5 Ways AEW's Tony Khan Is A Great Wrestling Booker (& 5 Ways He ISN'T)
3. ISN'T - He's Feckless
AEW's lack of identity is AEW's identity. The business model is the wrestling buffet; AEW seeks to catch all wrestling fans, whether they're into brawling, technical wrestling, death match wrestling, lucha libre, whatever.
That said, this approach isn't just a result of Tony Khan's wide-ranging tastes and passions. Khan, it feels, is susceptible to the influence of those around him. It is known that the top stars have significant sway over their own creative, and that the vast majority of promos are scripted by the talents themselves. This can lend the show a scattershot, unfocused and compromised feel. AEW by design and by Khan's disposition can rarely be the very best version of itself. Late last year, AEW tried to have sports entertainment and eat pro wrestling. Through the selective enforcement of the rules alone, the Continental Classic, while mostly wonderful in and of itself, sat uneasily alongside the rest of AEW's 2023 output.
TK seemed to listen to every conflicting voice in the room, muddying his product as a result.
There was no interference in the tournament, because that goes against sporting values, but it was OK for Christian Cage to very obviously cheat to retain the TNT Title against Adam Copeland on December 6. Both philosophies have merit, but Khan needed to pick a lane. It was an awkward collision that poses too many probing questions. Khan is back to the original "feeling", now, but how long will that last?
You get the distinct impression, too, that Khan won't turn down a terrible idea if it's pitched to him by one of his name acts. If certain internet rumours are to be believed, Khan can't convince certain wrestlers to do jobs - which, while speculative, might explain why those certain wrestlers barely wrestle singles matches on TV. These wrestlers need to be told that they aren't the next Steve Austin, that they need to be more present, and the one person who needs to tell them that is Tony Khan.
If certain rumours are to be believed.
Shockingly, the man who will sign any wrestler with a pulse and kick pads has some trouble with the word "no". "Great" is his favourite word. Everything's great!
Except some ideas aren't, they are sh*t, and he needs to grow a spine.