From utopia to a playground - Tony Khan has to get a hold of AEW’s internal issues
Written as someone who covers wrestling and, more importantly, as a fan who loves AEW.
On January 1, 2019, after months of speculation, All Elite Wrestling was finally announced on an episode of Being The Elite.
A week later the company’s first press conference was held, with Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega, leading the rally as the company’s top stars and Executive Vice Presidents.
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At the end of the rally, Chris Jericho was unveiled as AEW’s biggest signing, following a 20-year career in WWE and a recent resurgence thanks to his work with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
But one person who didn’t talk at the original AEW rally was the man with the money, AEW’s CEO Tony Khan.
Khan not only had the money to make AEW happen but he also had the wrestling knowledge, as a lifelong fan who as a teen had sat in the ECW arena and booked a fantasy wrestling promotion as a hobby.
On the surface, a wrestling company led by wrestlers and a lifelong fan seemed like a utopian dream. For fans Khan was the man who could challenge Vince McMahon like no one before him and for wrestlers, here was this young, enthusiastic guy who was accessible and easy to get along with.
So what could possibly go wrong?
A year on from the infamous Brawl Out and days removed from another backstage incident, this time at All In, it’s clear that AEW is far from being a utopia backstage.
Days before Brawl Out, Khan appeared on Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer where he was asked about backstage tensions and gave a very revealing answer.
Khan said some people in the company don’t get along but that it’s okay and these tensions can sometimes even be a good thing.
“We don’t have a workplace where people need to be around each other eight to five, Monday through Friday every week,” Khan said. “But when we do come together, Wednesdays, Fridays, or this weekend on pay-per-view, we need people to be professional because the first word in professional wrestling is professional”
Khan’s ‘there’s nothing to see here’ answer would end up being proved false in the most public way possible when CM Punk and his muffins appeared at the All Out press scrum.
While Punk aired his grievances for the world to see, the following months saw fans left in the dark by the company.
Almost immediately differing reports on what happened backstage filtered out and CM Punk’s status with the company became a constant source of speculation until he was finally confirmed as returning.
But even with Punk coming back, the events of Brawl Out have still left us with plenty of unanswered questions, mostly about the roles of people other than Punk and The Elite in the drama.
Punk’s outburst not only made backstage issues public but also exposed Khan’s leadership in many ways. Khan was sitting beside Punk when it happened and did nothing to stop him. Then, given the legal implications of what happened, he could never be fully transparent with fans and the media again.
It also deepened a discussion on how Khan handles his talent relations, one which had always been whispered and then was loudly vocalised back in May 2022 when MJF called Khan a “fucking mark” on Dynamite to cheers from the crowd.
Khan has close friendships with many of his wrestlers. Some he’ll take out for drinks, others he’ll go through booking ideas with, and there’s more than one he holds special reverence for as a fan.
Whatever side you're on when it comes to the All In incident, it showed that Jack Perry, a young wrestler who has only ever worked for AEW, felt empowered enough to antagonise one of, if not the highest, paid wrestlers in the company.
Punk himself also felt empowered to reportedly chew out his boss backstage in front of others.
Then there are other issues. Whatever the legal problems, the EVPs (mainly the Young Bucks) feel it’s okay to not make peace with one of the company’s biggest stars.
Their role in Brawl Out saw them rewarded with keeping their EVP titles when they recently re-signed, meaning three on-paper company executives aren’t talking to the company’s biggest star.
You have guys taking unplanned shots at each other in promos, sharing cryptic social media posts, and being loose-lipped with reporters.
We’ve also had incidents involving Andrade, Sammy Guevara, Miro, and Eddie Kingston all getting out in recent months.
There’s also a huge imbalance of power when it comes to the wrestlers who are favoured by Khan, with the ex-WWE guys enjoying a level of influence they couldn’t have dreamed of under McMahon.
Khan’s closeness and admiration for some of these wrestlers can lead to other problems, with some taking it as they have a level of invincibility in AEW, which extends to more than the usual wrestler politicking.
For some, their power and influence allow them to do and go after whatever they want both inside and outside the ring, without any fear of repercussions because, in AEW, they can get away with anything and they’ll tell you as much.
This is all without mentioning the problems concerting Khan’s booking of the women’s division which gained a lot of traction last month and, given All In’s match card, doesn’t look like it will be resolved anytime soon.
A year on from Brawl Out and with the All In incident hanging over AEW, it’s clear something has to change internally.
Now is the time Khan needs to decide what he wants to be, whether it’s a friend or a boss, and he needs to hire people who will help him run the company smoothly.
He also needs to learn to delegate. He has AEW, Fulham, and the Jaguars, to be worried about and one man can’t do everything forever. Something’s got to give at some point before he burns out.
From the outside looking in it can’t be denied that AEW seems like a playground for many. There’s the ex-WWE wrestlers who are happy to have a boss that isn’t Vince McMahon, and the young wrestlers who see a friendly boss they can share a White Claw with.
Plus this is all without talking about anything in the company not concerning the in-ring product.
All In was a tremendous success and an incredible achievement for Khan to go from fantasy booking as a teen to running a show in Wembley Stadium. He deserves a huge amount of credit for making that dream a reality.
But if AEW’s success is going to continue, the internal issues that drag it down need to be properly addressed, or it’s just a time bomb waiting to explode.
AEW has the wrestling talent and they put on incredible shows. For me, they reignited my passion for wrestling in a way I never imagined could be possible again.
From the first episode, watching Dynamite was my highlight every week. Going to Full Gear 2021 after the pandemic was a dream come true. But it was during that trip that my rose-tinted glasses were shattered and I began to see things a lot more clearly.
Now, nearly two years on, I think more about what goes on outside the ring than inside and my pure love for the company has been beaten down by stories I’ve read or things I’ve seen with my own eyes.
The answer to Khan’s problems isn’t firing CM Punk, just like giving him his own show wasn’t the answer either. The problems in AEW run a lot deeper than just one wrestler and if things are going to improve a lot of serious changes need to be made.
In four years Tony Khan has built something incredible for wrestling fans but he needs to ensure it has the strong foundations required to keep it standing for years to come.
So true Steph, you're articles are great.