Why Tony Khan Doesn't Want To Be An AEW TV Character
The AEW owner and founder on resisting the urge to become a full-on televised authority figure.
A recent appearance on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast saw AEW founder and owner Tony Khan comment on all kinds of topics relating to his wrestling career, including his decision not to present himself as a full-on television character.
Khan has thus far resisted the urge to appear as a weekly authority figure. Speaking to Bloomberg, he explained how he has balanced this with the occasional appearance to facilitate certain storyline moves (h/t WrestlingNews.co):-
“No, I don’t write myself as a TV character, but if this makes sense, I am a plot device in the show. So, you’ll hear my name a few times because I am the matchmaker. I make the matches, so you’ll have somebody appeal to me. I don’t need to act or be on television or take up the TV time, but you do have to have a commissioner and a person who lays the law down and makes the rules.”
The closest Khan has come to going full authority figure came on AEW Dark's 15 March 2021 episode, when he appeared onstage to confront Kenny Omega. The 38-year-old has appeared only fleetingly since then.
Khan's presentation is in line with the promotion's overall philosophy on such television characters. AEW EVP Cody Rhodes has previously said the following on wrestling authority figures:-
Hopefully never. The audience isn’t dumb, they know who management is. Authority elements seem insulting in this era. This is just my opinion, as there’s a lot of fun ways to do this and I respect those. https://t.co/XqCdOcnqW8
Advertisement— Cody (@CodyRhodes) May 3, 2020
Khan remains AEW's foremost creative decision-maker, operating above EVPs Rhodes, Omega, and The Young Bucks.