AEW vs. GCW

Professional wrestling, for whatever reason, regardless of if there's $20 on the line at a sparsely-attended independent show in the middle of nowhere, of if there could be millions at stake on the national stage, has always tended to drift toward pettiness. Maybe it's the fact that the action is scripted and thus at the behest of someone with the pencil, or maybe it's simply the ego-driven nature that is often seen in the entertainment business across the board.

One of the many criticisms of All Elite Wrestling, some of which have merit and others that don't, is that some talent would more or less completely disappear with little to no explanation. For anyone that ends up on the Ring Of Honor project, it offers less exposure than the witness protection program so of the very bloated roster, there are many that are flown to television, appear in front of the smaller audiences in the building, but that the vast majority of the All Elite viewing audience wouldn't know that they even had a match because they weren't on Dynamite.

Beyond that, there are also those that are simply a healthy scratch from the AEW line-up. Some competitors are being paid by Tony Khan as a part of their All Elite contract, but he doesn't have anything scripted for them so they stay home, get the check, and are essentially on ice until Tony has something for them to do on the show.

One example of this is cult favorite, Danhausen, who inked a deal in 2022, but hasn't appeared for the company in almost a year. He had previously suffered a torn pec, but even after he recovered from the injury, he only worked on the independent circuit this year. He's undoubtedly healthy, as he continues to wrestle outside of AEW, but it seems rather wasteful to keep him under contract if Tony has no use for him. That's not to say that Danhausen is the next Steve Austin in terms of drawing power, but rather to point out that even niche performers have been put on ice while under a contract.

Another example, and arguably someone with a bigger mainstream upside is, "Absolute" Ricky Starks, who had an injury scare in March, but was cleared to compete. However, that was the last time that he was booked for AEW and he has only worked two matches since then, with the most recent being an independent bout last weekend. Starks has done a few interviews where he explained that he was healthy and had a little communication with the company, but wasn't given a reason why he wasn't used for anything for the rest of the year.

In terms of pettiness, I always find it amazing that, similar to the CM Punk situation, that you hear these stories that the talent can't get an answer from the company that they work for so they have to take it to a public forum to get some type of answer. In my opinion, it speaks volumes to the lack of leadership and structure if a wrestler has to speculate about their status with a national organization on a random podcast.

That being said, Ricky Starks resurfaced in the pro wrestling world last weekend at GCW's "Dream On" event, a show that was held in the afternoon on the same day as the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view to capitalize on the influx of fans that would be in the New Jersey area. The event itself had a cool look, as it was held at a mall and had a visual that looked similar to the Mall of America episode of Nitro. Starks cut a promo and basically it was used as a way to set up that he would be a part of the GCW roster, with it later announced that it would be Starks vs. Matt Cardona at a future event.

However, the buzz of Starks' surprise appearence would only last a few days when it was announced that AEW decided to cancel Starks from his scheduled GCW appearances. While All Elite talent are allowed to take outside bookings, those appearances are subject to AEW approval. Supposedly, AEW management made the decision to cancel Starks from GCW events based on comments Effy made on his podcast about Shad Khan, Tony's dad, funding All Elite Wrestling so that he wasn't involved in the football team that the family owns, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Obviously, it's well-known that without coming from a billionaire family, Tony Khan wouldn't be the booker of the second-largest pro wrestling company in the United States. At the same time, for Effy to mention Tony's dad and speculate about specifically why he funded a wrestling project seems a little personal.  The perceived beef between the two sides stems from the fact that after GCW announced its return to the Hammerstein Ballroom, the famous venue that held ECW and ROH events in its heyday, it was announced that Tony's version of Ring Of Honor would present its Final Battle pay-per-view from the same location a few weeks earlier.

On the surface, it might seem like AEW is trying to undercut Game Changer Wrestling by holding its pay-per-view there, but I have to be honest, I think it's probably more of a coincidence than anything else. The original ROH held events, including Final Battle at the venue in the past so it's not completely out of nowhere that the brand would run the building. At the same time, it does at least theoretically make things a little more difficult for GCW if fans are put in the position to financially have to choose between the two shows. There's economic uncertainty and inflation in terrible so financial constraints are a legitimate concern.

This might not be the most provocative take on this situation, but all things considered, GCW and AEW at odds doesn't do anything to help either promotion or the pro wrestling industry as a whole. In many ways, GCW tries to position itself in a similar fashion as the original ECW in terms of being a bridge between the major leagues, and as a way for talent to be discovered. Thankfully, Game Changer has all of the lessons of what not to do from the original ECW to try to avoid some of the same pitfalls. More than anything, Game Changer understands its position, it's an independent organization, an independent with a bigger reach than most, but still an independent. They aren't going to attempt to compete with AEW or WWE, and they don't have to, they've found a profitable niche that also serves a purpose for the industry.

When Jon Moxley was AEW and GCW champion simultaneously, it was a boost for Game Changer because they had a world champion of a national promotion as their titleholder and at the same time, it gave All Elite somewhat of an edge as the alternative to WWE since you'd never see the WWE champion work an independent show.

GCW owner, Brett Lauderdale somewhat downplayed the situation in recent comments, explaining that Effy is his own person and he doesn't speak for GCW. At this point, what else is Lauderdale going to do? He isn't going to win a verbal sparring match with a billionaire, as it won't help his company, and he has a point, he's not in control of what Effy or anyone else on the GCW roster says in public.

The pettiness of the whole situation is that All Elite Wrestling is keeping Starks under contract with seemingly no plans to use him for anything, other than that they probably don't want to have the perception of another former AEW talent that goes to WWE and becomes a much bigger star in the process. A realistic look at the situation, Starks is a talented guy and probably too talented to just sit at home so if they aren't going to book him for anything, why not just release him? Even if he ends up with a WWE contract, does anyone think that Starks is going to main event Wrestlemania? Don't get me wrong, if Starks actually does go to WWE, I think he could be successful there, but it's doubtful that he will be the next Roman Reigns. So other than throwing money away on his contract, and we know that money is no object for Tony Khan, what exactly is the point of keeping Starks under contract or preventing him from working for GCW?

Look, Starks working for GCW wasn't going to boost Game Changer itself, but it was another aspect that added to the reputation of the organization as a bridge so to speak, which gives them something unique to promote for the brand. If Tony Khan has learned anything from being a promoter in the past five years, hopefully, he realized that wrestling fans aren't going to feel bad for a billionaire. If All Elite blocks talent from GCW, it gives the impression that the billionaire is punching down on the little engine that could organization. At the same time, GCW can't overplay its hand because quite frankly, they will need access to some AEW talent in the future to keep their shows fresh. Hopefully, there's some type of compromise in the future because right now, it seems like this could be a lose-lose situation for everyone involved since it wouldn't help either company.