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Tony Khan is set to bid farewell to an AEW star by the end of 2023, but a change in direction where the company wants to focus on matches might be the cause of the star's departure.
On November 27th, former AAA Latin American Champion QT Marshall announced that he would be moving on from All Elite Wrestling at the end of 2023. QT was a part of AEW in its infancy and assumed many roles on and off-screen.
There had been rumblings following QT's announcement that he was frustrated with his position in AEW, with Dave Meltzer even noting that Marshall wanted to be seen as an in-ring star instead of being a reliable backstage hand.
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Another potential reason why QT Marshall is leaving AEW at the end of the year is a reported change in direction. According to Nick Hausman from "Haus of Wrestling," the direction QT alluded to was that AEW was going to focus more on the matches in the ring rather than stories in a similar fashion to how New Japan Pro Wrestling produces their product..
Hausmen reportedly asked his sources what prompted this change, to which he was met with the simple response that Tony Khan just likes that style.
Tony Khan has doubled down on this style with the AEW Continental Classic
While fans of wrestling that focus on characters and story still have the likes of The Devil saga, Christian Cage's family, and "Timeless" Toni Storm to whet their appetite, Tony Khan has borrowed a New Japan storytelling method in the form of the round-robin tournament.
The inaugural Continental Classic tournament follows the same format as NJPW tournaments like the Best of the Super Juniors, the World Tag League, and the G1 Climax, where the matches are what push a story forward.
The tournament kicked off on the "Thanksgiving Eve" edition of Dynamite and will continue until the World's End pay-per-view on December 30th, when the finals will take place.
Who do you think will win the AEW Continental Classic? Let us know in the comments section below!
