Tony Khan may think some wrestling legends are rooting against him and AEW, but that’s extremely far from the case. All of his critics with any sort of credibility have benefited from competition and know that AEW being a success is only better for pro wrestling, including WWE.
Randy Savage notoriously said, “the cream always rises,” and the cream was rising for AEW for the first couple of years, but many factors have put a lid on that cream. Now it’s sitting in the fridge behind a carton of week-expired egg whites.
The AEW President needs to take any assumed vitriol out of his head and take heed of what the veterans are saying, especially if he wants AEW to catch that momentum it once had.
Khan and former WCW President Eric Bischoff have gone back and forth on X which is nearly as entertaining as the Monday Night Wars (and unfortunately, more engaging than the current AEW product), but a narrative is getting spun that is pretty inaccurate.
In a recent interview, FTR claimed that Bischoff has been critical of AEW because Khan didn’t give Bischoff a job with the company. On his podcast, Eric has stated several times he never wanted to work for AEW and that his original bone of contention with Khan began back when Tony took shots at Ted Turner. On top of that, Bischoff has made clear he wants AEW to succeed. Bischoff is blunt and abrasive in his criticisms at times, but his insight is always constructive. FTR and Khan just aren’t getting a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.
Another name to get arrows slung his way is Bully Ray. On Busted Open Radio, the Dudley Boy has implored Khan to put his phone down and step away from social media. Additionally, he’s been very open about his criticisms of officiating and admits that he has to look at AEW with a different set of eyes than he does with WWE because AEW offers an alternative in wrestling. He noted that Khan didn’t grow up underneath the learning tree of a wrestling promoter, therefore he’s not technically a booker, but a matchmaker.
A third legend to give some sound advice has been Konnan. Much like he does with Bischoff, Khan has a contentious social media relationship with Konnan’s K100 co-host, Disco Inferno. After Khan posted some harsh words towards the former WCW star after Disco said the company needed a “reset” the two friends discussed it on their podcast with Konnan stating that Khan needs to listen to the constructive criticism thrown his way, filtering all the helpful feedback from the negative.
One name who is genius, but one can completely understand Khan steering clear from is Jim Cornette. Cornette is perhaps the most polarizing name out of all legends critical of AEW and does so with his signature venomous vernacular. Many fans simply tune in to hear Cornette crack back at AEW, but Khan would really have to void himself of all emotion to accept what Cornette has to say. Cearly one could get something beneficial from his input, but while Bischoff offers no sugar, Corny offers a spoonful of salt (to the wound). That being said, if Khan appointed someone to listen to the show, the AEW President would have plenty to garner and harvest.
Nuance and context have never coincided with the cesspool that can be social media. Just like it’s important to anyone dabbling in the dark arts, if the very busy Khan had the time to do further dive into what gets said about him and his company, he’d learn a lot about himself and the legends who only want what’s best for business.