Tony Khan had a vision for AEW long before the company became a national wrestling promotion, but his father wasn’t exactly sold on the idea from the start.
The AEW President appeared on The WHIP Show Podcast ahead of the company’s Detroit television tapings, where he opened up about his lifelong desire to promote professional wrestling and Shahid Khan’s initial reaction to the business plan.
The host first suggested that Khan may have once dreamed of becoming a wrestler himself. Khan quickly corrected that part of the question and made it clear that getting inside the ring was never his goal.
“I never have wanted to be a wrestler, so I never said the first part. I’ve never said I want to be a wrestler.”
Khan explained that his passion was always centered on matchmaking, promoting events and building a wrestling company from the ground up.
“But I do love wrestling, and I’ve wanted to promote wrestling and be a matchmaker and work on promoting shows and building franchises. We’ve been able to do that with AEW, and I’m very proud of that.”
That dream eventually became AEW, but Khan admitted that his father didn’t initially believe the company was a good idea.
“My father has said on the record that he did not believe in the idea, and he was not supportive of the idea originally.”
Shahid Khan eventually changed his mind and became one of AEW’s biggest believers. Tony Khan also made it clear that the company never would have gotten off the ground without his father’s support.
“But he’s since become a huge believer in AEW, and he’s the reason I was able to launch this promotion and get it off the ground with his support. So, I think it’s incredible.”
AEW launched in 2019 and has since established weekly television shows, international events and a regular pay-per-view schedule. While Shahid Khan may not have believed in the idea at first, his support helped turn his son’s lifelong wrestling vision into a real company.
Do you think Shahid Khan was right to be skeptical about AEW in the beginning, or did Tony Khan’s vision prove itself from the start? Leave your feedback in the comments.
