5 AEW stars who allegedly refused to lose

As impressive as the current AEW roster is, numerous incidents of the wrestlers being disappointed with their booking have been reported over the years. While most talents keep their frustrations to themselves, some other stars outright reject any illogical booking decision.

Tales of a wrestler refusing to lose a match to his opponent are very common in the pro wrestling arena. While WWE has witnessed several such incidents, All Elite Wrestling has also faced the same issues in its five-year-long existence in the industry.

Tony Khan has often found himself in a stressful position while dealing with his signed talents. [Image Credits: All Elite Wrestling YouTube channel]

In most cases, a star refuses to do the job owing to his real-life issues with his opponent. However, certain talents reject a booker's decision in the best interests of the ongoing storyline.

In this article, let's look at five AEW superstars who refused to do the job.

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#5. The House of Black allegedly refused to lose to FTR and Daniel Garcia

Tony Khan has been criticized numerous times for his poor booking of The House of Black. Despite their amazing in-ring abilities, the quartet of Buddy Matthews, Brody King, Julia Hart, and Malakai Black have not been utilized to their full potential.

The Dutch Destroyer has been accused of not putting over other talents multiple times in the past. Fans on social media consider Black's hesitance towards losing to other stars as the reason behind his inconsistent push.

The House of Black has suffered from inconsistent booking. [Image Credits: All Elite Wrestling YouTube channel]

While Black has dismissed such rumors multiple times, the group was alleged once again of being selfish inside the squared circle in January 2024. Earlier this year, The House of Black was scheduled to fight FTR and Daniel Garcia in an Elimination Steel Cage match on Collision, a stipulation that was later changed to Escape the Cage Elimination match.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the match stipulation was changed because the spooky faction did not want to do the job. Interestingly, the theory was later disproved when the trio ended up on the losing side.

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#4. Miro refused to compete in a match proposed by Tony Khan

Miro's AEW run has been full of ups and downs. While the former TNT Champion has had his shining moments, he has not been featured consistently on the AEW programming.

In the fall of 2022, rumors of Miro rejecting Tony Khan’s creative plans emerged. As per Dave Meltzer, Tony Khan proposed to involve The Redeemer in a Battle Royal at Full Gear 2022, where he was slated to be last eliminated by Hangman Adam Page.

However, the former WWE United States Champion was not satisfied with the booking idea and thus refused to appear in the contest. Despite being healthy and fit, Miro's refusal to compete at Full Gear extended his stay on the sidelines.

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#3. Metalik rejects the plan of losing to Komander

In October 2023, AEW Star Metalik was scheduled to take on Komander in a battle of luchadors on AEW Rampage. However, the bout was later removed from the card, owing to Metalik's decision to not put over his opponent.

The King of the Ropes was heavily criticized for not being cooperative behind the scenes. His strange attitude seemingly caught the attention of the higher-ups backstage, leading to him not being featured on the AEW programming going forward.

Despite Metalik denying the allegations on X/Twitter, he has since fallen down the ranks on the AEW roster.

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#2. Jon Moxley refuses to lose to CM Punk on AEW Dynamite

Jon Moxley went to war with CM Punk at AEW All Out 2022, where he lost his AEW World Championship in a brutal contest. A few weeks before the All Out match, Moxley had squashed The Best in the World on AEW Dynamite, which appeared as a shocking decision to many fans.

During his absence from the AEW programming in 2022-23, The Voice of the Voiceless took to his Instagram and accused Moxley of booking himself to squash Punk in their first singles encounter in All Elite Wrestling.

According to Punk, Moxley wanted to recreate the "Rocky 3" storyline, which needed him to obliterate the babyface Punk, before the latter eventually won back the prestigious title. Although Punk did not agree with the booking decision, he eventually dropped the title to the Purveyor of Violence.

Since it was supposed to be a squash match, Tony Khan allegedly pushed The Straight Edge Superstar to go ahead with the proposed idea, which did not sit well with an injured CM Punk.

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#1. Pac leaves WWE after being asked to lose to Enzo Amore

Pac (fka Neville) was one of the brightest stars in WWE till his shocking exit in 2017. The British Star received a decent push on the main roster, where he battled the likes of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, and John Cena.

Pac's career went to a whole new level in 2016-17 when he established his dominance in the Cruiserweight division. However, the arrival of Enzo Amore on 205 Live kickstarted a series of events that led to Pac's abrupt departure from WWE.

PAC (fka Neville had a dominant run as the WWE Cruiserweight Champion. [Image credits: WWE Gallery]

As per reports, the creative wanted Pac to suffer a second consecutive loss at the hands of Amore within one month. Pac, who had already dropped the title to The Certified G at No Mercy 2017, was infuriated at the proposed booking idea and decided to cut his ties with WWE immediately.

The former NXT Champion then proceeded to join All Elite Wrestling in 2019, where he continues to ply his trade to this day.