5 Former WWE Superstars Tony Khan fumbled in AEW 

Tony Khan is the key figure behind the creative direction of WWE's biggest rival of the past two decades, AEW. In his six-year-long journey as a wrestling booker, Tony has created several megastars, including Swerve Strickland and Toni Storm.

The president of All Elite Wrestling has also made his fair share of mistakes during this period. The 42-year-old promoter is often criticized for his compulsive attitude, which leads him to sign every hot free agent in the market.

While these talents do enhance the quality of the Jacksonville-based promotion, it isn't easy to feature all these big names on television consistently. Over the years, several underutilized WWE stars jumped ship to AEW, hoping to revive their fading credibility.

Unfortunately, certain former members of the Stamford-based promotion failed to get their desired success under Tony's leadership courtesy of their inconsistent booking. In this article, let's look at five former WWE stars Tony Khan fumbled in AEW.

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#5. PAC should have been a much bigger star in AEW

PAC has been a loyal asset to Tony Khan since 2019. Despite consistently delivering incredible performances, The Man That Gravity Forgot has surprisingly not found much singles success in AEW.

The erstwhile Neville has been exceptional whenever he has stepped foot into the Trios division. However, PAC's lack of championships as a solo competitor indicates that the AEW President has failed to capitalize on his fullest potential.

The 38-year-old star is one of the most complete in-ring performers in the Jacksonville-based promotion and is equally great on the microphone. Aside from a run as the All-Atlantic Champion, PAC has not had many opportunities to showcase his talent as a singles performer.

Lack of consistent booking has proved detrimental to PAC, who was once seen at the same level as stars such as Kenny Omega, Hangman Adam Page, and Jon Moxley. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion is currently playing a supporting act to The One True King, and this is a tad unfair to a superstar of his caliber.

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#4. Buddy Matthews could have done wonders as a solo act

Buddy Matthews arrived in All Elite Wrestling in February 2022. Since then, The Best Kept Secret has majorly remained in the shadows of the other members of his faction. Similar to PAC, Matthews has remained stuck in the Trios division for a long time.

Whenever the Australian star has featured in singles action, he has reiterated that Tony may have made a mistake by not giving him a solo push. On a roster filled with world-class competitors, Buddy Matthews' intensity and natural charisma make him stand out.

Before his shocking WWE release, the erstwhile Buddy Murphy got to work with several prominent stars on television. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion locked horns with stars such as Daniel Bryan, Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins from 2019 to 2021.

It was expected that Matthews would emerge as the next megastar in the Stamford-based promotion. Although the Vince McMahon-led regime failed to push the 36-year-old star forward, Tony Khan should have learned from WWE's mistakes.

Instead, he decided to have Matthews be the weakest link of the erstwhile House of Black stable. Now that Malakai Black has departed All Elite Wrestling, the CEO of the Jacksonville-based promotion must focus on putting the spotlight on the Australian star going forward.

Considering the success he achieved in his limited opportunities in WWE, the former RAW Tag Team Champion could be a talent to watch out for if Khan places him in the singles division.

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#3. Lance Archer failed to reach the top spot in AEW

Lance Archer could have been a major success in All Elite Wrestling. Following an incredible run in NJPW, The Murderhawk Monster signed a multi-year deal with Jacksonville-based promotion in February 2020.

The gigantic star was paired up with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who helped make up for Archer's limitations on the mic. Unfortunately, Tony Khan could never commit to pushing the former IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion as a main event talent.

Crucial losses against Hangman Page, Cody Rhodes, and Jon Moxley destroyed Lance Archer's momentum to a great extent. The creative team never tried to make Archer the focal point of the weekly storytelling. It was a massive blunder on Tony Khan's part, as The Murderhawk Monster could have brought in a lot of casual viewers if he was a top act in the company.

For an individual of his size, Archer is very agile and can perform many breathtaking maneuvers in the ring. However, the 48-year-old star could not win the trust of the promotion's head booker.

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#2. Former WWE star Miro could have been a cornerstone of AEW for years

Following his release from WWE, Miro jumped ship to AEW in September 2020. It was new territory for the former Bulgarian Brute, and he seemed ready to take on the new challenges.

The former WWE United States Champion instantly became a fan favorite once he adopted "The Redeemer" gimmick. The audience was impressed with the 39-year-old star's intimidating screen presence and aggressive combat style.

The former WWE star defeated Darby Allin in May 2021 to capture the TNT Championship. During his 140-day reign, Miro elevated the prestige of the coveted title.

Things went downhill for the popular star after he dropped his title to Sammy Guevara in September 2021. The erstwhile Redeemer had to remain out of action for a considerable period due to a string of injuries.

Tony could not feature the former WWE star in a meaningful storyline following his return. To make matters worse, the CEO of All Elite Wrestling brought in CJ Perry to work against the dominant star.

Fans greatly disliked the Perry-Miro-Andrade dynamic, which led to an underwhelming response to their rivalry. After his incredible run as the TNT Champion, Miro should have moved towards the main event scene.

However, Khan was not ready to pit him against other top stars, eventually leading to fans losing their interest in his character. Miro himself was quite frustrated with a lack of creative direction, and this led him to ask for his release from the company.

Now that he is no longer associated with the Tony Khan-led company, the 39-year-old star would hope for a fresh start elsewhere.

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#1. Malakai Black could have been a superstar in All Elite Wrestling

The former House of Black leader has not had much luck when it comes to working with different creative teams. Aside from Triple H, no other mainstream wrestling booker has been able to use The Dutch Destroyer to the best of his abilities.

The Striking Man from Amsterdam kicked off his journey in AEW with a bang. The former WWE NXT Champion attacked Cody Rhodes in his debut appearance and also defeated The American Nightmare in their first encounter.

However, Tony seemingly did not have any plans to put Black in the same category as top stars like Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega. The 39-year-old went on to lose his rivalry with The American Nightmare, essentially kicking off his downfall in AEW.

Despite being a total package, the former Malakai Black never came close to getting a shot at the AEW World Championship. While he did a decent job as the leader of the House of Black, it held him back from weaving his magic in singles competition.

Untimely injuries further made matters worse for the talented striker. The erstwhile Aleister Black could have achieved similar success as Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay if Khan had strapped a rocket to his back early on.

Following his exit from the Jacksonville-based promotion, the Dutch professional wrestler could return to WWE to rejuvenate his pro wrestling career.