Subhojeet Mukherjee on February 17, 2026
AEW tried to celebrate its Wrestling Observer Newsletter wins — but the victory lap didn’t go the way they planned at all.
On February 16, 2026, AEW’s official Twitter account bragged about the company’s success in the 2025 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Year-End Awards, thanking fans for the recognition.
"Thank you to all the fans who watch AEW, as @WONF4W awarded AEW multiple top honors in their Best of 2025 Awards! Don’t miss Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite starting at 8pm ET / 7pm CT on @TBSNetwork + @SportsonMax , THIS WEDNESDAY!"
The tweet was meant to focus on AEW’s wins, including Best Major Wrestling Show for All In 2025. However, instead of applause, the tweet was quickly flooded with criticism from fans who questioned the credibility of the awards. One fan responded by suggesting there was a conflict of interest: “Congratulations on being awarded awards by a guy on your payroll.”
Another fan mocked the idea that the recognition meant much outside of AEW’s own circle: “Well done on winning majority of the AEW Awards👏👏👏” Another fan made it clear they were glad WWE didn’t do the same thing when they won the awards last year, saying, “I’m glad WWE didn’t do this last year when they won a lot of the awards. It’s pathetic lol.”
It didn’t end there as one fan downplayed the significance of a WON award entirely, saying, “Bragging about winning a WON award is like bragging about someone in WWE winning a slammy.”
The backlash comes just days after Eric Bischoff blasted the Observer voting base on his 83 Weeks podcast, calling the results predictable and AEW fans “culturally isolated and irrelevant.” So at the end of the day, AEW promoted the awards because they won them. From the company’s perspective, it’s recognition for their work in 2025. But for critics, the issue isn’t whether AEW had a good year — it’s whether these specific awards carry real weight outside a certain fanbase.
What do you think — was AEW right to celebrate publicly, or did the backlash show why companies usually stay quiet about fan-voted awards? Sound off in the comments.
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