AEW Fined By Maryland State Athletic Commission For Unsanctioned Match

AEW presented a lights out unsanctioned match between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega at Full Gear that tore the house down. It is also costing AEW $10,000.

The Maryland State Athletic Commission is fining All Elite Wrestling for the sum of $10,000 for their unsanctioned contest. This is a small price to pay for a great match, but there could be further ramifications is there are repeat offences.

In the complaint, it was noted that Mr. Good (Moxley) hit Mr. Smith (Omega) with a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat across the back three times. It was also noted that Mr. Smith used a barbed wire wrapped broom across Mr. Good’s back and he swept him with the bristles.

Former WCW Announcer Christopher Cruise sent in the complaint about the match. He unloaded on Facebook after the paperwork was made public.

Look, the easy thing to say in response to the $10,000 fine levied on AEW by the MSAC is that it is pocket change for a billionaire. I get that. But it ain’t nuthin. And it is public, or will be on May 20th when the Commission meets and then posts the consent order on its website, and distributes it to all other commissions throughout the country. And keep in mind that the next violation will result in a revocation of their license in Maryland and possible show stoppage. In the middle of a match. The Commission is on notice now that others are watching its actions. This puts AEW on notice, as well, and it embarrasses the company. By this time tomorrow the story will have spread far and wide. And it will appear in mainstream publications. This is a black eye for AEW and for the business.

This isn’t the best look for AEW, but they will continue. If a pandemic didn’t stop them then a $10,000 fine isn’t going to either. Don’t expect to see anymore barbed wire spiderwebs in AEW in the meantime.