Last Tuesday, NXT and AEW Dynamite went head-to-head for the first time since 2021 and the WWE developmental show completely decimated Tony Khan in the ratings. That didn't still well with the AEW President and he's since been on the rampage (no pun intended) on social media.
Between arguing with fans and sharing a series of bizarre, childish digs at Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels, it's not a good look for the executive. In fact, even AEW's biggest supporters are saying someone needs to take Tony's phone from him!
Talking on The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T chimed in on this one-off ratings war and offered his take on the way Khan has since reacted.
"I try not to dig at Tony Khan or anything like that, just because he's got to try to run a business, but at the same time, I got to take a dig at this last comment that he made about the NXT rating," the former WCW Champion started. "He said that it was the first time that John Cena and The Undertaker appeared in front of less than a million people for WWE, and the thing is, he's got Edge. He's got Christian over there.
"He's got all those guys and they've never performed in front of 600,000. So it's like, when you say stuff like that, you might want to think about it before you say stuff like that, you know, because Edge was in the main event."
After pointing out his belief that Khan would have revelled in AEW winning the night (something no one officially associated with WWE has done), Booker T admitted that those social media outbursts have left him scratching his head.
"I don't know what Tony Khan's modus operandi is. I don't know what his fixation is on WWE. I just don't see the big picture. I don't mind trash talk. I don't mind the boys trash talking. When the boss is doing it, doesn't that feel a little childish to you?"
"In doing that kind of internet stuff, it just doesn't seem like a boss to me, and I've said this before about Tony Khan as far as him being a boss, being a leader," he continues. "That's what that company I think needs more than anything, and I've said that before, leadership, and Tony Khan going on social media tweeting, this is not leadership."
It's hard to disagree with that sentiment and it feels like low ticket sales, poor viewership numbers, and bad reviews are getting to Khan. While it's too soon to say whether AEW is heading the same way as TNA/IMPACT Wrestling - a ludicrous statement in many respects after the recent All In show in London - it certainly feels like the company isn't riding quite as high as it once was.