"I am always prioritizing diversity" - Tony Khan on the case of diversity in AEW, highlights top AEW champion

Tony Khan at the AEW Revolution 2022 media scrum

AEW president Tony Khan has once again addressed the diversity of his company's talent, claiming it's something he's always aiming to prioritize.

It was at the beginning of the year when the now-former AEW star Big Swole made a statement highlighting a lack of diversity within AEW. This prompted Khan to respond with a rather controversial message on social media.

The top 2 @AEW execs are brown (me & Megha)!! Jade, Bowens, Caster, Dante, Nyla, Isiah & Marq Quen all won on tv this month. The TBS Title Tournament has been very diverse. I let Swole’s contract expire as I felt her wrestling wasn’t good enough. #AEWRampage Street Fight TONIGHT! twitter.com/Fightful/statu…

Since the incident, Tony Khan has made strides in showcasing many more women and wrestlers of color on AEW television.

When the topic was broached at the AEW Revolution post-show media scrum, Khan stated that diversity is something he is always putting first.

"Keith Lee, AQA, Swerve Strickland, and many other debuts in that time that have been great. In addition to people coming in, there will be people coming out and I try to do it based on merit. That was the point I was trying to make at the time, I'm going to evaluate people based on how good I think their wrestling is, in addition to a variety of other factors. I am always prioritizing diversity and we've made huge leaps since then," said Tony Khan. (H/T Fightful).

Khan made a point of highlighting the dominant title reign of Jade Cargill as TBS Champion. He also revealed Jade has been working backstage with former TNA star Sonjay Dutt, who Khan says adds to the diversity of his team.

"Sonjay represents great representation," Khan continued. "Growing up, there was nobody who looked like me that was on TV that was pushed and had any gimmick that wasn't offensive or who could really go. Sonjay Dutt, I didn't really look up to because we are the same age and when I was in college when I first found him, I was like, 'this is a guy who looks like me who can go.' It's great having him here and he's been great for Jade. He's a great person." (H/T Fightful).

Tony Khan had a very diverse roster on display for AEW Revolution

So far, 2022 has offered a much wider representation of athletes on AEW programming, and Sunday night's AEW Revolution was no exception.

Jade Cargill is the second African-American woman in AEW to defend a title on pay-per-view, following in the footsteps of Nyla Rose. It's important to note that Rose was the first transgender woman to win a world title in a major United States promotion.

AEW's women's division is also buoyed by contributions from Japanese stars Riho and Hikaru Shida, as well as Mexican-born Thunder Rosa.

AND STILL. @Jade_Cargill #AEWRevolution

➡️ bleacherreport.com/videos/all-eli…
🌍 fite.tv/watch/aew-revo… https://t.co/xwH3IZ6LaC

The Face of the Revolution ladder match highlighted both Keith Lee and Powerhouse Hobbs as major players in the match. Plus, Isiah Kassidy of Private Party competed in the co-main event.

Do you think AEW has improved in terms of diversity? Let us know in the comments section down below!