3 Stars Tony Khan reportedly refused to sign to AEW
Tony Khan takes his role as AEW president very seriously and one can see that in the way he runs the place and the talent that he signs for the company. Over the years, he has signed some bona fide stars and also some up-and-coming stars.
However, he has also been a pragmatist and has seemingly refused to sign some wrestlers from time to time. Be it their reputation or just the logistics, Tony Khan was not easy to win over.
In this article, we will take a look at three such stars that Tony Khan reportedly refused to sign for AEW.
#3. Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard comes from a historical wrestling family and is clearly a talented wrestler. She has wrestled in various companies on the independent scene and more importantly, she also spent one year with WWE from 2016 to 2017 where she featured in NXT.
However, despite all that, Tony Khan reportedly refused to bring her to AEW. The news came out in 2020 when the company was still only a couple of years old. Tessa Blanchard has a controversial past where she was accused of being a bully and passing racist remarks. Tony Khan thought the struggle was not worth the hassle and decided against bringing her to the company.
#2. Giulia
Giulia is a strange case because, like Tessa Blanchard, she also had a great run on the independent scene. The wrestler from England had a great time in Japan with New Japan Pro Wrestling and there were rumors that she was headed to AEW.
That was not the case as reports later came out refuting the rumors. Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Tony Khan never really made an attempt to sign Giulia and that she did not have any conversations with the company either, contrary to the rumors. Things worked out well for her in the end as she ended up signing with WWE.
#1. Matt Riddle had an awkward meeting with the AEW president
Matt Riddle is an enigma when it comes to the wrestling world. He is clearly talented but has a lot of unwanted baggage owing to stuff outside the ring. He recently revealed his experience and how he felt when he met Tony Khan.
"I talked to Tony. I don't know if he likes me. He seemed happy. I wrestled Zach Sabre Jr. in Chicago. He seemed cool about it. I don't know. When you meet me, I'm very sarcastic. But when I met him, I was like, ‘Oh, you like that match’? But I said it a different way, and he looked at me all confused. And I was like, ‘Never mind, dude’. I just walked away. So that was my experience with that," he said.
It is safe to assume that the AEW president may not have been impressed with Matt Riddle’s past, hence why the response was the way it was.