Back when he was still in power as the do-it-all CEO/booker/creative lead of the WWE Universe, going up against Tony Khan and AEW weekly for ratings supremacy, Vince McMahon had a bad habit of changing his plans on the fly, with the promotion's weekly plans being ripped up routinely in favor of on-the-fly ideas that had a tendency to feel somewhat disconnected from the storylines being told at the time.

While this tendency has been largely eliminated by Paul “Triple H” Levesque, only occasionally ping-ponging a belt or “hot-shoting” a show to pop a rating – the 10/10 edition of NXT, anyone? – his commitment to long-term storytelling has created a new standard for the industry, one some fans, pundits, and even wrestlers argue that Khan hasn't been reaching as of late as the sole creative mind behind all things AEW.

Discussing this disconnect, Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio that he feels as though some wrestlers aren't happy with how late they are receiving information on their weekly assignments, as they feel as though both their storylines and the show have been suffering as a result.

“If you follow AEW, you know that a lot of the stuff is being decided at much later periods than previous. Guys are getting their information on what they're doing later, and decisions are being made later,” Dave Meltzer said via WrestleTalk.

“There's times the day of the show sometimes you don't even know (what the plans are). It's almost at times like we used to talk about WWE. Which is also very frustrating for talent.

“A lot of guys have a lot of input on what they're doing, but they don't really know a long-term direction. So they're doing stuff and they're coming up with ideas, but when you don't really know exactly a long-term direction, you're kind of coming up with ideas week-by-week too, but you don't know where the ultimate thing is and maybe the ultimate thing hasn't even been decided. So that's one of the reasons that the shows are like the shows are.”

Whoa, those are some pretty big assertions, especially from someone like Meltzer, who is routinely accused of being an “AEW shill” by WWE fans who aren't the biggest fan of his rating system. And the craziest part? One of TK's closest confidants, AEW coach/Ring of Honor Board of Directors, Jerry Lynn, actually commented on Meltzer's words via WrestlePurists' social media post, leading to a very interesting conversation among fans and pundits alike.

“Because wrestlers and God knows who else have and continue to leak info to the sheets, podcasts, etc,” Jerry Lynn said. “So Tony tries to keep things confidential. You wouldn’t want to know everything before you see a movie. Anyone who leaks info is doing damage to the product and the industry.”

Is Lynn correct? Does giving wrestlers the information in advance get negated if they're just going to spoil what's going on to the media or their fans in one form or another? Or is that mistrust a sign of bigger issues, with Khan distrusting some of his wrestlers, whether warranted or not? Either way, it's safe to say this story is worth monitoring moving forward, as it's hard to imagine it'll be going away any time soon.

Kris Statlander reveals why Tony Khan helped her change her gimmick.

Speaking of Tony Khan making changes to AEW and the way the promotion operates, Kris Statlander recently sat down for an interview with Ring The Belle, where she explained why she ditched the alien gimmick when she returned to in-ring action earlier this year.

“I know, I know. I feel like it’s a very 50/50 split with how people feel about that (alien persona). I get that (it went well with the athleticism I displayed). I felt like doing the alien thing, it gave people a better look into me as a person and it’s not to be like, oh, I’m an alien, but I’m just — I know I’m a little bit of an awkward person, I’m a little bit different and sometimes the things that I do are unique and I felt like that was kind of just an easy way to show what I am as an easy, like, oh, yeah, alien, different, makes sense,” Kris Statlander said via WrestleTalk.

“I don’t know. I know some people, a lot of people didn’t take that seriously and they never thought that it would be world champion material and it might’ve been but I just felt like it was time for me to try and grow.

“Not just as a person, as a performer, and just try something different. I mean, it did bring me to this. “I don’t wanna say it was a mistake. Maybe it was time for something new.”

Was the alien gimmick maybe a tad goofy? Sure, but in professional wrestling, it's not like a goofy gimmick is an automatic death knell, as arguably the greatest character in wrestling history, The Undertaker, was either a zombie or an American bada**, who may or may not have had a brother, depending on the year. Still, if changing Stat's gimmick makes her more accessible, then it makes sense why Tony Khan might have been interested in making a change.