Dave Meltzer Comments On How Young Talent Progresses In AEW

Journalist Dave Meltzer went into great length to outline his issues with AEW's talent development. AEW boasts an expansive roster stacked with names both established and promising, with the likes of Daniel Garcia, Jack Perry, and MJF all finding their first wrestling successes in the promotion. But there have often come criticisms toward the way those younger stars, including the aforementioned, have progressed over the years. 

Such was the case in the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" from Meltzer, who is often himself criticized and accused of skewing favor toward AEW. In the newsletter, he wrote that while the likes of Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita have spent years working dates around the world, there are others on the roster he feels have yet to progress through a lack of working on a regular basis. Meltzer drew on Hook as an example, having become immensely popular before he had even stepped into the ring, but having not shown much improvement since on the microphone and nowhere near his potential in the ring. 

He then included a note he said he had received on the subject with a scathing review of the situation, with the blame being place at the door of both Tony Khan and the talent. It claimed that the younger talent either don't want to work indie dates or ask way above what an indie promoter can afford, as a result of the six figure salaries handed out by Khan. The note which Meltzer echoed said that the younger talent would "instead sit home or work a three-minute ROH match in a random city and a comatose crowd," and said there was a need for them to improve quicker while they are still fresh in the eyes of fans.