AEW President Tony Khan has discussed fans making flattering comparisons between him and the man he calls a “genius,” Paul Heyman.
Heyman has long been known as the “mad scientist” of professional wrestling, parlaying a photography career into an on-screen role in WCW and eventually becoming the brains behind Extreme Championship Wrestling in the nineties.
Paul Heyman has also spent time as a key member of the creative team in WWE as well as overseeing developmental territory OVW. His most recent backstage role in WWE came in 2019 when he has named as Executive Director of Monday Night Raw, a role he no longer holds.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan claimed that the person in the wrestling business he is compared to most often is Paul Heyman, a man he holds in high esteem:
“The person I have people come up to me and say, as far as being a fan who was around pro wrestling and wrestlers for a long time and then jumped into the business, the person I think I get compared to most often of, ‘You remind me of this person,’ I think we’re really different people and I haven’t talked to him or gotten or see him in a really long time is Paul. Paul Heyman, not the other Paul (Levesque).”
“I grew up on that ECW stuff. Our products are different, he’s a genius and I’m not trying to compare the mindset at all, but as far as trying to keep your finger on the pulse of fans, during a commercial break, even going out and talking to fans and trying to keep them excited during the show, it means a lot to me. I’ve gotten to learn a lot from a lot of people in the wrestling business without having that official apprenticeship. I love the business so much.”
Tony Khan’s AEW could be set to welcome back the promotion’s third world champion Kenny Omega back into the fold after 9 months on the shelf due to injury.