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It has been a little over half a decade since AEW's formation and the company has managed to become a worthy alternative to WWE. Over the years, they have produced several compelling moments and introduced the world to some of the best talents in the current wrestling landscape. Wrestlers such as MJF, Darby Allin, Jack Perry, Britt Baker, and more are now household names. However, one star who was expected to be a top star but did not live up to the hype was Wardlow.
Fans speculated that three-time AEW TNT Champion Wardlow would become one of the faces of the company. However, Tony Khan had other plans. The 36-year-old is 6 ft 2 in tall and muscular. Furthermore, he is strong, athletic, and a skilled in-ring worker. He was initially having a good run in the promotion, but since the end of last year, fans have noticed that he has been ignored. They believe that the Undisputed Kingdom member is being heavily underutilized and deserves main event spots.
Former WWE star Matt Morgan was asked about the above-mentioned situation on the Gigantic Pop Podcast and he agreed with fans' opinions.
"That dude was money and y'all blew it multitudes of times. It's annoying." [From 47:00 to 47:09]
Legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter also believes that AEW "dropped the ball" with Wardlow
On a December 2023 episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine podcast, Bill Apter expressed his displeasure towards AEW for not making the best use of Wardlow.
Furthermore, he stated that if WWE were in charge, they would have made him Batista 2.0.
"They dropped the ball completely with Wardlow as far as I’m concerned. If WWE had Wardlow, they would have made him—I’ve mentioned this on our show before, they would have made him another Batista. They would have made him a huge start, and it’s not too late. Other than that group that I mentioned, who’s in AEW that you want to see other than that group?” [ From 2:07 - 2:36]
Wardlow has recently been heavily linked with a move to WWE. It remains to be seen whether that will come to fruition soon.
