AEW Boss Tony Khan on What Next After ‘Dynamite’ Attack, NFL Draft, His Dad & More

Committed is one word you could use to describe Tony Khan. The AEW owner and CEO wore a neck brace during the NFL Draft, selling an onscreen attack by Jack Perry and members of the villainous faction The Elite on Dynamite. Khan’s dad Shahid Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars owner, even appeared to express concern for his son at the end of the April 24 episode.

It was the first time in the five-year history of the company that Tony was part of a physical angle on the show. In the spirit of Andy Kaufman and wanting to capitalize on the buzz, he kept the story going during multiple high-profile appearances during the NFL Draft.

Tony Schiavone updated viewers on Khan’s condition during the April 27 episode of AEW’s Collision. The story given was that he suffered multiple head and neck injuries, and doctors advised him not to travel. That until Khan can be cleared to return to the road, he will work remotely from Jacksonville. This leaves a lot of questions. Here we put the AEW head in the hot seat.

AEW

It has been a pretty eventful few days. You’re in an interesting spot where you operate and own a pro wrestling company while also being an executive for the Jaguars. How was it bringing AEW to the NFL Draft? 

Tony Khan: I’m very blessed to work in the NFL and professional wrestling with AEW. NFL is the most powerful, largest media entity in the world. Draft week is one of the biggest weeks in the NFL and in the football scouting community. It has become a big TV event with all the coverage in the Draft. This year the NFL Draft coincided with the fallout from AEW Dynasty. It saw The Young Bucks, the EVPs of AEW, crowned as the world tag team champions. Last week, per their request, I met with and reinstated Jack Perry after his excursion to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In that meeting, I was attacked and ganged up on the show in an unprovoked beatdown. In the process, I received a spike piledriver, known as the TK Driver. It’s one of the most dangerous moves in pro wrestling, illegal in multiple states. It’s a move that has ended many careers and sometimes worse. I’m very lucky to be here to talk to you and lucky to continue working with the NFL Draft.

It’s going to be an interesting week, working here remotely and managing the company …to be able to tie the aftermath of the attack to my recovery during the NFL Draft brought a lot of eyes on AEW and attention to AEW. It was very well-received. I’m very fortunate to have a place in the National Football League. This is my 13th season working on football, statistics, and strategy. The Draft brought a lot of eyeballs to AEW through the injury that happened to me.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Jack Perry puts his hands on AEW CEO & GM, Tony Khan!

Watch #AEWDynamite on TBS!@boy_myth_legend | @TonyKhan | @YoungBucks | @RainmakerXOkada pic.twitter.com/aulRu8jAq2

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 25, 2024

Social media tends to take apart everything said and use it as ammunition. How do you feel you weather through that? 

It’s easy to stay positive about AEW. I’m very blessed to work in pro wrestling. After this week and being able to work on the NFL Draft, 24 hours after being assisted from the ring following a spike piledriver on worldwide television. I still feel more blessed than ever. AEW has accomplished so much, so it’s easy for me to be positive and look ahead to Wednesday night. We’re going to have a great show on TBS this week. We have such a great locker room, so I think it’s a great time for AEW, so I have positive feelings about it.

AEW

With you in Jacksonville, who would you say is running the show in your absence? Can we expect some sort of authority figure? 

We all have experience working outside the office. During the lockdown, we got used to meetings on Teams and Zoom. I’ll still be overseeing AEW and managing the show remotely. As for who will be the highest-ranking official onsite, stay tuned Wednesday. It will certainly be addressed this week on TBS. This power struggle that is happening in AEW.

This week we’re also seeing the return of Kenny Omega on TV. What can we expect from that appearance? 

I can’t wait to have Kenny Omega back in AEW. It’s the perfect time for Kenny to return. I know Kenny Omega has been recovering at home since he was fired from The Elite by The Young Bucks last month. It’s the perfect time for Kenny Omega to return on May 1.

There are a lot of big names sidelined right now. What kind of status updates can you give us for the likes of MJF and Britt Baker? 

We can’t wait to have the roster at full strength. Kenny Omega coming back to TV, even if he isn’t 100 percent. Just seeing him will be so great. There are a number of stars we’d love to have back. MJF, I’d love to get MJF back soon whenever possible. Britt Baker is another wrestler I’d love to have back. We’ve got some other great stars hopefully returning soon. It was a blessing for AEW that the doctors this past week cleared Rey Fenix. I was not expecting that. It happened earlier than anticipated. It was a nice surprise for the fans. I wanted to make sure his return match got a lot of time and showcased why he is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world and one of the greatest high-flyers in the history of pro wrestling.

One figure fans noticed on AEW last week was your dad. How was it having him at the end of the show? 

It was nice of him to be on the show on one hand, but the reason for it is another. It meant a lot for him to come out to check on me. He is an incredible father and a loving parent and a great man. I’ve learned so much from him. I know he cares a lot. Nobody wants to see their son out cold and recovering from a deadly piledriver move. You saw he was concerned. You saw it on his face. He was angry and concerned. Mostly very angry.

Does he have a favorite AEW wrestler? 

My dad is a big AEW fan. He watches all the time. A few weeks ago I got a text from him during Will Ospreay and Claudio [Castagnoli]. He knew them both. He hadn’t seen much of Will Ospreay. He said Ospreay was amazing. I introduced him to Will, and he is now a huge fan of him. He is a huge fan of Kenny Omega, MJF, Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy, Dr. Britt Baker, and recently “Timeless” Toni Storm And Mariah May. Also, he had some nice interactions with Swerve [Strickland].

NFL Network

The new AEW world champion. 

Swerve is a great wrestler. I also brought him to meet my dad and the commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell on the sidelines at the Jaguars Monday Night Football game. That was cool because Swerve is a huge football fan. He really enjoyed that. I was telling Goodell about Swerve versus Hangman Page. I mentioned to him how Swerve got stapled in the face. Roger looked at him and said, “Really? He got stapled in the face for real?” Swerve was smiling and said, “Yeah it’s true.”

After Roger walked away I said, “ Well, Swerve you just met the commissioner of the NFL. I was telling him about the staples in the face,  but did you notice I conveniently left out the drinking blood part? He started dying laughing. I love bringing the NFL and AEW together on that day and this week. Making lemonade out of lemons, I brought my recovery to the NFL Draft this year. I was blessed that Rich Eisen gave it so much coverage on the broadcast several times. He is doing great things with St. Jude through Run Rich Run. It’s such an awesome cause.

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Is it true you’re donating your neck brace to be auctioned off? 

Yes. I’ll donate money to St. Jude’s on behalf of Rich Eisen’s Run Rich Run and auction the neck brace off when I recover. I’ll sign it and give that money to charity too. I’ll probably give more cash though for what Rich is doing because it’s great.

You signed some big names this year. How do you look at free agency right now when you have so much talent already? 

We have a great rooster in AEW. We’ve added a lot of talent this year. We’ve been fortunate to add big names to AEW to make the roster even better than it has ever been. We will continue to be active bringing in the best names. AEW had a great start in 2024. It’s only going to get better. We’ll be active players in free agency when an opportunity arises. We have a big war chest in AEW. I think that free agency in pro wrestling is good for the fans and wrestlers alike.

AEW Dynamite, Wednesdays, 8/7c, TBS