All Elite Wrestling has faced a steady stream of criticism from some of the pro wrestling world’s veterans since its inception. Figures like Eric Bischoff, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Stevie Richards have publicly questioned the company’s booking, presentation and overall strategy, often using their podcasts and media appearances to air their opinions.
While some of these critiques appear to stem from genuine concerns, others suggest that certain veterans target AEW mainly to drive engagement, gain attention or stay relevant.
AEW President Tony Khan weighed in on the criticism on The Ariel Helwani Show, emphasizing that much of it seems motivated by audience engagement rather than sincere evaluation.
“It clearly does engagement for them to talk about AEW. Because you wouldn’t spend such a large percentage of your real estate and wouldn’t devote so much of your content unless it was engaging. AEW is a huge part of the wrestling landscape.”
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Tony Khan Responds To CM Punk Saying He’s Not A Boss
CM Punk was released from AEW after conflicts in 2022 and 2023 involving The Elite, Ryan Nemeth and Jack Perry.
Last year, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion claimed that AEW President Tony Khan didn’t act like a boss, but more like a “nice guy” who let talent do what they wanted. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Khan addressed the comment and said:
“I don’t agree with that, but I also think that everybody’s entitled to their opinion, and that’s feedback, and it’s fair if that’s how he feels.
But I didn’t agree with the description of the way things played out, and that’s okay. That’s all in the eye of the beholder, just like the whole situation. If you see the way it came out, it all was in the eye of the beholder, and that’s okay.
I think AEW’s doing really well right now, and I’m really happy with what the people on the shows are doing. It wasn’t the first time that he and I had disagreed about something, and it may not ever be the last, and that’s okay.
But I had tried to reconcile and I wanted to find a way for everybody to be able to work together, and that didn’t work, and that’s okay. It seems like everybody’s happier and doing better right now. I know in AEW right now, everybody’s really happy, and it feels like this is the best the locker room’s been since the Jacksonville lockdown days.”
Khan also spoke about Punk’s altercation with Jack Perry at All In 2023 and airing the footage of the incident.
“I didn’t necessarily agree with everything that was said in that interview (Punk’s interview with Helwani) about how things happened, but also, it’s a TV show, and it did a very strong number (playing the camera footage). So for many reasons I think that it made sense, and it was a thing that was advertised, and it got a lot of attention, it did a very strong number. And also, it’s in the eye of the beholder.
I think the tape spoke for itself and I think that I didn’t agree with how it happened, and obviously it was a major part of why things were no longer able to continue with us even though I would have liked to have been able to, and it’s clear that I wanted to reconcile and do those things.
I think really for us, we’ve had a great run for 6 years, and if you look at the time before Phil came to AEW, we were having a great run, and we had some great times together, but we’ve been on a great run and we’re having this great year right now with this roster, and I think this is the best roster and the best AEW locker room.
It feels like in and out of the ring, the combination of them, this is the best we’ve been, but I also think that we had great times together and it was clear when we started doing Collision, I wanted to reconcile and find a way to still do those things, and I guess that wasn’t possible.”
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