5 Things Vince McMahon can teach Tony Khan
Tony Khan has been a wrestling promoter for close to three years now and is now considered Vince McMahon's biggest rival. AEW's broadcast deal for Dynamite helped them become a more established company, eventually becoming the second-biggest wrestling promotion in the world in a short time.
@JESnowden Dude, people online were absolutely furious over that in 98. Eric already had crazy online heat before that too. I’ll never take it that far; I’ve never claimed I could physically best Vince, I just think AEW can put on a better wrestling show than them & I want people to know it
It will be interesting to see the long-term future of All Elite Wrestling under Tony Khan's leadership. There's no doubt that he and his incredible crew have done a great job in making the best possible alternative to Vince McMahon's WWE. However, the CEO and President of AEW needs another four decades of experience before he can catch up to the biggest man in the industry. Here are a few things he can learn from McMahon:
#5. Tony Khan should take Vince McMahon's approach on a "character-centric" product and not a "wrestling-centric" product
Prove you can bring it on the 🎤 https://t.co/1hFKvbTzxT
This one might have people arguing for both sides, but it's understandable. If you were to ask Vince McMahon, he wouldn't tell you he ran a wrestling promotion. He will tell you it's an entertainment company.
The entire concept of "Sports Entertainment," while initially used to get around various government regulations, has come to define WWE. For decades now, Vince McMahon's product has been more focused on entertainment than wrestling.
Sure, the wrestling is a by-product of what we see, but there's a reason why McMahon has opted to push superstars who are good on the mic and have a good character over the average independent star with fantastic in-ring ability.
With Tony Khan, the approach is a bit different. While AEW understandably prides itself as a professional wrestling company, the key to making bigger stars lies in strong character work, not in-ring ability.
The main event talent of AEW is now arguably as stacked as WWE's, and there's no shortage of great in-ring talent. But when looking at superstars who are better at character work, MJF is one of the few names that stick out.
Admittedly, a lot of the main event talent such as Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole and CM Punk are great all-rounders, but a more entertainment-centric product might help AEW expand greatly.