10 Anti-WWE Moves AEW Made Out Of Spite

3. Khan Vs Khan

Young Bucks Bobby Fish Adam Cole
AEW

Extending outwards from the authority figure role he'd played on Impact Wrestling, Tony Khan brought his big-talking bullsh*t to his own organisation in a strange and out-of-nowhere promo at the expense of Vince McMahon's newest right hand man.

The May speech came after Khan read in the Wrestling Observer that the WWE representative had been speaking to New Japan Pro Wrestling about a possible working relationship. Khan laughed it off, noting that he'd been featuring NJPW wrestlers on his show for ages, and was in negotiations for the future status of his IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley.

Predictably, the WWE/NJPW relationship rumours amounted to absolutely nothing, and Khan's general demeanour towards his opposition looks even more pointed in hindsight. Mere months from its recording, Khan had signed away Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole while bringing CM Punk in from the wrestling wilderness. The Forbidden Door is seemingly more open than ever too, with Kazuchika Okada the latest megastar to potentially be stepping through.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett