Tony Khan has addressed the controversial tweet he sent out following Vince McMahon’s announcement that he was retiring from WWE.
On July 22nd, Vince McMahon announced his retirement as both WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board.
McMahon had served as Chairman and CEO of WWE since 1980 after founding Titan Sports, taking over from his father, the late Vincent J. McMahon.
His behind-the-scenes role wasn’t established on-screen until the late-1990s, with the villainous Mr McMahon persona becoming a staple of WWE programming ever since.
Following the news, AEW President Tony Khan took to Twitter to joke that he was now the “longest-tenured CEO in professional wrestling” before plugging the upcoming episode of AEW Rampage.
Thanks to you wrestling fans and your great support of @AEW, I’m grateful to now be the longest-tenured CEO in pro wrestling.
Thank you very much to every single person who watches @AEWonTV!
See you for Friday Night #AEWRampage on @TNTdrama
@ 10pm ET/9pm CT/10pm PT
*TONIGHT*!— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) July 22, 2022
The tweet soon caused controversy online as some fans took it in good humour, while others blasted Tony Khan for being disrespectful in posting the message so soon after Vince McMahon’s announcement.
Speaking at the ROH Death Before Dishonor media scrum, Khan said he was simply promoting Rampage while making a factual statement.
“I was referencing AEW Rampage is on and just a fact. Of the big, major companies, of what I would consider The Big Three, I am the longest tenured. (NJPW President Takami) Ohbari and now there is a new CEO there (in WWE).
“If you consider it pro wrestling, then I think it’s a fair statement. I thought it was a factual statement, a note to promote Rampage, but that’s all it was. I can’t say anything else about it.
“I hopefully, maybe got some eyeballs on Rampage and I really care about Rampage a lot.”
Death Before Dishonor saw Claudio Castagnoli become the ROH World Champion in the opening match while FTR went on to defeat The Briscoes in a Two Out Of Three Falls main event.
H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.