Frankie Kazarian Discusses Positives & Negatives He Experienced In AEW

AEW returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 26 for its annual Double or Nothing pay-per-view, marking the company's five-year anniversary. The show featured MJF, and Jack Perry, and Jon Moxley, and other AEW originals who've been with the company since the start. However, Frankie Kazarian is one original who's since parted ways with AEW, and he discussed his positive and negative experiences of working there on "Busted Open Radio."

Kazarian, who was involved in AEW's early planning stages, said that he has fond memories of the early days of the promotion's existence. "I was in meetings in undisclosed hotels at two in the morning where it was myself and The Young Bucks, and Cody, and Chris Daniels, and Scorpio Sky, and Kenny [Omega], and Tony Khan, talking about what would become AEW." He was excited about building something from the ground up and experiencing the company grow, but it didn't take long for his enthusiasm to fade.

The TNA star detailed some of the biggest frustrations he had with AEW, citing the company's lack of leadership and creative direction. "Inmates running the asylum in a way, no real direction," he said. "I think there was also, at least when I was there, a lot of stories that were presented — 'We're going to do this, this, and this.' But after that, then what are you going to do? That was always a problem."

The former AEW star noted that he's surprised the company took off so quickly, but praised stars such as Chris Jericho for its early success. These days, however, he feels that AEW is losing some of its goodwill among fans.

Please credit "Busted Open Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.