WWE Hall of Famer misses the mark with shot at AEW

Scott Steiner was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022 . The former NWO standout was one of the hottest names in wrestling in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Sportskeeda's Bill Apter recently caught up with Steiner for an exclusive interview, during which Steiner shared his thoughts on the rise of AEW.

“It’s great for another place for the guys to work," Steiner said. "Competition’s always good for the business. But there’s no doubt that WWE is hot right now. They got the fan interest. That’s what’s most important. The thing is, you just can’t have matches. Nobody gives a s**t if they’re just matches with no storyline. You’re throwing two guys together. …No, [it doesn’t work.]. Has it ever worked? No.”

Steiner's comment was very generic. At this point, it's cliche to question AEW's storytelling. Every former wrestler has had similar complaints regarding Tony Khan's company. While those criticisms were fair in the past, and even in the opening months of this year, they completely miss the mark on the product AEW is currently offering.

Right now, AEW is experiencing a resurgence. It's adopted an American brand of storyline within its product . MJF and Will Ospreay both have multiple situations running. Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page continue to be at each other's throats. And the Tony Storm/Mariah May feud has been one of the best angles in all of women's wrestling.

Steiner's comments are par for the course at this point. AEW has a reputation for lackluster storytelling that will take more than a few weeks of good programming to overcome. Nevertheless, slamming the company for something they are actively trying to fix doesn't help anybody.

Hopefully, former stars can start pointing out the good in AEW rather than actively working against it — especially stars who had a run in WCW, which was another challenger brand.