AEW Star Defends His Boss Tony Khan for Feeling “Personally Attacked” by WWE broadcasting two major events on the same weekend as AEW.
AEW’s pay-per-event All Out was held on Labor Day weekend much like last year. The company continued its tradition of having huge events on the weekend of Labor Day. However, this time AEW wasn’t the only wrestling company organizing a significant event that weekend. The young promotion had to battle with rival WWE for attention this year.
WWE scheduled two major events a day before All Out. The PPV event Clash at the Castle held at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff allured over 62,000 fans. The next major event Worlds Collide was organized on the same day.
Tony Khan feels “Personally Attacked” by WWE
During the All Out media scrum which is now remembered for CM Punk’s controversial outbursts and actions backstage, Tony Khan weighed in on the matter and he didn’t sound very kind addressing his thoughts over AEW’s clash with WWE’s events. Tony stated that he was “a little surprised” when he learned that they were the third pro wrestling show that weekend.
“There’s a big difference between this year and last year. We were the first professional wrestling show and the only professional wrestling show on Labor Day weekend last year. And we were the third professional wrestling show of the weekend this year. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
“When I talk about things I wasn’t thrilled about, I was a little surprised we were the third professional wrestling show this weekend. And it’s probably a little bit more challenging in the marketplace when it becomes a little more crowded.”
The AEW head honcho then proceeded to compare his situation with that of Jim Crocket Promotions. He admitted they suffered the same fate. However, Khan continued stating that he has “a lot more f***** money than Jim Crockett did” and “he’s not going to sit back and take this f***** sh*t.”
AEW star MJF comes to Tony Khan’s defense
During an interview on The MMA Hour, MJF backed his boss up stating Tony Khan can’t be blamed for feeling “personally attacked” by WWE for setting up the events on the same weekend. According to MJF, it was unfair on Tony Khan as AEW is still the underdog company in comparison with WWE. The Salt of the Earth believes the WWE deliberately planned their events after learning about AEW’s event.
“We’re still the underdog. All you have to understand is that he felt personally attacked at that point. You can’t blame him. We’re doing a pay-per-view at this time, all of a sudden magically there are two pay-per-views. If I was on the other side of the fence, I would be doing five paper views on the same day” – he also felt Khan came up the winner.”
Tony Khan Says MJF Has Been A Huge Part Of The Success Of AEW, Won’t Speculate On Unrelated Comments https://t.co/WHqmPcfH4J
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) June 1, 2022
Despite having a fair share of differences with his boss, Friedman commended Tony Khan for persevering through the pressure. In addition, he expressed his interest in the competition between the two companies. Khan believes it is in the best interest of the fans.
