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AEW President Tony Khan is beloved by many of his company's fans, but he's also managed to annoy a multitude of people throughout the wrestling industry. One of Khan's harshest critics is WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff, who recently took another shot at the All Elite chief.
Despite being the son of a billionaire, Tony Khan was entrenched in the internet wrestling community during his formative years. The 41-year-old has previously admitted to being a hardcore ECW fan and posting on early wrestling forums when he was younger. His fandom may have shaped a portion of his public persona, as he frequently gets riled up on social media, at press conferences, and even on television.
Some have referred to the AEW President as a "walking cartoon character." Others, like Eric Bischoff, simply believe that Tony Khan should not be on television. Speaking on the latest edition of his 83 Weeks podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer criticized Khan for his appearances on camera:
"Whether it's in press conferences, whether it's coming out and announcing matches, whatever it is, the man should not be in front of anything that has a red light on it," Bischoff said. "Just don't, because he's not good at it."
In reality, Tony Khan is rarely seen on AEW television. However, his antics during major announcements seem to have rubbed Bischoff the wrong way:
"Tony may not be a scripted storyline character, but he gets more TV time than about 60% of the talent he has on his roster," Bischoff claimed. "I think it's a huge mistake; he is not a good brand ambassador. You see him on television; you hear him screaming and stomping his feet, scrunching up his face, and acting like a petulant 12-year-old child. That's not a good brand look." [h/t Wrestling Inc]
Eric Bischoff explains why he lost respect for Tony Khan
Tony Khan and Eric Bischoff seemed to have a cordial relationship early on, as the WWE Hall of Famer made two appearances on AEW Dynamite. However, things ultimately went south, and the two have been trading barbs on social media over the last year.
On his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff detailed the decline in their relationship, revealing that a comment Khan made about Ted Turner caused him to lose all respect for the AEW President:
"That comment offended me a bit, like why would he say that?" said Bischoff in reference to the Financial Times quote. "What p***ed me off, and largely is responsible for me losing respect for Tony, that’s why I started being honest with my critiques – I kept my mouth shut until I lost respect for him, and then I got no reason to keep my mouth shut. It’s just the way my mind works, it’s just the way I am, mucker further."
The comment Bischoff is referring to was a tweet Khan sent out in October 2021, which stated that if Ted Turner had known even 1% of what he knew about wrestling, WCW would still be airing on Warner Bros. Discovery networks.
What are your thoughts on Tony Khan? Should he stay off TV, or is he good for the product? Let us know in the comment section below!
