# Is Tony Khan the worst booker of all time?



## Geeee (Aug 9, 2010)

if we're judging this based entirely on signing big names vs drastically plummeting ratings over time, then there's only one answer here, pal


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## HBK Styles Ospreay (Jan 15, 2020)

Shouldn't the worst booker of all time be some like Vince Russo? Who drove WCW into the ground!

Tony isn't the best, but he's definitely not that bad yet either.


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## 3venflow (Feb 3, 2019)

No. And ratings aren't 'in the toilet', they're still a top-ranking cable show even when the ratings dip.


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## $Dolladrew$ (Jun 15, 2020)

Yawn......


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## Honey Bucket (Jul 3, 2012)

He’s not good, but worst? Yeah, not correct. Step forward Jim Herd. If it wasn’t for his time in WWF, then Russo would be up there.


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## PavelGaborik (Oct 30, 2015)

Do you not watch the current WWE product? Did you not watch 2000 WCW?

Is this thread a joke?


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## Jman55 (Nov 21, 2016)

TK's inexperience in the role can show through for sure and he makes some mistakes but he's not even close to being the worst that's just illogically extreme on the AEW negativity. He definitely could do with hiring someone with experience in the role as an advisor though rather than trying to handle it himself with no prior experience even if he still retains final say just having an experienced voice would help.


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## A PG Attitude (Nov 5, 2012)

Such a ridiculous thread. Hot crowds every week and well reviewed shows. They might not have as many viewers as WWE but I guarantee more of AEW'S fans enjoy the product regularly than people watching WWE.


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## DUD (Feb 21, 2021)

I'll never understand why wrestling fans care so much about live raitings based on a flimsy algorithm in 2021. You don't hear this much talk about raitings with any other type of programming. It's borderline embarrassing the way influential figures manipulate these numbers. Especially when you consider the various methods out there to consume content.


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## Ger (Jul 20, 2018)

This sections turn more and more into extremes. A few guys here see Tony Khan as the wrestling god himself, while others are dissappointed about him not being the perfect booker, although he just worked for 2 years in an very artificial version (endless money) of the busines. As long Tony doesn't leave to independent (not wrestling themself) extremly experiendes PROs, you will have to wait until Tony gets slowly better over time. Am already happy, that the crap from the very beginning is mostly over. Ah wait, back then same people here told me, that this already was best wrestling possible.



3venflow said:


> No. And ratings aren't 'in the toilet', they're still a top-ranking cable show even when the ratings dip.


If you go by that meh ratings, then WWE was for years a great show.


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## shandcraig (Mar 23, 2008)

HBK Styles Ospreay said:


> Shouldn't the worst booker of all time be some like Vince Russo? Who drove WCW into the ground!
> 
> Tony isn't the best, but he's definitely not that bad yet either.



He also booked the biggest peak of wwf and wrestling history


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

This bait again?


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## shandcraig (Mar 23, 2008)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> This bait again?



Likely, just wanted to put my 2 cents in about Russo during the peak of wrestling. No comment about Tony.


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## DUD (Feb 21, 2021)

shandcraig said:


> He also booked the biggest peak of wwf and wrestling history


Has it ever be distinguished what his role was in WWE? I only ask because everybody there seems to have a different opinion on who was responsible for what during the peak and none of them have an impeccable record of telling the truth.

I have always been under the impression that Vince Russo has a place on a creative committee and is a good producer. Kurt Angle said he enjoyed working with him as he did with Brian Gerwirtz for example. As a head booker with the final say though you get WCW 2000.


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## ShadowCounter (Sep 1, 2016)

He's been doing it for 25 months and he's done some amazing work. He's only gonna get better.


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## shandcraig (Mar 23, 2008)

Forum Dud said:


> Has it ever be distinguished what his role was in WWE? I only ask because everybody there seems to have a different opinion on who was responsible for what during the peak and none of them have an impeccable record of telling the truth.
> 
> I have always been under the impression that Vince Russo has a place on a creative committee and is a good producer. Kurt Angle said he enjoyed working with him as he did with Brian Gerwirtz for example. As a head booker with the final say though you get WCW 2000.



he was part of the creative team and booked a lot but was not the only one butt mainly everything went through vince and he approved it. with out someone over looking russo hes not consistent. His vision was trash for a already sinking ship in wcw. TNA he was all over the place. he had some great booking with plenty of trash booking because he could do whatever he wanted and didnt have a filter.

He also had a lot of bad ideas during the attitude era but lots of good. It worked well for many reasons above russo during the attitude era. They just had a entire vision for those years that were exciting and JR brought in a insane amount of amazing talent, 

vince was his filter.


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## somerandomfan (Dec 13, 2013)

shandcraig said:


> vince was his filter.


Vince McMahon being the filter Vince Russo needed so they both could put on a product so well received people still talk about it just goes to show that sometimes two wrongs _can_ make a right.


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## RVD4200 (May 12, 2020)

Lmao! AEW is the best wrestling I’ve seen in a LONG ass time. I don’t give a fuck about ratings or building a fan base.


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## DMD Mofomagic (Jun 9, 2017)

I miss The Wood, so I can get into a drag out fight how Vince Russo deserves the credit he gets.

Alas, that is not to be.

But for the topic at hand: Herb Abrams is easily the worst booker of all time. Ian Rotten is 2nd. And then the rest of the list is kind of just jumbled together.

TK is doing a solid C- job as a booker. He books to his audience and sends them into a frenzy (Just like Paul Heyman) but has trouble coming up with stories that give enough creativity to the show/roster.

Except for Cody, no one likes anything Cody does anymore


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## deadcool (May 4, 2006)

TK in fact is doing a very good job in presenting a contemporary wrestling product. I don't quite get the hate.

There are plenty of wrestling promoters that are just downright bad; Dixie Carter, Vince Russo, Paul Heyman, etc.


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## SolarPowerBat (Nov 24, 2014)

RogueSlayer said:


> Yes or no
> 
> For me it's an absolute yes because he's signed big name free agents and the ratings are in the toilet.


Is that you Vince?


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## Thomazbr (Apr 26, 2009)

DMD Mofomagic said:


> I miss The Wood, so I can get into a drag out fight how Vince Russo deserves the credit he gets.
> 
> Alas, that is not to be.
> 
> ...


Ian isn't the worst innit. I mean he is defeinitively an scumbag and doesn't pay his talents, but it's not like IWA MS was actually booked badly.
TPI were for the most part for example pretty well booked.

Now I'm no IWA MS specialist, so I could be missing out, but giving him the second prize for second worst booker feels pretty rough (if we're only talking about the act of booking, not the whole "doesn't pay his talents" stuff)


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

shandcraig said:


> Likely, just wanted to put my 2 cents in about Russo during the peak of wrestling. No comment about Tony.


just wanted to make sure you know i meant the OP


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## Joe Gill (Jun 29, 2019)

There is a difference between TK the business man and promoter, and TK the booker. Tony has done a very respectable job as a promoter and deserves credit....but strictly as a booker....holy fuck he is brutal. Context matters. TK has the best roster outside of WWE since WCW in late 90s. He has a tv deal with a major network. He has the flexibility with a tv 14 product. Despite all of that he puts out an indy vibe show with flat storylines. As bad as WCW was near the end...it never felt like you were watching an Indy show. TK is in over his head. He has admitted that he barely sleeps. He is trying to micromanage AEW and still has involvement in other companies. Head booker should be a fulltime job....and not writing down fantasy ppv cards while trying to run a shitty football team. Even if you enjoy the matches.... its mind boggling that their are people out there that think the storylines are well executed.


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## Geert Wilders (Jan 18, 2021)

CM Punk and Bryan Danielson are B+ players. The only players who would actually bring a bump are:
-The Rock
-Stone Cold Steve Austin
-John Cena


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## Alright_Mate (Jul 21, 2014)

WWE’s booking is in a worse state than AEW; however those who bow down to Tony Khan’s booking are delusional.

Booking your Champion in a Ghostbusters outfit one week, then follow it by having him face a nobody, is terrible booking.

The current booking of CM Punk is terrible booking.

The booking of Adam Page is terrible booking.

The list could go on.

In terms of booking, in terms of ratings, there’s nothing worth celebrating in Wrestling anymore, AEW’s booking and ratings are nothing to shout about, same case for WWE.


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## Adapting (Jun 21, 2020)

Far from the worst booker. I'd say one of the bests, but it isn't hard with how much talent he has to work with.


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## One Shed (Jan 7, 2014)

Not in a world where Herb Abrams and Jim Herd have existed.


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## thorwold (Dec 19, 2015)

He isn't even the worst booker working in North America today, let alone the worst of ALL TIME.


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## El Hammerstone (Jan 11, 2020)

Herb Abrams would still be my #1


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## Undertaker23RKO (Jun 11, 2011)

He's not even the worst active booker. Looks like we have 9 children here.


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## Dickhead1990 (Aug 31, 2016)

80% disagree. Maybe AEW isn't for you then?


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## Brittburgh (Oct 24, 2021)

Sullivan vs Russo for worst booker ever lol
The horrific doomsday cage match is still fresh in my mind from Sullivans run 
and Viagra on a pole matches from Russo 
yep TK is much better than these guys


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## shandcraig (Mar 23, 2008)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> just wanted to make sure you know i meant the OP


lol yes


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## validreasoning (Jul 4, 2012)

HBK Styles Ospreay said:


> Shouldn't the worst booker of all time be some like Vince Russo? Who drove WCW into the ground!
> 
> Tony isn't the best, but he's definitely not that bad yet either.


Russo was head writer not a booker

A booker controls everything from talent signed to who is pushed to venues played. Russo never had that power.


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## DMD Mofomagic (Jun 9, 2017)

Thomazbr said:


> Ian isn't the worst innit. I mean he is defeinitively an scumbag and doesn't pay his talents, but it's not like IWA MS was actually booked badly.
> TPI were for the most part for example pretty well booked.
> 
> Now I'm no IWA MS specialist, so I could be missing out, but giving him the second prize for second worst booker feels pretty rough (if we're only talking about the act of booking, not the whole "doesn't pay his talents" stuff)


Part of being a good booker IMO is taking care of his talents.

Ian Rotten didn't do that. He put a lot of people in a lot of bad situations.

It doesn't supercede him being able to book a wrestling show once a month. IMO


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## #BadNewsSanta (Sep 26, 2004)

I’d be surprised if he was the worst. He’s not the best ever, but there are some things he’s good at.


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## Stellar (May 30, 2016)

There have been far worse bookers in past decades I am sure.

This is what happens when everyone feels the need to give their opinion about everything. We get things like this thread. Thanks for helping prove my point that us wrestling FANS shouldn't be listened to about everything. Some of us don't know what we are talking about. Especially regarding ratings.


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## Garty (Jul 29, 2007)

Why do we get one of these threads after every Dynamite or Rampage?!


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

Garty said:


> Why do we get one of these threads after every Dynamite or Rampage?!


only when there is a dip in the ratings

its like clockwork brother


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## Whoanma (Apr 5, 2016)




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## TheFiend666 (Oct 5, 2019)

3venflow said:


> No. And ratings aren't 'in the toilet', they're still a top-ranking cable show even when the ratings dip.


This is giving me TNA flashbacks when their fans use to say this with their ratings lol


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## THANOS (Jun 20, 2006)

Horrendous thread and topic. Nothing else to add than that.


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## DZ Crew (Sep 26, 2016)

Imo he's not a good booker. But there's been far worse than him.


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## 3venflow (Feb 3, 2019)

TheFiend666 said:


> This is giving me TNA flashbacks when their fans use to say this with their ratings lol


TNA was rarely near the top of the cable rankings. AEW almost always is. The TV industry is different now with fewer people watching and millions upon millions cutting the cord, meaning cable networks desperately want shows that perform. Warner want _more_ of AEW, not less, and have three unnamed projects in the works.

A few weeks ago, AEW Dynamite, AEW Rampage and Rhodes to the Top were the only non-NBA shows on TNT to make the cable rankings.

AEW will not only receive a renewal by TNT/TBS, they will receive a lot more money next time around.


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## Remco (Jun 17, 2021)

Kevin Nash as booker in WCW...


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## Kenny's Ghost (Nov 23, 2020)

Lol no. Come on. Wrestling fans are way too hyperbolic in general.


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## hardcorewrasslin (Jun 29, 2016)

No where close


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## Chip Chipperson (Jun 29, 2019)

I'd say that I'm probably the only one on this forum who is actually a real life booker so with that experience in mind we can assess Tony.

First the positives, Tony is a guy who can put 9 matches on a Pay Per View and people will want to see those matches. The upcoming PPV for example apart from the match to decide who has the biggest ass that's a pretty solid PPV card without one stinker on it. His matchmaking is strong.

The rest though are negatives:

- When it comes to giving us a reason why these guys are fighting he struggles a lot. People praise him for Hangman/Kenny which has been a stop start stop start mess, he has never really booked a compelling story line even when said story line is easy to write (FTR Vs The Bucks is a good example) and a lot of what he does is either blatantly ripped off from historical wrestling angles that he enjoyed as a kid or when he deviates from that it rarely makes sense.

- He lets his emotions control what he puts out on TV. For example, Tony loves Orange Cassidy so Orange Cassidy is this guy who is kind of around the main event scene on a semi regular basis, nobody really cares about Hangman/Kenny except the AEW hardcores but because he wants to see Hangman with the belt he'll do it even though Bryan is the better choice.

- Bad eye for talent. His best signings are all proven commodities from elsewhere whilst the signings he's made to try and develop as his own usually struggle. 

- Also from what we've seen behind the scenes at AEW featuring Tony he isn't much of a management type either. I still cringe at him walking behind Britt Baker marking out for her and excitedly telling people that the show is eligible for Meltzer's show of the year.

- Pretty much what I'm getting at is if it isn't throwing matches together he isn't good at it.

---

Is he the worst booker of all time including independent bookers and all that? No. Is he the worst mainstream booker of all time? That comes down to if you count Herb Abrams as a mainstream big time promoter. I personally don't because it seems like his promotion was more on the level of ROH.

Jim Herd doesn't count as he simply headed a committee. 

If you want to count Herd and Abrams then Tony is the third worst mainstream booker of all time but I personally see him as the worst mainstream booker of all time without question. The man doesn't even know how to format a television show.


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## Nickademus_Eternal (Feb 24, 2014)

Fuck no he ain't. That honor goes to Vince McMahon. Can't create air with a fart.


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## PhenomenalOne11 (Oct 2, 2016)

No he's not the worst but I wouldn't call him a good booker by any means, he doesn't seem to have a multi year plan for where he wants to take the company and would rather fantasy book his dream matches, if he wants to do that then fine, but it's not going to gain him a bigger audience.


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## Wolf Mark (Jun 5, 2020)

I don't want to pile on rich baby Khan but I cannot think of a worst booker/writer right now.


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## Wolf Mark (Jun 5, 2020)

Two Sheds said:


> Not in a world where Herb Abrams and Jim Herd have existed.


I would take WCW under Jim Herd over current AEW any days of the week.


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## Rookie of the Year (Mar 26, 2015)

It's pretty dishonest to judge the quality of the show and the quality of Tony's booking purely by ratings. Numbers are an indicator, sure, but not the be all end all. Just because AEW didn't instataneously bring in millions upon millions of viewers and crush WWE, doesn't mean Tony is a failure.

Brand recognition is a huge thing. WWE has a good 50 years of BEING wrestling, in the same way that Coke/Coca-Cola is used as a catch-all for "cola", and over 20 years of being the only real game in town. That was highlighted on social media with Jorge Masvidal and ATT getting coverage, and most of the comments saying "I can't believe he's doing that fake WWE stuff".

The fact that AEW made a dent in WWE at this point, and beat one of their shows head to head for well over a year, is a great sign. The company has grown in leaps and bounds, jumping from 700K/800K on average to around the 1- 1.2 million mark. And that's without touring for the most part. Now that the worst of the pandemic is over, it'll only increase brand awareness and help AEW grow even more.

Tony also has some things at the ready that should definitely raise the profile of AEW. The MMA crossover getting the PPV spotlight at Full Gear. The pay-off to the Hangman Page saga. Inserting Bryan and Punk into meaningful programs- looks like Punk's getting there now with Eddie, and you gotta think we're getting Bryan vs. Omega again, possibly for the title unless Hangman has it.


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## Thomazbr (Apr 26, 2009)

No but wrestlingforum might be the worst wrestling forum of all time.


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## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

If we're being fair it has to be whoever booked Wrestling Society X shit was on MTV and didn't complete a full season lol


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## Wolf Mark (Jun 5, 2020)

Rookie of the Year said:


> It's pretty dishonest to judge the quality of the show and the quality of Tony's booking purely by ratings. Numbers are an indicator, sure, but not the be all end all. Just because AEW didn't instataneously bring in millions upon millions of viewers and crush WWE, doesn't mean Tony is a failure.
> 
> Brand recognition is a huge thing. WWE has a good 50 years of BEING wrestling, in the same way that Coke/Coca-Cola is used as a catch-all for "cola", and over 20 years of being the only real game in town. That was highlighted on social media with Jorge Masvidal and ATT getting coverage, and most of the comments saying "I can't believe he's doing that fake WWE stuff".
> 
> ...


But they are taking on a very much weaken WWE. It's not prime WWE getting 8s in ratings like they were doing in 2000. It took decades for the WWE to become this bad ratings-wise. WWE is essentialy a walking corpse kept alive by Fox billions and Saudi billions.


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## Super Sexy Steele (Aug 16, 2002)

Two Sheds said:


> Not in a world where Herb Abrams and Jim Herd have existed.


Remember when Herd wanted to make Flair into a Spartacus like character. Yeah, that's all you need to know on who is the worst booker of all time.


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## One Shed (Jan 7, 2014)

Old Man Steele said:


> Remember when Herd wanted to make Flair into a Spartacus like character. Yeah, that's all you need to know on who is the worst booker of all time.


Did Jim Herd pitch the main roster angle with Karrion Kross?


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## Vince McReigns (Sep 13, 2018)

Dude, he is absolutely terrible. I call him "Dixie Kahn" LOL. Got rich of his parents, then for some unknown reason got into running a wrestling company. LOL


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## Super Sexy Steele (Aug 16, 2002)

Two Sheds said:


> Did Jim Herd pitch the main roster angle with Karrion Kross?


Maybe he did. Maybe he did.


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## shandcraig (Mar 23, 2008)

Vince McReigns said:


> Dude, he is absolutely terrible. I call him "Dixie Kahn" LOL. Got rich of his parents, then for some unknown reason got into running a wrestling company. LOL



watch out some peeps are going to nagg you for being negative


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## Rhetro (Feb 14, 2015)

RogueSlayer said:


> Yes or no
> 
> For me it's an absolute yes because he's signed big name free agents and the ratings are in the toilet.


Is this the worst AEW post of all time?


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## MrMeeseeks (Aug 6, 2020)

Shit post is shit


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## Nickademus_Eternal (Feb 24, 2014)

Wolf Mark said:


> I don't want to pile on rich baby Khan but I cannot think of a worst booker/writer right now.


Vince McMahon is waaaay worse. You're smoking crack if you say otherwise.


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## The Raw Smackdown (Jan 8, 2017)

No he's not. There's been much worse. On top of that what he's doing is working so....


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## Mateus Tunes (Sep 13, 2016)

I think he's average. TK does not disappoint, but does not exceed our expectations...

For example, he puts CM Punk vs Daniel Garcia... Will it be a good match? Yes of course. But that's not quite what people expected to see CM Punk doing.

Imagine in WWE, if a few weeks after Edge's return, he was facing Ricochet? Or Brock coming back and a few weeks later facing Sami Zayn?

AEW has the potential for a lot of amazing matchups, but for some reason it's holding back. Before I thought it was because of the pandemic, today I don't know.

Even so, just by not doing stupid things, his show looks infinitely better than WWE's.


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## TeamFlareZakk (Jul 15, 2020)

Of course Tony Khan is not the worst booker ever, that would Vince McMahon.

Alot of the recent questionable booking decisions might be because of Cody seeing that he is a vp, Cody has been feeding alot of nonsense in Tony Khan's ear and Cody is also being influenced by old washed up horsemen farts such as Arn and Tully whom are out of touch.

Vince McMahon's influence is a BIG problem and has way too much attention, Tony Khan should just stick with what is working.


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## Wolf Mark (Jun 5, 2020)

Nickademus_Eternal said:


> Vince McMahon is waaaay worse. You're smoking crack if you say otherwise.


If we talk about present time, at the very least when Vince decides to get behind something like RR vs Brock, it's good shit. I cannot remember the last AEW storyline that was any good. Athough maybe Punk-Eddie might do it. 

But if we talk about all time, Vince did the Attitude Era, Saturday Night's Main Event, Wrestlemania 3 etc....and killed all the other promotions. He's one of the best promoter and booker of all time.


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## The_Great_One21 (Feb 22, 2012)

Why you still watching then


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## CM Buck (Sep 2, 2012)

The correct answer is Verne gagne. He pushed his son over more deserving talent. Until Cassidy or evil uno became face of the company then Tony isn't anywhere that bad


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## the_flock (Nov 23, 2016)

He's certainly up there as one of the worst.


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## the_flock (Nov 23, 2016)

Firefromthegods said:


> The correct answer is Verne gagne. He pushed his son over more deserving talent. Until Cassidy or evil uno became face of the company then Tony isn't anywhere that bad


Don't forget his son in law too. Even still the AWA lasted decades.


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## MarkOfAllMarks (Apr 7, 2018)

Hell no


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## MarkOfAllMarks (Apr 7, 2018)

Vince McReigns said:


> Dude, he is absolutely terrible. I call him "Dixie Kahn" LOL. Got rich of his parents, then for some unknown reason got into running a wrestling company. LOL


Idc what anyone says about Tony Khans booking, AEW is still infinitely better booked than anything WWE is producing. That's not to say Khan is a great booker but he's certainly not terrible and I much prefer AEW to WWE. The booking isn't always to my liking but it's far better than WWE.


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## thorn123 (Oct 10, 2019)

He is not the worst atm so how can he be the worst of all time. He is putting on the best pro wrestling programme in the world atm.


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## [email protected] (Oct 9, 2013)

The worst of all time? Seems a bit much and like something that would need to be pretty well researched


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## BrrrGoesWooo! (Mar 29, 2021)

Forum Dud said:


> I'll never understand why wrestling fans care so much about live raitings based on a flimsy algorithm in 2021. You don't hear this much talk about raitings with any other type of programming. It's borderline embarrassing the way influential figures manipulate these numbers. Especially when you consider the various methods out there to consume content.


It's like sports fans arguing statistics, only because we don't have teams or actual statistics about points, and yards run vs thrown, or w.e. we argue about promotions and PPV buyrates and Nielson ratings . Simple as.


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## Garty (Jul 29, 2007)

Rhetro said:


> Is this the worst AEW post of all time?


Unfortunately not, but this thread topic is probably the 153rd of many more still to come.


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## Erik. (Mar 17, 2014)

How's he any worse than Vince McMahon in 2021?

Bare in mind the experience between the two.


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## MC (May 30, 2017)

No, because he knows what matches the AEW auidence wants to see and puts it together in a somewhat coherent way, which makes him better than a lot of people who have booked pro wrestling at a high enough level but in terms of creating compelling feuds or builds to the PPV is where he comes up short and gets exposed. It doesn't help that he doesn't have the right minds around him to help (whenever the Elite help out, the booking gets worse usually) but he's alright for his experience level. So he's not the worst booker of all time (Who is?) but he's not Bill Watts or Riki Choshu in that regard either.


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## Death Rider (May 18, 2011)

Lol no. What a dumb question


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## Wolf Mark (Jun 5, 2020)

Firefromthegods said:


> The correct answer is Verne gagne. He pushed his son over more deserving talent. Until Cassidy or evil uno became face of the company then Tony isn't anywhere that bad


Verne is responsible for training and creating the biggest stars in the World(Ric Flair for one) and his territory was one of the most successful.


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## Chip Chipperson (Jun 29, 2019)

TeamFlareZakk said:


> Of course Tony Khan is not the worst booker ever, that would Vince McMahon.


Ha.

Vince is the best. Maybe not so much now but his track record speaks for itself.



Firefromthegods said:


> The correct answer is Verne gagne. He pushed his son over more deserving talent. Until Cassidy or evil uno became face of the company then Tony isn't anywhere that bad


What's your knowledge like on the AWA? Greg started wrestling in 1973 and didn't get his first championship until 1977. He got a little push near the end of the AWA when Verne had nobody left but really he was pretty much midcard or upper midcard for his entire run.

Here's a match of his against Curt Hennig, bloke was pretty over:


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## USAUSA1 (Sep 17, 2006)

Khan is the BEST BOOKER among the current bookers not name Vince McMahon. Look at the current bookers, Hunter in Roh, D'Amore, Court, Dorian. Corgan,, whoever in charge of NJPW STRONG,don't know if it Gedo. Not much to choose from. 

Where is the next Paul Heyman, Gabe,Cornette? Hell I take Russo or Dutch


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## CM Buck (Sep 2, 2012)

Chip Chipperson said:


> Ha.
> 
> Vince is the best. Maybe not so much now but his track record speaks for itself.
> 
> ...


Fuck all really I just know he has a bad reputation. Maybe I'm confusing him with Bill watts or that xpw clown


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## MC (May 30, 2017)

Firefromthegods said:


> Fuck all really I just know he has a bad reputation. Maybe I'm confusing him with Bill watts or that xpw clown


He does but it's more for his unwillingness to move on from Bockwinkle or himself as a main eventer. He always wanted to push Greg to the title but the roster would always strongly fight against it, so it didn't happen.


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## Kopros_The_Great (Jun 26, 2014)

He may be the most hated, but he's not the worst.


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## Piers (Sep 1, 2015)

Fuck's sake the company's been around for two years. Stop exaggerating everything.


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## NathanMayberry (Oct 11, 2019)

I think he’s the most overrated booker of all time. 

I can’t wait to see him see the WON awards this year 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dizzie (Jun 22, 2019)

Khan seems to have a chip on his shoulder as the best way to describe his booking is that of revenge of the nerds, hence his love of pushing guys like oc, dork order, darby etc.. but when it comes to big dudes like wardlow, archer, miro, cage, Hobbs etc.. they get lesser booking than they deserve


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## DammitChrist (Apr 3, 2016)

NathanMayberry said:


> I think he’s the most overrated booker of all time.
> 
> I can’t wait to see him see the WON awards this year
> 
> ...


Thankfully, he’ll be winning some awards


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## shandcraig (Mar 23, 2008)

Erik. said:


> How's he any worse than Vince McMahon in 2021?
> 
> Bare in mind the experience between the two.


the difference is vince dont have a choice. wwe problems are far above vince at this point. being a public company has changed them for the worse for the people ever since they went public. and hes also held by the balls by all the network deals. aew has tried pushing the envelope more than once and people liked it. So there is a huge difference, aew has a lot more leeway

anyways i dont think hes the worst booker, i just dont think hes a good booker and aew has so much potential being wasted


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## CovidFan (Aug 19, 2020)

shandcraig said:


> the difference is vince dont have a choice. wwe problems are far above vince at this point. being a public company has changed them for the worse for the people ever since they went public.


ahhh yes, I remember the 80's when it was TV-14 (even though ratings for tv shows had yet to be a thing) and Hulk, Savage, Andre, etc. used to constantly swear and have garbage matches. Also, remember that time Elizabeth stripped nude to distract The Megabucks at SummerSlam 1988? I 'member. It doesn't take TV-14 to have compelling television so let's not make false excuses for Vince. He's been here before.


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## shandcraig (Mar 23, 2008)

CovidFan said:


> ahhh yes, I remember the 80's when it was TV-14 (even though ratings for tv shows had yet to be a thing) and Hulk, Savage, Andre, etc. used to constantly swear and have garbage matches. Also, remember that time Elizabeth stripped nude to distract The Megabucks at SummerSlam 1988? I 'member. It doesn't take TV-14 to have compelling television so let's not make false excuses for Vince. He's been here before.



umm i never said it did and yes that is correct and wcw is proof of that. that has zero to do with what i was saying. if you dont understand what is happening wit that promotion i can not help you but its al above them. and im not giving him any excuse, i dont give a shit if wwe goes out of business. I have not watched them in 15 years but this is real reasons why

just look at EA and ubisoft as another example, they are in the exact same boat.


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## Boldgerg (Apr 2, 2017)

Yet another truly laughable, pathetic thread.


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## DaSlacker (Feb 9, 2020)

Ole Anderson (1990, 1993)
Dusty Rhodes (1991,1993,1999)
Herb Abrams (1991-1992)
Vince McMahon (1992-1995)
Ric Flair (1994-1995)
Kevin Sullivan (1995-1996, 2000)
Kevin Nash (1998-1999, 2000)
Vince Russo (1999, 2000, 2007-2010)

Herd wasn't really booker but was a disaster. Bischoff wasn't either, for the most. Could be beneficial or detrimental. 

Whoever booked GWF after Eddie Gilbert was shit. 

Dixie Carter appears to have been clueless. Jeff Jarrett was heading a booking committee when TNA put out a lot of trash during the Russo years. 

Bruce Prichard, Michael Hayes. Directly or indirectly produced a lot of absolute excrement for WWE this century. Some writers like Dan Madigan sound god awful. Brian Gewirtz, Ed Koskey, David Kapoor, Brian James have led brands when they had weeks of infuriating content. Vince McMahon, with the occasional exception, has been incrementally woeful since 2002. Stephanie from 2000 - 2013. Then there's Dunn, who definitely had input. 

Tony Khan is relatively harmless and keeps his audience entertained.


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## cai1981 (Oct 2, 2016)

I initially said yes, but then remembered WCW from 1999-2001! They had stars AEW could only dream of happening and just a few short years earlier were REALLY beating the brakes off the WWF (WWE) as opposed to this imaginary narrative Khan, Meltzer and others are trying to spin.

I don't think anyone (not even Khan with his cluelessness) can top WCW LEGITIMATELY being the #1 wrestling company in 1996 while wiping the floor with Vince McMahon and then being out of business and bought by the "unbeatable" competition you brought to its knees 5 years later!

WCW from 1999 until its closing was 99% unwatchable!


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## SuperstarSlyme (Oct 25, 2021)

BrrrGoesWooo! said:


> It's like sports fans arguing statistics, only because we don't have teams or actual statistics about points, and yards run vs thrown, or w.e. we argue about promotions and PPV buyrates and Nielson ratings . Simple as.


stats can be manipulated to prove whatever point your trying to make


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## Gwi1890 (Nov 7, 2019)

Do people forget that there’s so
Much more to do these days? Back in when 96 nitro or raw aired you could chose to watch Netflix or amazon prime go online or PlayStation over a headset , ratings will never be what it was you can choose to skip it and watch the next day


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## Chip Chipperson (Jun 29, 2019)

Gwi1890 said:


> Do people forget that there’s so
> Much more to do these days? Back in when 96 nitro or raw aired you could chose to watch Netflix or amazon prime go online or PlayStation over a headset , ratings will never be what it was you can choose to skip it and watch the next day


What's that got to do with bad booking?

Also, many shows and products compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Playstation on a headset etc.


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## SuperstarSlyme (Oct 25, 2021)

DaSlacker said:


> Ole Anderson (1990, 1993)
> Dusty Rhodes (1991,1993,1999)
> Herb Abrams (1991-1992)
> Vince McMahon (1992-1995)
> ...


absolutely this


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## 3venflow (Feb 3, 2019)

Could name plenty worse. At least Tony Khan respects and pleases his target audience, hence AEW's admirable cult following and super impressive live event sales.

There haven't been any *great* bookers in North America in recent memory. To be honest, the writing standard in pro wrestling has *never* been as high as it potentially could, but there have been moments of genius. Those moments can make an entire era. The nWo, DX, SCSA vs. Vince and such things will leave such an imprint on people's minds that they'll forget the whole lot of awful that would happen alongside them.

Only truly great booker of the last 20 years is Gedo. His booking brought NJPW from the brink to a money-making powerhouse full of star power again. And one that very nearly broke into America on a significant scale before AEW grabbed The Elite and Jericho.


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## Chip Chipperson (Jun 29, 2019)

3venflow said:


> Only truly great booker of the last 20 years is Gedo. His booking brought NJPW from the brink to a money-making powerhouse full of star power again. And one that very nearly broke into America on a significant scale before AEW grabbed The Elite and Jericho.


What about Gabe Sapolsky? Took an indy drawing 500-600 people and turned it into the USA's biggest independent. I think they eventually reached PPV status with him at the helm also. Now works for the WWE.

Cornette was booking OVW in the past 20 years also, drew 5000 people to some of OVW's bigger events with just regional television and developed some of wrestling's biggest stars including Orton, Cena and Batista.

TNA had a great booking committee for a time there also.

Seems like you might have read a bit too much Dave Meltzer if Gedo is the only great one in the past 20 years.


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## BrrrGoesWooo! (Mar 29, 2021)

SuperstarSlyme said:


> stats can be manipulated to prove whatever point your trying to make


Not the point, but yeah.


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## USAUSA1 (Sep 17, 2006)

They Call Him Y2J said:


> Fuck's sake the company's been around for two years. Stop exaggerating everything.


2 years is a long time in wrestling because it run weekly. Over a 100 shows. Can't use this argument.


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## Piers (Sep 1, 2015)

USAUSA1 said:


> 2 years is a long time in wrestling because it run weekly. Over a 100 shows. Can't use this argument.


Two years is nothing compared to decades of booking by other promoters.


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## Gwi1890 (Nov 7, 2019)

Chip Chipperson said:


> What's that got to do with bad booking?
> 
> Also, many shows and products compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Playstation on a headset etc.


because booking poorly has a knock on effect on “rating” a poorly booked show/product drives fans away like raw and smackdown did to the point o no recovery, many wrestling fans of the past have grown up and moved on because of those shitshows, TK won’t bring them back , go on social media and it’s always someone asking “ what’s good to watch on Netflix” or it’s a status netflix and chill, a large % of people don’t give a shit about wrestling anymore pal, he could be the best booker that ever lived and it still wouldn’t make a difference


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