Whenever AEW President Tony Khan gives an interview, you know it's going to ruffle someone's feathers. Of course, that's usually because he sets out to get attention for the company by making inflammatory or wild comments, all while typically dodging the question he was asked.
Khan has already defended his decision to compare WWE to Harvey Weinstein by saying it brought more eyeballs to AEW (we'll see if that's the case when the ratings come in for tonight's AEW Dynamite).
Now, though, he's hit back at Bill Goldberg's recent comments about not wanting to work for AEW because the product is "too cheesy."
"Bill wanted to work here. I met with Bill several times. Bill was looking to work here. It's funny because I had a bunch of really nice meetings with Bill and would have honestly been interested in doing something. So, since you brought it up, I have a lot of respect for Bill. I was surprised by that because that certainly wasn't what he said to me when he was talking to me about working here at some point, which I've always been open to, and I really like Bill."
"I wish him the best, and God bless him. He's a great name in wrestling. I love what we do in AEW, and he's entitled to his opinions, but certainly, when I talked to him in person several times, in-person and in Zoom and phone calls, we had very nice conversations, and he hasn't said that. It's good to know that's how he feels, and maybe that's an opinion he holds now, but certainly, in our past conversations, he's always been a positive and nice guy."
AEW has been forced to fend off a lot of criticisms in recent weeks, ranging from the decision to air the All In security footage to Will Ospreay's derogatory comments about Triple H and Khan's decision to insert himself into AEW storylines.
WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash has taken aim at all of the above, prompting the following response from the AEW President:
"I think Kevin Nash was a great wrestler. His opinions on wrestling I'm not sure I agree with them. He's had some takes on Will Ospreay that I definitely don't agree with. I'd be remiss if I don't bring that up. I think Will Ospreay is one of the best young wrestlers in the world. We're really fortunate to have Will Ospreay in AEW."
"He's been coming in week in and week out and working so hard, having great matches. Both pay-per-views he's been on he's had these classic matches against Takeshita at AEW Revolution and against Bryan Danielson over a week ago at AEW Dynasty. I think Will Ospreay is so phenomenal. I've heard criticisms from Kevin that I don't necessarily agree with about Will. Some of his opinions about current wrestling I just don't agree with. I wish him the best and all the respect in the world to him."
These are surprisingly diplomatic answers, but with AEW's ratings on the decline and a new TV deal looming, it seems Khan is glad of any sort of press for his product, be it positive or negative.
Hotshot booking is certainly one way to go, but how sustainable that is moving forward remains to be seen. The company has a hell of roster, though, so here's hoping AEW can turn things around for their sake.