2023 is almost over! AEW has done some great booking in the past year; from Orange Cassidy’s entire first International title reign to Adam Cole and MJF’s build-up for All In, there’s no shortage of great moments or matches that have taken place in the company.

 However, Tony Khan and his creative team are far from perfect. So, it’s not too surprising that there have been mistakes along the way. These are the most baffling booking decisions the company has made in 2023.

Kris Statlander Beats Jade Cargill for the TBS Championship (Double or Nothing)

Looking back at Jade Cargill’s title reign, it wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. You saw Cargill’s growth and evolution as a performer throughout her 508-day run, but the big issue is that she NEVER had any feuds that truly defined her as a great champion. Her reign had some solid matches, but her undefeated streak was mainly racked up by dominant squash victories. 

Still, Cargill’s run as the TBS Champion will always be remembered because of how lengthy the reign was. Plus, the first person who would’ve beaten the former TBS Champion should’ve easily been made into a big star. The run was treated as important, so fans understood how big of a deal it is for someone to finally topple Cargill.

The way Jade dropped the belt is a prime example of her run with it. There was nothing wrong with Kris being the woman to beat her for the title. But the way it happened was simply terrible. Statlander vs. Cargill should’ve been built up as a major match between the underdog challenger and the dominant champion. Instead, Cargill was beaten after going through a war against Taya Valkyrie. 

Statlander wasn’t a heel, so booking her in this manner was awkward and she didn’t look good beating the vulnerable champion. Their rematch on Rampage proved that these two have great chemistry with one another so it made it even more baffling that this was how Cargill dropped the belt after such a historic run. 

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CM Punk Introduces the Real World Championship and MJF Never Acknowledges It

Obviously, Punk’s firing ceased all plans for this belt, but the brief introduction of the Real World title was terrible. It made no sense why Punk felt that he was still champion. Yes, he dropped the belt without losing it, but that was due to a severe injury; are you telling me that CM Punk is so delusional that he didn’t understand basic wrestling rules? It made CM Punk quite heelish for introducing the belt, and though he was blurring the lines between babyface and heel, he was still booked as a face given his feuds against Samoa Joe and Ricky Starks.

Even worse, AEW acknowledged the belt and had him defend it. Why would the company themselves allow this? Why would the actual AEW World Champion accept this? Collision and Dynamite are not particularly separate shows; hell, MJF made several appearances on Collision during the introduction of the Real World title. 

It was silly that MJF never addressed CM Punk carrying around a self-proclaimed world title belt, especially when he had several opportunities to do so. The idea of CM Punk believing that he’s still the AEW World Champion is sound; however, the entire booking of this self-proclaimed belt was misguided since day one. 

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Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett

Do I need to explain why this was terrible? Why can’t pro wrestling companies just have their wrestlers wear attire that highlights the merchandise that they’re advertising? Or, do some harmless backstage skit that promotes said product? This may have been better than the Damian Priest/Miz debacle at Wrestlemania’s Backlash, but this was arguably the worst match in Dynamite history. 

One of the big reasons fans turned to AEW was because of its sports-like approach to professional wrestling. However, there’s no denying that AEW has gone more of the sports entertainment route in 2023. This match had no business existing. This wasn’t even entertaining in a Sami Zayn/Johnny Knoxville way. 

It was a goofy match that was strictly made for advertisers, not fans. There was never any personal AEW history between Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett nor was there any connection with wrestling and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A terrible match that arguably did more harm than good to AEW’s brand. 

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AR Fox is Kicked Out Of the Mogul Embassy

The AR Fox situation is a strange one. While it’s understandable that he had to be replaced because he couldn’t make the trip to London, kicking him out was completely unnecessary. Fox was doing some interesting work during his brief stint with Strickland that made audiences invest in his character. 

That was all washed away when they decided to simply drop him from Swerve’s faction. There could’ve been multiple ways of replacing Fox without him being kicked out from Mogul Embassy. The guy has been floundering since, though it appears that was Fox’s punishment. There could’ve been a compelling arc for getting back under the good graces of Darby Allin and his crew, but sadly, Fox is wasting away on the undercard jobbing to the stars. A wasted opportunity overall. 

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Jay White Loses to a One-Legged MJF

An injury angle heading into a big title match is nothing new. However, it buries the challenger a little when he’s still unable to beat the weakened champion. The purpose of this injury angle should’ve been to get the title off of MJF. Instead, this massively buries Jay White. The AEW star couldn’t beat a man who went through a tag team title match and a severe injury angle. 

Plus, the way the angle played out was extremely weak. Officials wouldn’t let MJF  wrestle, but a legitimately injured Adam Cole could? The way it was played out was nonsensical, but thankfully, AEW has done wonders with Jay White following his loss thanks to his inclusion within the Continental Classic. But this was still harmful to white’s character overall.