore.

Awesome Truth vs DIY: In a normal situation, I don’t think anyone would expect the brand new World Tag Team Champions to lose their titles three weeks after winning them at WrestleMania. Whether you like them or not, though, I’m not sure Awesome Truth are in a “normal” situation as “normal” champions. A lot of people thought the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for Ron Killings was the Mania win, but that his title reign would be short. The match had a lot more mystery because of that, and it made things a lot more entertaining than they might’ve been otherwise.

Thunder Rosa vs Deonna Purrazzo: The only issue I have with matches like this is that, at best, you’re going to split the crowd in half with two babyfaces to cheer for, and at worst, you’re going to have a quiet crowd because they don’t know which of the babyfaces to cheer for. The match itself was really good, so at least there’s that.

Top Flight & Action Andretti vs “Switchblade” Jay White & The Gunns: You know the running gag by now. Let’s check the notes. Three wrestlers… facing three other wrestlers… on AEW programming. Of course the match was good.

Kayfabe: We all had a good time when Tony Khan appeared at the NFL Draft with a neck brace to sell his attack at the hands of The Young Bucks and Jack Perry. Sure, some of those laughs faded away when TK did interviews where he was turning his head from side to side and moving all around, completely unaware of how to sell a “neck injury” in the slightest, but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?

Katsuyori Shibata & Daniel Garcia vs Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty: Earlier, I mentioned Trent Beretta being one of the most underutilized members of the AEW roster. Add Taylor and Moriarty to that list, as well. They’re too good to be stuck in Ring Of Honor. For that matter, add Daniel Garcia to that list, too. He’s still trying to wash that Chris Jericho stink off of himself, but those AEW live crowds are really waiting for him to become that breakout star most people think he can be.

Ricochet: Spoiler alert… he’s the new WWE Speed Champion. The match that sees him becoming the champion won’t be seen on Twitter for another week or so, but yeah, he won the title. Congratulations? I guess? We have no idea what will become of Speed, but if there’s anyone on the WWE roster who can make a three-minute match exciting, it would be Ricochet.

Kiana James: Whenever NXT is involved in the WWE Draft, it always seems like we get at least one “out of nowhere” call-up from the brand. This year, it’s Kiana James. Nothing against her, mind you. She has been improving a ton in NXT, and she has been doing some entertaining character work. It’s just that people like Roxanne Perez, Gigi Dolin, Lyra Valkyria, and others seemed to be more “popular” picks for women in NXT to be called up. They could still be on their way, but Kiana being first surprised a ton of people, myself included.

Darby Allin: If there was anyone who would be excited to get hit by a bus, breaking his nose, while already walking around with a broken foot, it would be Darby Allin. In all seriousness, I’m glad he’s okay, but I think the universe is continuing to send Darby hints that he should scrap any plans to climb Mount Everest. Before his foot injury, he said that the only things that could stop him from reaching the top of Everest were an avalanche or a Yeti. We’ll see if he still feels that way.

This Week’s Playlist: “Dogs Of War” by Mötley Crüe… “Hammer To The Heart” by Teddy Swims… “Some Things I’ll Never Know” by Teddy Swims… “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims… “What More Can I Say” by Teddy Swims… “You Still Get To Me” by Teddy Swims… “Suitcase” by Teddy Swims… “Spiral (Justice)” by Fame On Fire… “Rain” by Will Ramos & Nik Nocturnal… “I’m Your Puppet” by James & Bobby Purify… “Ridin Low” by L.A.D. & Darvy Traylor… “Gas Pedal” by Sage The Gemini & Iamsu!… “Lost (Remix)” by Gorilla Zoe & Lil Wayne… “Touch Me Tease Me” by Case & Foxy Brown… “Crush On You” by Lil Kim & Lil Cease… “Song Cry” by Jay-Z… “In Bloom” by Nirvana… “Come As You Are” by Nirvana… “Lithium” by Nirvana… “Something In The Way” by Nirvana… “Too Sweet” by Hozier… “Bartender Song (Sittin’ At A Bar)” by Rehab… “It Don’t Matter” by Rehab… “Come And Get Your Love” by Redbone… “Baby I’m Yours” by Shai