Tony Khan Listens to Fans—Even the Ones Triple H Would Ignore

While Triple H continues to downplay the internet’s voice in wrestling discourse, AEW boss Tony Khan is taking the opposite route—leaning in and listening.

Khan opened up during a conversation with Sports Illustrated’s The Takedown and made it clear that he values fan feedback—even when it’s not flattering.

“I do like to listen to feedback from lots of people across pro wrestling, and especially if it’s constructive, it can be really helpful,” Khan explained. “I think there’s a lot of times where you hear somebody say something, and they say, ‘oh, why didn’t they do it this way?’ …maybe there’s a good idea there they can use in the future.”

He didn’t stop there. Khan doubled down on his open-door mindset, even when it comes to fans with no backstage experience. “Fans that have never been backstage at a show in their lives, but just love wrestling and watch it a lot, and they have great ideas… I had never been backstage at a wrestling show until I was in my 30s,” he added.

The AEW CEO emphasized that wrestling ideas can come from anywhere—whether you’re an industry veteran or just a lifelong tape trader. “There’s people from literally all over the world in hundreds of countries that follow the same sport and can share ideas and talk with each other. It’s really cool.”

These comments arrive just as AEW Dynamite prepares to become the longest-running wrestling show in the history of TBS/TNT—further proving that Khan’s approach is working, even if it’s a stark contrast to WWE’s top guy.

Triple H recently stated that “the internet’s not real life,” adding that he ignores online “bitching and complaining” because “the reaction of people live is what you can trust.” But Tony Khan? He’s keeping his ears wide open.