Jake Hager Says Tony Khan “Can’t Make a Sandwich, Let Alone Write a Storyline”

Jake Hager isn’t holding anything back when it comes to his time in All Elite Wrestling.

In a new interview with Sportskeeda’s Wrestling Outlaws, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion took direct shots at AEW President Tony Khan — accusing him of poor communication, bad leadership, and chaos backstage. Hager, who spent years working under Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle in AEW, didn’t mince words when asked about Khan’s creative direction.

“He can’t make himself a sandwich, let alone write a storyline that will at last. He can spend a lot of money and make a big debut and make a lot of fireworks.”

According to Hager, everything spiraled after Cody Rhodes left the company in 2022. He believes Rhodes brought a level of order and focus that was missing after his exit.

“Everything changed after Cody Rhodes left… it became a free-for-all.”

Hager also claimed that Khan went weeks without responding to messages, even when Jericho tried to reach out directly. The lack of communication, he says, was one of many signs of backstage disorder.

“They stopped doing production meetings, they stopped doing anything to make the show timely. We would be waiting around till like 5:00 PM to find out what we’re doing that day.”

Hager didn’t stop there. He says his spot in AEW only existed because of his close relationship with Jericho and claimed Khan was never really interested in using him.

“Tony wanted nothing to do with me because I was from the fed and he’s an indie darling guy… He wants flips and hamburgers and hot dogs and not storylines.”

Hager’s comments paint a harsh picture of the environment behind AEW’s curtain, and it’s not the first time a former talent has questioned Khan’s leadership.