Tony Khan is very much a hands-on leader within AEW, an act which has drawn great scrutiny for his inability to handle certain situations to a great extent.
Since the inauguration of AEW in 2019, Tony Khan – who officially serves in the roles of President, Chief Executive, General Manager, and Executive Producer – has been hands-on in almost every capacity. The move is viewed by many as Tony being too involved for someone who’s never run a wrestling company.
Tony Khan addressed these claims on a recent Wrestling Observer Radio broadcast, claiming that managing every aspect of the company yourself is the only way to be a successful businessman:
“People say I keep my fingers in a lot of pies. You know, whether it is all the creative or the booking of the buildings or how the business is run, but I’ve also seen that it is the most successful way to run a wrestling promotion is to manage the entire thing from the top down and not let people screw you, because if you turn your back, and in this business people will screw you at every turn, I’ve learned, and not just the people that work for you, but anybody from the outside, if you show weakness.”
It was first noted in 2018 that Tony Khan had filed trademarks for a number of trademarks believed to have been related to the launching of a pro wrestling organisation. Tony’s vision of All Elite Wrestling was formally launched via Being The Elite on 1 January 2019.
AEW is now in its fourth season, so to speak, which means it’s nearing the end of Tony Khan’s supposed five-year plan. Khan told Chris Van Vliet ahead of AEW’s inaugural show in May 2019 that the plan was to build a fruitful promotion from the ground up:
“The 5-year plan for AEW is that we will have built up a brand, we will have built up a roster, we will have established ourselves as a top brand in wrestling for people who want fast-paced exciting action and want a product that is more of a sporting based product.”
H/T to Wrestling Observer Newsletter and talkSPORT.