I think the best way might be in isolation, so Vince doesn’t get any crazy ideas about them. But it’s an obvious thing that can set them apart whilst appealing to the hardcore fan. I think there is casual appeal in wrestlers actually wrestling when they can do the style well.

I would love to watch a roster full of these men. Maybe revive the original CWC style of cruiserweight wrestling while you're at it.

I said it at the time — the CWC should have been an annual thing with year-to-year stories. The winner gets an IC or US Title shot. Yeah, you’d get TJ Perkins former IC Champ, and fuck that guy, but the next year could have been Cedric Alexander. The next year? Johnny Gargano.

Something to look forward to every year with stakes that isn’t this floating turd of an alleged division.

I remember when Neville (PAC) would you use a superplex as a finisher during his run as cruiserweight champion before transitioning to the Rings of Saturn.

If you were Tony, who would you fire/let go?
 

If you were Tony Kahn who would you let go when contracts are up or just straight up cut ties with? I think there are several talents and a few big money ones that need to be shown the exit.

Here is my list...

Aaron Solo - Can't see any benefit to him, even as far as jobbers go he's nothing special

Alan Angles - He's good in the ring but with the Dark Order it's nothing memorable for him and I just don't see any point unless he starts being a featured jobber.

TH2 - While I enjoy Angelico especially dancing to the ring, this team has probably hit is peak in AEW and at this time are floundering. Jack Evans isn't really good enough for AEW at this time.

Brian Cage - I don't really see Cage rising further than the spot he had when he debuted in AEW. He has zero character and personality and that is not going to change. He's best off elsewhere.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. - Unless he's an agent that they really need I can't see any reason to keep him around. He isn't a character that anyone really cares about and was used poorly in his initial run.

Jake Hager - He's crap in everyway, there are other who could play his role but it's best that The Inner Circle dies off sooner than later. No use for Hager after that, as if there is one for him now.

Joey Janella - Been saying it for over a year, he's got nothing left for AEW. They don't book him well at all. He had some fanfare when AEW started but they didn't use him in a way to capitalize on it. Let him go.

Kip Sabian - Unless he can show something great with his next character then I think he should be let go. He's not that great and has done nothing memorable in AEW other than ruin Miro's initial run.

Luther - Seriously?

Mark Henry - I can't help but get a little angry with how Mark constantly critiques AEW on his radio show in a way that sounds very negative and toxic. He's bringing nothing to AEW because he is completely talentless outside of one specific role. He's responsible for some of the worst matches WWE ever had and it's a fucking joke that he has any reverence to the point of being an agent. He had to be trained for over a decade to get anything decent out of him. He's shit, fuck him.

Matt Hardy - Okay gimmick out the window. Matt's existence in AEW in my opinion when it comes to the contract negotiations should be dependent on if Jeff's WWE deal is up. If they can get a Hardy Boys run then sure, keep Matt. But otherwise, I think let the contract expire and shake hands.

Paul Wight - I can't imagine extending the contact Paul Wight signed at the beginning of the year. He's absolutely done in the ring and isn't that great on commentary, sorry Paul I don't see the point. I'd say arrange the Shaq match on an episode of Rampage and shake hands and walk the other way.

Sonny Kiss - Horrible character and wrestler. I hate this shit.

Not a bad list. I’d keep Henry and maybe Paul Wight though. Could be good figures in the locker-room if people listened to them. Good public figures too. Henry criticizes them because they do stupid things. He’s like JR like that. Getting rid of them doesn’t get rid of the problems.

I don’t care what anyone says, Orange Cassidy is gone. It’s a geek act and for every person that claps like a trained seal because they have a sadomasochistic relationship with wrestling, at least nine are turned off spending money on the product. He’s fucking awful, he can’t “work when he gets serious.” He signposts everything he is going to do, isn’t entertaining and is completely counterproductive to a show trying to present guys like Punk and Danielson in sincere ways.

Chuck Taylor because he sucks also.

I’m on the fence about Miro. He’s about done to me. I’d maybe try him in a mid-card feud with Cody & wife.

Most of The Dark Order needs to go. I’d assess them one-by-one and see who warrants repackaging.

QT Marshall can go away.

As far as who jumps from WWE to AEW? There seem to indicators that Steen is going. I’m not so sure about Zayn and Gargano though. It may just be wiser to stay in the WWE. It really just depends on what you are after.

But Rampage just got 502k viewers with an advertised CM Punk match. What is Kevin Steen going to do to ramp things up? You go there for creative freedom, accepting that everyone else is going to have it too. Then you disappear into obscurity and hope that the vanity cheques keep coming through.

How dare they be creatively fulfilled? I do not approve of it.

cant eat creativity

Gotta figure Ricochet watching Rey Fenix become a universally loved madman while doing the same thing Ricochet does while being a jobber is probably eating at him a little bit.

Saw some clip of ricochet trying to cut a promo, interjecting himself into an on going promo between two other guys. Pretty sure it was Ethan Page that clowned him about needing to learn to talk and sweet Jesus was he right.

Hasn’t Ricochet worked a WWE Title match at a Saudi Arabian show? He’s been a main roster performer for years and years on a show watched several times more than an AEW show. His fiancée/wife works for the company too. Between them, even without main event pay, they will likely be clearly $1 million a year.

Maybe he is artistically unfulfilled? That’s allowed. But there are plenty of reasons Ricochet isn’t looking up at a guy like Rey Fenix.

Yes, everyone in AEW is working for scraps.

That’s true. And you also want to go to places where the people creating are actually creating art too. It’s amateurish to give everyone the same amount of input when the talent levels are not the same.

We're gatekeeping creativity now. From your mother's basement no less.

It’s amateurish to assume that everyone is getting the same level of input.

The three I'll focus on here are Hager, Hardy, and Cage since they seem the most consequential to AEW television.

Hager, mercifully, seems to be reserved for tag matches for the most part. I did really like the singles stuff he did with Wardlow but I also think the sky's the limit for Wardlow. If Hager ain't wrestling him I don't want him anywhere near singles action.

Hardy I actually really love in his current role of "worst manager of all-time" and I look forward to his clients eventually realizing he's emptied their bank accounts for nothing. Managerial work is a fun spot for him, I'd rather keep his in-ring stuff to a bare minimum.

And Cage, yeah, I'm OK if he goes away. Does some impressive stuff in the ring for a man his size but he's not particularly likable. I assume the only reason Vince hasn't made a bigger push for him is that he'd make a mockery of the Wellness policies.

Other than that I definitely agree that Wight should be done wrestling - I think it was nice to make a goodwill attempt to try to let him end his in-ring career on his own terms but it's clear the injuries are just too much to overcome. I think he has wisdom to impart in a backstage role but that's about it.

Actually a few of the guys you listed work backstage. Aaron Solo is a Nightmare Factory trainer so he's probably got job security though at least he knows his role as a patsy. Luther's only wrestled a handful of times on Dynamite and hasn't been on since February, he's a producer I think.

Basically most of the list are relegated to Elevation/Dark and as long as that's their position going forward I'm indifferent on whether or not Khan chooses to retain any of them.

Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, The Bucks and Matt Hardy clearly are. That’s too much in the wrong direction.