"The beginning of the decline," "The cringe was unbearable" - Fans react after clip of major Tony Khan announcement in AEW goes viral

AEW was officially launched 2,254 days ago. Tony Khan's first press conference featured major announcements, including the signing of Chris Jericho, and others. A lot has happened in the history-making venture since then, but one constant has been Khan and his announcements. One major in-ring announcement is going viral this week and the reactions are not a good look for the AEW-ROH boss.

Khan wears many hats in AEW and ROH, such as President, Head of Creative, General Manager, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Executive Producer, among others. One point of criticism aimed at Khan is how the lifelong wrestling fan seemingly prefers to announce his upcoming announcements, and how many of these big revelations fall flat compared to the hype.

This week marks three years since Khan made one of his biggest announcements on the March 2, 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite, live from the company's home base of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, FL. Khan, along with Tony Schiavone, appeared in the ring to announce that he had just signed a new deal to become the owner of Ring of Honor. The company then presented Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels as both were featured on the very first ROH show in February 2002. Khan's takeover of ROH was completed on May 4 of that year.

Wrestling fans had high hopes for Khan's ROH purchase, but it wasn't long before he and his team were accused of mishandling the revival of the legendary promotion. A similar narrative is making the rounds this week on the anniversary of the announcement. Common themes are related to how the ROH acquisition did nothing to help AEW overall, and how this marked the beginning of a serious period of decline for Khan and his young wrestling promotion.

You can see a few of those reactions below:

"This announcement led to absolutely, positively nothing and has been a net negative for AEW as a company," a fan commented.

"The beginning of the decline," wrote another fan.

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Top AEW-ROH star chats with popular actors

Chris Jericho represented All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor on the mainstream stage this week. The inaugural AEW World Champion and current ROH World Champion appeared on Dinner and a Movie from TBS.

The Learning Tree sat down with actors Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen for a meal and a film. The trio watched Mad Max: Fury Road and experimented with gas station drink combinations.

"What’s the worst ever gas station beverage combo that you’ve ever made?! [vomiting face emoji] I joined @biggsjason & @jennymollen on #DinnerAndAMovie to watch Mad Max: Fury Road, experiment with gas station beverage chaos and more," Chris Jericho wrote with the video below.

Biggs and Mollen, who have been married for more than 15 years, have hosted the revival of Dinner and a Movie since 2024. Jericho is their second pro wrestler, and his episode can be viewed on-demand and via re-runs. Saraya appeared on the show last June.