Reality Check
Keepin' it 100
This is true, and I definitely see your point of view here, but regarding HHH, that buck stopped with Vince.
I mean, wrestler's court existed too, so you're not wrong.
I think it's two things with AEW that set it apart. First, the buck doesn't seem to stop with TK. Maybe I'm wrong, but if Vince fired Punk, you'd know it was Vince making the final call. TK is a weak leader, so people assume that Danielson is (part of) making that final call, not TK.
Second, Danielson is in an official position here working with legal. I guess the closest is having wrestlers on the booking committee in WCW and WWF, but WCW and WWF didn't have dudes huddling with actual legal execs to make personnel decisions.
...though that's if this is true. Sapp is a credulous clown, after all. However, if it's true, I do think those are two differences from the norm of having wrestlers in positions of command in the past.
Snowman didn't grow up in the business, and is a billionaire dweeb to put it nicely. The best thing for Snowman to do honestly is have someone else with wrestling background run the company for him and be there to sign off on things. The problem Snowman has is he has his mark goggles on at all times, and it allows people to take advantage of him.