3 major mistakes AEW made in 2025

AEW had a tremendous year in 2025. Tony Khan led the company towards success with back-to-back incredible pay-per-view and special events. In fact, many fans praised the storytelling in the Jacksonville-based promotion this year. There were a lot of feuds that exceeded expectations and etched their name in the world of professional wrestling.

But as every coin has two sides, there were many flaws in AEW's booking as well. Many matches failed to live up to expectations. Meanwhile, fans were confused about the booking of several top stars as well. It can be corrected in the coming year, and the Jacksonville-based promotion is likely to move in that direction.

But in this article, let's talk about 3 major mistakes AEW made in 2025:

#3. Christian Cage's babyface turn in AEW

Shocking title change taped for last SmackDown - Watch Now!

Christian Cage turned babyface this year after Patriarchy kicked him out of the faction at All In: Texas. Fans had expectations with this new gimmick of the former WWE star. However, Tony Khan failed to deliver up to the mark with his character. Cage visibly lacked intensity during his promos as a babyface, putting people in confusion over whether he was still resorting to his heel tactics.

Besides, All Elite Wrestling did not properly address Cage's feud with Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian. Partly it was due to Wayne's injury, but things felt pretty much rushed following the betrayal of All In. Moreover, it felt like Tony Khan was in a hurry to have an Edge and Christian reunion. Therefore, Cage's babyface turn felt much more forced than coming off naturally.

#2. Stretching feuds and teases

This year, AEW presented several feuds in front of the fans. Some were exceptional, some lacked direction pretty much. However, the company stretched a lot of rivalries for a long time. Feuds like Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley and Samoa Joe vs. Hangman Page were expected to be a one-off encounter. But Tony Khan has these showdowns more than three pay-per-views.

Moreover, the company dropped various teases this year. Such as the breakup of Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada or Jon Moxley's departure from Death Riders. However, there were no follow-ups to those teases for a long time. AEW stretched them to build fan excitement, only for the momentum to be derailed by overextension. It was a major mistake on Khan's part this year.

#1. Frequent title changes

One of the major flaws fans felt this year in AEW's booking was frequent title changes. Titles like the AEW World Championship and the TNT Championship changed hands multiple times in a span of a few months. It did not provide much time to any of the title reigns to etch their names as legendary. It felt like Tony Khan had no creative direction for the champions following the title wins.

Such decisions often lead to damage to the prestige of the championships. It could result in title changes feeling less meaningful in All Elite Wrestling next year due to the company’s overdoing it in 2025. The company needs a long title reign with a strong champion. It can help Tony Khan restore the prestige of the championships. With that in mind, excessive title changes proved to be a major mistake this year.

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Edited by Anugrah Tyagi