Tony Khan has addressed the topic of criticism from fans in regard to AEW booking.
Despite only being established for just under 6 years, All Elite Wrestling has received its fair share of feedback from the fans one way or the other. From questionable booking decisions to graphic matches and at times dangerous spots, there are definitely some moments that the stars of the promotion wish that they could do over.
Despite this, AEW has established itself as the second-biggest promotion in the United States. Additionally, the company was able to secure a new media right TV deal with Warner Bros, has expanded to 2 major shows each week and had an impressive debut inside Wembley Stadium for All In 2023.
Despite their successes, some fans refuse to acknowledge AEW’s accolades and have consistently found ways to pick fault no matter the achievement. While appearing on WGN Radio, Khan stated that while he does listen to the fans if they have constructive comments, others are not worth his time:
“Well, it depends on what it is. I think a lot of it is constructive. Sometimes fans have a good perspective, and a lot of times it’s really worth listening to the feedback. Sometimes, if it’s disingenuous, there’s nothing you can do. There’s just not, like you said, not constructive. But I do think it’s always worth hearing the fans out and hearing viewpoints. Sometimes it’s fans of a different promotion that don’t really have anything positive to say, no matter what you do, and that’s fine.
In 2023, a lot of fan discourse was generated by the amount of tickets sold for the Wembley Stadium show, which was only intensified when the AEW announced figure and the local council figure differed. Responding to this, Khan pointed out that whatever the figure, it was still an achievement for the upstart promotion:
“We sold 81,035 tickets at Wembley Stadium, and there were people trying to tear it down. People were saying, ‘Oh, they only got 73,000,’ as if that’s bad. That’s more people than were at the Mike Tyson/Jake Paul fight, and people were trying to say that, like, it was a bad number for AEW, it’s insane sometimes. So, you do have to be willing to take it all with a grain of salt because we’ve accomplished a lot with AEW, and we still have so much more to do. Really, it, in many ways, began here in Chicago. So, it’s very fitting that we keep coming back here to this great city.”
Tony Khan Discusses New AEW Show
2025 will see All Elite Wrestling host 2 international shows for the first time ever with Grand Slam taking place in Australia and Forbidden Door emanating from London. Going to go even more international, Tony Khan stated that another show outside the United States “has to happen.”
H/t to Fightful.