Tony Khan may have built AEW around a fresh vision for professional wrestling, but he still had his eye on one of the most outspoken old-school minds in the business.
Dave Meltzer explained on Wrestling Observer Radio that Khan wanted Jim Cornette involved with AEW, even as the company’s founding group worked hard to avoid bringing in veterans who could drag backstage politics, manipulation and old wrestling habits into the promotion. Meltzer made it clear that Khan’s interest in Cornette was real.
“Although he did want Jim Cornette. I mean, that is true.”
The comment came while Meltzer compared Khan’s leadership style to Dixie Carter’s run in TNA. He argued that AEW’s decision-makers were careful about which veteran wrestling personalities they brought into the company because they did not want AEW turning into another political mess behind the scenes. Meltzer said the group knew certain experienced wrestling figures could offer valuable advice, but they were equally concerned about what else could come with them.
“For the most part, he avoided the guys. And there are guys who could help them in a traditional way.”
Meltzer then brought up another unnamed figure who was discussed by AEW’s key players before the company officially launched. He did not identify that person as Cornette, but said everyone involved agreed the individual had a strong wrestling mind. The problem was that they feared hiring him would create the exact kind of company they were trying to avoid.
“It was basically acknowledged that the guy was really, really, really smart. But we don’t want that company. We don’t want to be that company, if you know what I mean.”
That concern was not about whether the unnamed person understood wrestling. It was about the possibility of backstage games taking over the locker room and turning people against each other.
“If we get him, we’re gonna have all kinds of backstabbing, people playing each other against each other and all that, which is going to inherently happen. But they were all smart enough to know, ‘Yeah, this guy could help us, but this is not the company that we want.’”
Cornette never became part of AEW, and he has spent years ripping the company, Khan and several members of the roster from the outside. Still, Meltzer’s statement shows Khan was at least interested in bringing Cornette’s wrestling mind into the fold before AEW became what it is today.
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Would Jim Cornette have helped AEW improve, or would his presence have caused exactly the kind of backstage problems the company wanted to avoid? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
