"Can't be doing all the shows"- Wrestling veteran slams Tony Khan for ineffective handling of AEW
Konnan recently took a shot at Tony Khan for not handling the promotion well. He also highlighted the actions required to ensure efficiency and better product quality.
Tony Khan has led All Elite Wrestling to new horizons since its inception in 2019. In just 3 years, the Jacksonville-based promotion has become the home of a star-studded locker room.
While AEW has done well, they have struggled to attract more viewers to the product. Veterans like Jim Cornette and Vince Russo have often criticized Tony Khan's management approach. WCW legend Konnan recently joined the wagon.
Speaking on the Keepin' It 100 podcast, Konnan advised Tony Khan to assign different shows to distinctly experienced veterans for quality management:
"I have my hands full with AAA and Tony knows where to find me. I think I had a pretty good idea. They have like four or five shows, right? Send Road Dogg to one, Gabe Spakolksi to another one, send Vince Russo to another one, me and Disco Inferno, just to say a name. Whoever performs better, you keep them there and if they don't perform, you put somebody else there. You can't be doing all the shows, my dude. Quality suffers," said Konnan. (3.47-4.27)
Highlighting Mr. Khan's various pursuits, the MLW legend further spoke about devising a uniquely creative approach for every company:
"You can't give them all your best ideas and time because you're spreading among all the companies. Every company has to have their own vision and footprint. I don't want what I do to be a copy and paste. Sonjay (Dutt) is there, he's real smart. But I don't know if he's enough. Same for QT Marshall. I don't know if those two guys are enough to really do the changes that are needed," he added. (4.31-5.21)
It's worth noting that Sonjay and Marshall are prominent backstage personnel for AEW's creative department.
One of the first things any business school teaches you is why it is important for managers to delegate power to various sub sections of management. No signs of any sub sections in any department in AEW beyond Tony Khan let alone delegation.
Jim Cornette believes Tony Khan needs urgent management help
Recent reports have suggested that the workload has started to weigh on Tony Khan. His recent backstage conduct was deemed "unprofessional" by many in AEW. Mr. Khan's recent outbursts caused dissent between him and major backstage personnel.
Speaking on the Official Jim Cornette YouTube channel, Mr. Cornette opined that the AEW President must hire experienced veterans to avoid disaster:
"Experienced people need to be in charge. Or else you're gonna have a situation where Tony has a stroke, a heart attack, a nervous breakdown, or just melts down and screams and jumps into the river somewhere. It happens even to people that have been in the wrestling business for years," said Cornette.
We've been told that, "in the past month, Tony Khan has become impossible for anyone to deal with." His behavior has been called "unprofessional" and "worse than Vince McMahon" in regards to how he treats people during shows. https://t.co/GtTeZnbcM7
It's a no-brainer that organizing two prominent wrestling companies can be immensely tedious. Apart from running ROH and AEW, Tony Khan co-owns the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC. Given his history with sports, Mr. Khan is more than capable of sorting out management crises in the nick of time.
Please credit Keepin' It 100 and give a H/T to Sportskeeda when using quotes from this article.