3 things wrong with Tony Khan’s current booking of AEW

AEW has managed to regain the attention of its audience in 2025. After nearly two years, the company's product feels consistent again.

Tony Khan has done an exceptional job in putting together highly entertaining pay-per-views for his audience this year. The AEW creative team has been equally impressive when it comes to delivering intriguing weekly episodes for the past five months.

Investing in stars like Toni Storm, Mercedes Mone, Hangman Page, Will Ospreay, and many others has paid off well for the Tony Khan-led company. However, Khan's booking still has some concerning issues that he must address heading into the All In season.

In this article, let's look at three things wrong with Tony Khan's current booking of AEW.

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#3. Athena's absence from television is a concern

Athena is amongst the most exciting female wrestlers, not just in North America, but around the world. However, The Fallen Goddess has constantly been kept away from the AEW programming.

Tony Khan wants Athena to help build the ROH brand, which has prevented her from making an impact in All Elite Wrestling. After a long absence from the Jacksonville-based promotion, The American Joshi returned to AEW earlier this year to compete in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

The reigning ROH Women's World Champion made it to the semi-finals of the competition, where she ended up losing to Mercedes Mone. Athena also teased a rematch against The CEO, but that is unlikely to transpire. With Mercedes Mone facing Toni Storm at All In, The Fallen Goddess might not be able to get her hands on her arch-rival.

Athena's short run on the AEW television seems to be over, as she has not made any appearances since her loss to Mone. Tony Khan not featuring the erstwhile Ember Moon on Dynamite and Collision seems like a massive missed opportunity, as the 36-year-old star can reach the same heights as Toni Storm and Mariah May if given a chance.

Athena is an exceptional in-ring performer who is equally capable on the microphone. The former NXT star knows how to captivate the audience with her performance, which makes her a valuable asset to any company.

The reigning ROH Women's World Champion needs to be relieved from her duties in ROH so that she can elevate the AEW women's division. With All In: Texas being just around the corner, TK needs to find a way to feature The American Joshi on the high-stakes pay-per-view.

#2. Tony Khan needs to improve the AEW tag team division

At the moment, the AEW World Tag Team Titles are in the grasp of The Hurt Syndicate. While the duo of Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley defend their championships regularly, their title reign has been far from impressive.

A couple of years ago, the tag team division used to be the brightest spot of the Jacksonville-based promotion. With teams like The Young Bucks, Jurassic Express, FTR, and Swerve in Our Glory, the division remained the most entertaining part of the promotion's programming for a very long time.

In recent months, the tag team division has appeared as an afterthought. After finally getting their crowning moment in October 2024, Private Party barely defended their tag team championship on television.

When it comes to The Hurt Syndicate, their equation with MJF seems to be more of a point of discussion than anything they have done as champions so far. TK might also be holding back Lashley and Benjamin from creating an impact in singles competition by keeping the tag team titles on The Hurt Syndicate.

The lack of credible challengers is another aspect of why The Hurt Syndicate's reign has failed to generate any interest. The All Elite Wrestling President must address all these issues immediately, as a weak tag team division is not a good sign for any wrestling company.

#1. Adam Cole's TNT Championship reign has not lived up to expectations

Tony Khan has made some questionable decisions with his booking of the TNT Champions recently. Daniel Garcia had an underwhelming reign as a mid-card champion, and Adam Cole seems to be going down the same path.

The Panama Playboy dethroned The Red Death at Dynasty 2025 to become the new TNT Champion. It has been nearly two months since that title change, and Cole has only defended his title twice. To make matters worse, one of these defenses ended in a DQ finish.

Fans have high expectations for Adam Cole now that he finally has a singles title in his grasp. Considering how dominant he was as the NXT Champion, the AEW audience expects the leader of The Paragon to elevate the mid-card scene in All Elite Wrestling with a similar reign.

Unfortunately, Tony Khan has been overlooking the TNT Title scene for months now, which has certainly hurt the prestige of the title. TK must put some believable challengers against Adam Cole in the coming months to revive the intrigue surrounding his ongoing title run.