Tony Khan, the founder, president, CEO, general manager, executive producer, and head of creative of AEW, has spoken up about whether he will emulate wrestling chiefs of the past and get into the ring himself.
The answer? Not likely.
Tony Khan was asked if he’d ever wrestle a match:
“I still don't think that's in the cards, but a lot of the best wrestlers in the world right now, [are] in AEW, and I think the best wrestling and where the best wrestle is our tagline, and I want to keep it that way and keep… pic.twitter.com/6nG39cpd7q
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Upon being asked if he would ever personally wrestle a match (via Levack and Goz / Gozilla Media), Khan said, "I still don't think that's in the cards, but a lot of the best wrestlers in the world right now, [are] in AEW, and I think the best wrestling and where the best wrestle is our tagline, and I want to keep it that way and keep myself out of the ring."
Khan officially launched the AEW in 2019 with wrestling stars Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega acting as the original executive producers. AEW was overtly promoted as an alternative to WWE, the dominant force in professional wrestling since the early 1980s.
The launch was preceded by events and announcements, including the All In event in 2018, promoted by Rhodes and The Young Bucks, and helped lay the groundwork for AEW's expansion.
AEW made its official television debut with AEW Dynamite, airing weekly on TNT, marking the beginning of the company's ongoing expansion and growth in the wrestling world.
Since then, Khan has not become quite as prominent a feature of the promotion as the McMahon family, who were instrumental to the mainstream popularity of wrestling, first with WWF and, later, WWE.
Vince McMahon and his children Shane and Stephanie became known for their work as wrestlers, presenting themselves as cartoonishly villainous exaggerations of their real-life positions within the company.
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In particular, Vince McMahon (in his character as "Mr. McMahon") was an integral part of WWE's "Attitude" era, in which he feuded with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and was a regular presence in the ring.
Reportedly, McMahon had early aspirations to become a wrestler himself, but his father Vincent J. McMahon, the owner of WWF at the time, discouraged him and believed that there should be a clear separation between promoters and performers.
It appears that Khan has very similar feelings to the elder McMahon about getting in the squared circle. Apparently, you won't see him in there anytime soon.
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