AEW needs a tough authority figure like Bill Watts, not a 'nice guy' like Tony Khan, believes wrestling veteran (Exclusive)
Legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter claimed that AEW needs a tough authority figure like Bill Watts and not a nice guy like Tony Khan. This claim was made when talking about JBL potentially moving to the Jacksonville-based company.
Bill Watts is a legendary former wrestler and promoter and is famous for running a company known as the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in the 80s. He was known to have a tough personality, and Apter said that AEW needed someone like him.
On Sportskeeda’s The Wrestling Time Machine podcast, along with host Mac Davis and Teddy Long, Bill Apter said that Tony Khan does not have the intimidation factor required to run the promotion. He said JBL equals Bill Watts' personality and ticks all those boxes to be an authority figure.
“Very simple. JBL equals Bill Watts. Bill Watts was a tough SOB. He was creative, and people were almost afraid of him. You almost have to have the talent like with Vince McMahon when he was running the ship. People were afraid of him - I mean the big boss. Tony Khan is a nice, smiley guy and everything, and I think, unfortunately, you need to have that intimidation factor, like Bill Watts had over his company. And that is JBL in a cowboy hat,” he said. [4:45 - 5:28]
WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long says JBL needs to be involved in AEW
On the same episode, Teddy Long said that JBL going to AEW makes a lot of sense. He supported his claims by saying that the former WWE Champion would be a hit with the talent relations.
“I think JBL needs to be involved no matter what. He is in the ring, he is a good talent. The guy still can grit, and he is on color commentary. He still can talk. He does a good job with that. And JBL knows a lot about this business, and when a guy like him is behind the scenes helping the young talent, I think you can't go wrong there. So, I agree. I think JBL will be a good hit on talent relations.” [4:04 - 4:28]
It will be interesting to see if a move to AEW appeals to JBL and Tony Khan. Given his popularity and personality, he would undoubtedly be welcomed by the fans.
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