Dutch Mantell names the one person AEW wouldn't survive without and it's not The Elite!
AEW recently re-signed The Elite, and in light of their new deal, Matt Jackson notably claimed the promotion would fall apart without them. Dutch Mantell believes this isn't true, and claims that Tony Khan is the glue holding everything together.
Together with The Elite, Tony Khan established AEW in 2019. With the help of Chris Jericho, the promotion quickly became the leading competitor to WWE, and many believe it will someday overtake the legendary promotion. However, could they still achieve this if The Elite leave the promotion?
During a recent episode of Storytime with Dutch Mantell, the veteran explained why the promotion needs Tony Khan.
"Somebody who's indispensable to AEW right now? I don't think anybody's indispensable. Tony Khan is. He's probably the most valued guy there. Because he's the one who runs it, finances it - but he loves it, and he's the most indispensable one there. If you lost Tony Khan? Forget it. It's over now - it's over last week." [06:56 onward]
WWE is currently enjoying a lot of success with LA Knight, but Eric Bischoff believes this is a major mistake. Recently, the veteran urged Tony Khan not to make the same mistake in his roster as the Stamford-based promotion is doing with Knight right now.
Missed out on last week's AEW Dynamite? Catch up with the results before tonight's show right here.
Dutch Mantell believes that AEW President Tony Khan needs to take his time with his booking plans
AEW is often criticized for how stars seem to disappear for months on end despite having a ton of momentum. Mantell has criticized this in the past but recently noted that it could be because Khan is burnt out.
Continuing in the same episode, Dutch Mantell also noted that Tony Khan seems to be overrun and that he'd have more success with long-term storylines.
"And Tony Khan? I think he's overrun with booking but he may have a mind that does that, and what he doesn't do is he doesn't have long term plans. He goes week to week, what do the people want this week? But if you took your time with it, that would be a h*ll of a pay-per-view drawing card." [07:42 onward]
Dutch Mantell also recently commented on the All Elite Wrestling backstage situation in light of the controversy with LuFisto and the "Book The Women's Division Better" crowd sound. According to Mantell, the issues present happen behind Tony Khan's back.