"He's a genius" - AEW personality comments on comparisons with WWE veteran Paul Heyman
AEW President Tony Khan has revealed that he finds himself compared mostly with WWE legend Paul Heyman.
Tony Khan was in sports management even prior to founding AEW. He continues to work as the Chief Strategy Officer for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars as well as the Director of Football at Premier League club Fulham. But Khan also steers the ship of AEW, despite having no previous experience within the industry.
In a recent appearance on Busted Open, Tony Khan divulged that even with his limited experience, he often gets compared to legendary manager and former booker Paul Heyman:
"The person I think I get compared to most often of, 'You remind me of this person,' I think we're really different people and I haven't talked to him or gotten or see him in a really long time is Paul. Paul Heyman, not the other Paul (Levesque). I grew up on that ECW stuff." (H/T Fightful)
The AEW booker was clear, however, that he was not trying to compare himself to Heyman, but pointed to the various ways they compare:
"Our products are different, he's a genius and I'm not trying to compare the mindset at all, but as far as trying to keep your finger on the pulse of fans, during a commercial break, even going out and talking to fans and trying to keep them excited during the show, it means a lot to me."
I’m so excited for Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite TONIGHT on @TBSNetwork! We’re live on TBS tonight for the Dynamite episode 150, & I sincerely believe it can be one of our best shows ever!
Tonight’s show on TBS is presented by the new @HBO series @HouseofDragon premiering Sunday!
Similar to Khan with All Elite Wrestling, Heyman helmed ECW as an alternative product to WWE (and WCW) throughout the 90s. He now serves in an on-screen capacity within WWE as Roman Reigns' special counsel.
Konnan thinks Tony Khan needs to delegate more within AEW
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.
Another wrestling veteran, Konnan, recently put forward his belief that Tony Khan needs to bring people into the promotion to handle certain aspects of the business and production that Tony himself currently conducts.
He suggested names such as Vince Russo, Road Dogg and himself as potential names who could be assigned to different shows within the company's programming:
You can't be doing all the shows, my dude. Quality suffers," said Konnan.
Khan recently made internal changes to promote the likes of Tony Schiavone and Sonjay Dutt so that he has a greater network to communicate with talent. However, as it stands, he remains as the head booker within the company and helms almost all storylines fans see week after week.
Do you see the comparison between Tony Khan and Paul Heyman? Let us know in the comments below.