AEW News & Rumor Roundup: Tony Khan told to bury talents; Charlotte Flair facing same issues as top star; ex-WWE champion makes huge confession

Welcome to the February 26 edition of AEW News and Roundup. Today, we'll touch upon some trending topics like a veteran advising Tony Khan to bury talents and Charlotte Flair seemingly facing the same issues as a top AEW star.

An ex-WWE champion made a massive confession about her eventual retirement. Let's check it out:

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#1 Dutch Mantell advised Tony Khan to book outgoing stars as enhancement talents

Tony Khan recently released many stars like Ricky Starks, Miro, and Malakai Black from All Elite Wrestling. Starks and Miro were not seen on TV for months before their exit. Dutch Mantell felt this was not a wise move.

On his Story Time podcast, Mantell advised the AEW CEO to use outgoing talents to put over stars who were likely to remain in the company for a long time.

"Just give the other guy who's staying, give him that win. It'd be a good match, and yeah, you just don't let them sit at home until they go because you're paying them for nothing. You got them over as much as they got over; you got them over, so go ahead and beat him. I don't know why Tony doesn't do that. I don't think Tony's talked to a lot of bookers, I really don't!"

Rey Fenix, who is expected to join WWE after his impending departure from All Elite Wrestling, hasn't been featured on TV for months.

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#4 Thunder Rosa had an awkward moment on AEW Dynamite

Megan Bayne defeated Kris Statlander on the February 19 edition of AEW Dynamite. After the match, Thunder Rosa rushed out with a chair. But instead of running, the heels stood there and mocked Rosa. In an awkward moment, Penelope Ford even tried to snatch the chair out of Rosa's hand.

The entire segment seemed unprofessional. There was a look of confusion on La Mera Mera's face as she struggled to make the angle look believable.

Many X/Twitter users started speculating that Penelope and Megan had gone off-script during the segment. But Fightful Select clarified that the botched segment was apparently a result of poor communication between producers, directors, and talents.

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#3 Dutch Mantell on AEW reportedly not holding production meetings

After the seemingly botched segment went viral, a report indicated that AEW doesn't hold any production meetings before its shows. Dutch Mantell was shocked by the development.

On his Story Time podcast, Mantell strongly advised Khan to start holding production meetings to avoid blunders like the one on last week's Dynamite.

"I thought any production where cameras are there you hold a meeting. You have the director of the show and he's got all his camera man and announcers, there all there. They don't hold that? I've never seen that before. They need to fix that."

Over the years, Mantell has booked shows for many promotions, including TNA Wrestling.

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#2 WWE has overexposed Charlotte Flair, says Konnan

After months of hiatus, Charlotte Flair returned to in-ring action as part of the Women's Royal Rumble match and reigned supreme. She will challenge Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship at The Show of Shows.

Many in the WWE Universe were unhappy with this decision and criticized the company. On the Keepin' It 100 OFFICIAL podcast, Konnan said WWE was overexposing The Queen, inviting adverse reactions from fans. He felt MJF was facing the same issue in AEW.

"She's been in the top place too long. Just get other people in there. She didn't have to win. She didn't need it. So I agree with that. And she has been overexposed and that's a problem that happens when you get overexposed, just like MJF. Like, I literally used to watch every week just to hear his promos. Now, I am like, 'Who?'"

MJF is currently feuding with "Hangman" Adam Page on AEW TV.

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#1 Mercedes Mone dreads her retirement

Mercedes Mone has been in the pro wrestling industry for a while. She enjoyed immense success in WWE before her exit. The CEO has also fulfilled her dream of wrestling in Japan. Currently, she's among the top names in AEW.

The CEO feels she has much more left to accomplish as a pro wrestler. On The Katee Sackhoff Show, Mone said the thought of retirement haunted her.

"That scares me, I don’t want to think about the word retirement but I do think about slowing down because I’ve been doing it for so long. Aches and pains start to catch up and different dreams start to happen. Life starts to grow and I just have so many more dreams that I want to go pursue and chase and go accomplish while I still can, being young and feeling good and having my body feel good."

Mone currently holds the AEW TBS Championship, the NJPW Strong Women's Championship, and the RevPro Undisputed British Women's Title.