AEW must make this hire to help cement recent growth

AEW is enjoying a resurgent 2025. The fanbase is growing, the storylines are fun and suspenseful and the wrestling has been elite. Tony Khan has successfully steered his company through some turbulent waters after the CM Punk Debacle and the struggles that followed. 

However, Khan must avoid resting on his laurels. Yes, AEW is back on solid ground, and yes, everything is trending upward. But that doesn't mean more can't be done to cement the growth we're currently witnessing. 

That's where Scott D'Amore comes in. 

D'Amore is among the best wrestling minds in the business. He has enjoyed two successful spells with TNA/IMPACT, first between 2003 and 2010 and again between 2017 and 2024. During his time with TNA/IMPACT, D'Amore held a range of roles, from booker, manager, executive and producer. 

Where WWE has Paul Heyman, TNA had D’Amore: the mind behind the scenes, the voice on the mic and the guy holding the creative glue together. 

He excelled as an on-screen manager with Team Canada in the early 2000s. He was also the spearhead behind the Ring of Honor invasion of 2022 in the "Honor No More" storyline. And at his best, D’Amore produced some of the most gripping matches in wrestling TV.

D'Amore, like Khan, knows what it takes to navigate a wrestling company through tough times, especially one battling for prominence with WWE. He also knows how to create compelling television and produce elite stories and matches. Adding him to the staff would lighten Khan's load while elevating the overall product, even if in an on-screen manager role like that of Heyman today. 

During a recent appearance on "Busted Open," D'Amore played down the likelihood of him landing a job with AEW.

"Always open to looking at opportunities, but truthfully, Tony Khan, great guy, appreciate everything he's done ... and he already has so many great people around him," D'Amore said. "There's no lack of great wrestling minds there."

Regardless of the backroom talent within AEW, there should be more than enough room for someone of D'Amore's experience, stature and talent. Khan has done a fantastic job of building a roster full of the world's top technical wrestlers. He's also found solid writers and producers to help nurture those talents into storytellers. 

So Khan should have no problem constructing one of the best "front offices" in wrestling, either, and that means finding a way to add D'Amore and empower him to do great things. 

D'Amore deserves to remain at the top level of wrestling. Khan has the ability to ensure that it happens. From the outside looking in, this feels like a no-brainer. Hopefully, AEW sees it that way, too.