QT Marshall Believes Fans Are In For “A Real Treat” With The Gunn Club’s AEW Heel Turn

All Elite Wrestling is exploding with talent ranging from legends to budding stars. Providing a platform for all of them to shine can be a delicate balance. QT Marshall has a front-row seat to the talent pool on every level.

The Nightmare Factory coach and co-owner tells The Wrestling Inc. Daily he finds the company laid the right foundation from the beginning.

"I think when AEW started, it was a couple of huge names– Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, the [Young] Bucks, and Kenny [Omega]. Then you had a bunch of unknowns," he said. "Guys I never even heard of. That is how they get elevated. Jericho wrestling Hangman [Page] in the first-ever AEW championship match, that elevated Hangman. Orange Cassidy had his program with Jericho. It has always been like that.

"I think it's more important now as we bring in bigger stars to get those stars with younger talent like Daniel Garcia, who faced CM Punk. [Will] Hobbs with CM Punk. It puts them on a huge platform where it's a sink or swim. It seems like they are swimming pretty fine. Is it hard to be on TV now? That's the business we are in– you can do two things. You can sit around and complain or you can just get over. I say that to myself. You have all this talent here, and we're trying to sell tickets and draw huge ratings. We have to figure out how to get over with the audience while keeping our bosses happy, wrestlers happy. It's a hard job we're in, but it's the greatest job in the world."

For the veteran, the AEW coaching perspective is if they see something and it clicks, they try to give the performer an opportunity right out of the gate. He cites the young Dante Martin as an example. The 20-year-old impressed decision-makers so much on AEW Dark, they gave him more TV time, including the flagship Dynamite.

"Jungle Boy has gone from really young talent to star in our company," adds Marshall. "Lee Moriarty, who we just put under contract, is getting this opportunity on [Rampage]. At my school, we work really hard. At my school, I have guys like Lee Johnson, Pres10 Vance, Alan Angels, Ana Jay, Jade Cargill. They understand as much as I tell them nothing is guaranteed. Your time isn't guaranteed. Just because people on Twitter are retweeting them doesn't mean you are actually over."

For Marshall, this tough love may be a hard pill to swallow when talent is getting positive feedback from fans online. He encourages them to look outside the bubble and think big picture. That and sit under the learning tree of the greats at their disposal from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, to Sting and Jake Roberts.

"There are so many great minds," he said. "If you are looking for advice, you'll find it. I know I look for it."

Looking at the future, Marshall can see a generational tag team as one to watch. By his vantage point, there is big-time potential in the Gunn Club's Colten and Austin.

"I've seen them as heels. They just turned heel. I think fans are in for a real treat when they actually start going," he said. "They have a lot of personality, especially Austin. And Colten is a natural athlete. It's in the blood."

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