AEW's creative direction is often a talking point for fans and critics. While the young promotion prides itself on doing things its own way, it inevitably draws comparisons to WWE's method of storytelling. Former All Elite talent Mark Henry has now opened up on his issue with the company's creative meetings.
Since its founding, All Elite Wrestling has boasted about the collaboration between Tony Khan and the roster, with wrestlers being allowed a degree of freedom in pitching storylines and molding their own characters. However, Mark Henry sees a drawback in the way things are run in the Jacksonville-based promotion.
Henry, who departed AEW in May of this year, thinks that creative meetings need to have disagreements, which he implied happen far less in Tony Khan's company. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, the WWE Hall of Famer compared the promotion's creative style to his own past experiences:
"[Creative] is supposed to be an argument. It's supposed to be a shake-up to figure out what the f*** to do next," Henry said. "[But] everybody want to circle j**k over [in AEW]. And you can't do that. You gotta disagree. Me and Bully [Ray] -for years- we disagreed, but...We knew what we were fussing at was the greater good of the match and of the show." [H/T Wrestling Inc]
Mark Henry is disappointed in Japanese legend's AEW booking
AEW managed to snag several top stars in free agency this year, including NJPW legend Kazuchika Okada. The Rainmaker is one of the most dominant IWGP Champions in history, but since arriving in All Elite Wrestling, many feel he's been relegated to a sidekick position.
Okada turned heel and joined The Elite shortly after signing with the promotion. He managed to win the Continental Championship, but fans haven't seen much of the mythical Rainmaker yet.
Mark Henry addressed Okada's status on Busted Open Radio and urged Tony Khan to give the Japanese star more to work with:
"[Kazuchika Okada] was one of the best wrestlers in the world, top 5, and now you have him delegated to saying 'B****' to pop the crowd. Let him go and work, man. That dude is amazing."
Okada is currently defending his title in the Continental Classic tournament. Whether anyone will be able to take the 37-year-old down remains to be seen.