Over the last week, backstage issues broiling beneath the surface in AEW have boiled over, but Tony Schiavone says things aren't exactly as they appear. What began as a whisper has gradually picked up more volume, with several reports indicating a lot of unhappiness and uneasiness in All Elite Wrestling. Insider Dave Meltzer went so far as to opine that a "number of people are close to their breaking point." Problems began to emerge publicly a few months back on the road to Double Or Nothing.

MJF no-showed a fan meet and greet ahead of the pay-per-view, and some were concerned that he wouldn't appear for his scheduled match against Wardlow either. Friedman appeared, got squashed, opened the following episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite with one of the best promos in recent memory, and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Jonathan Gresham and Tony Khan reportedly had a blow-up ahead of the Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view, with the wrestler apparently frustrated by a lack of communication. Gresham's issues mirrored some rumblings that had been heard up until that point.

Related: What's Going On With CM Punk & Hangman Adam Page

More recently, backstage issues between CM Punk and Hangman Adam Page reportedly almost caused the AEW World Champion to be a no-show at the August 17 episode of Dynamite. That problem apparently stems from a promo Hangman cut on May 25. Schiavone was given an additional role as Senior Producer and Special Advisor to Talent in early August, and it's now his job to keep tabs on these sorts of backstage problems. He recently spoke about the current environment on the What Happened When podcast, stating the following: "I'm going to say this right now, things are not as bad as bullshit people on the internet would say. Not even close to it. We've got some things in place now that I think are going to make us better than ever." (h/t and a thank you to Fightful.com for the transcription)

AEW Can't Afford To Be This Divided

The wrestling landscape has changed dramatically over the last month. AEW can no longer afford to coast on its reputation as the place where fans can go to see "real" wrestling. Triple H taking over WWE has rapidly changed how that company produces shows, and suddenly former top NXT and independent stars are littering the upper echelon of Raw and SmackDown cards. Johnny Gargano, Dakota Kai, IYO SKY, Dexter Lumis, and Karrion Kross are all the kinds of performers that AEW would have snatched up in years gone by.

Triple H knows how to book cohesive wrestling shows, however. AEW's in-ring work has always been stellar, but the storytelling aspect has fallen behind since Vince McMahon retired. Now isn't the time for Tony Khan to lose control of his house. The likes of Punk, Page, MJF, and the rest of the roster need to be on the same page if they want to continue to see AEW thrive as a viable alternative to WWE.

Next: AEW Dynamite Must Step Up After (Another) Strong WWE Raw

Source: What Happened When Fightful.com