5 Tony Khan Missteps

 

Tony Khan is a polarizing figure in the world of professional wrestling. As the bankroll and CEO of AEW he is either revered by fans for bringing an alternative to the WWE and having the pockets to truly compete with them. Or he is considered a fanboy who is making AEW his own little toy chest and not really improving the product.

I one for think he is a rather eccentric guy who is clearly a fan of pro wrestling and has been for years. His heart is in the right place with what he is trying to do with AEW, but it seems like he is one of those guys who can't get out of his own way. While we all make mistakes his is amplified because he is leading a company that many are passionate about. I decided to highlight of his missteps since AEW's inception.

5. Twitter Fingers Tony

While it seem's someone finally got through to him as I haven't seen or heard about too much controversy from his tweets lately. There was a time where Tony constantly was making a fool of himself with his tweets and digging big holes for himself. Whether it was comments about Swole, beefing with Jinder Mahal, or arguing with trolls about AEW ratings and attendance. It just seemed to be too much.

4. Not Having A Plan For ROH

As a fan of the business with resources, he did a amazing thing buying the library and IP of ROH. As a businessman he made a shrewd move, buying ROH so he could have rights and footage of the event that was the catalyst for AEW. Allowing AEW to use the name All IN for events, which they have used for their overseas events. Other than that he hasn't quite figured out ROH and how it truly fits in the AEW ecosystem.

It's weekly program is behind a paywall, which leaves many fans missing out on a talent such as Athena and her historic title reign. ROH champions regularly appear on AEW TV which muddles things and makes it hard to consider the two separate brands under one tree.

3. Trying To Do Everything 

I'm not sure how Tony Khan hasn't suffered from burn out yet, other than the persistent jokes that he enjoy's booger sugar. He is the CEO of AEW, while also writing and booking the television programs and pay-per-views. He also is very involved in ROH, and I believe write's and does the booking for them too. He then also assists in running the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC soccer team in executive positions. 

There just is not enough time in the day to do all of these successfully. I know he has assistants and what not, but by all accounts he wants to be as hands on as possible instead of delegating. There becomes a point where missteps will arise because of that mentality.

2. Allowing Cody To Leave

No matter how you slice it, from the time AEW launched to his departure. Cody Rhodes was the heart and soul of the company. Cody says the relationship between the two drifting apart played a huge role in him leaving. As I'm sure the two had differing visions on how AEW should be presented in the world of wrestling and ran behind the scenes. I'm not sure how big of a role the Young Bucks truly played in Cody's decision to leave, but it seemed as if Tony didn't intervene and mitigate things.

Cody is doing uber successful in the WWE right now, and AEW is experiencing a resurgence in popularity beyond the core supporters. Still doesn't mean allowing Cody to leave was exactly the best decision. 

1. CM Punk Debacle

This whole situation will continue to haunt Tony Khan for a long time and still remains a dark cloud over AEW. From Punk's out of nowhere rant during the press conference during All Out in 2022 that led to the backstage scuffle with the Elite. To Punk's return last year to headline Collision and then his backstage fight with Jack Perry at All In. Which got so bad Punk was fired and everyone seemed to move on.

Khan was criticized heavily for his handling of the situation for each incident in this saga. Which could he have laid down the law the first time things got out of hand, sure he could have. However not being in his shoes, and he doesn't strike me as a aggressive person he probably wanted to slap everyone on the wrist and move on, but things continued to fester. Once Punk signed with WWE things seemed to be settling down, but then for some stupid reason AEW released the footage of the backstage scuffle. The two sides continue to throw little shots at each other, but as the CEO of a company Khan should have moved beyond that a long time ago.