WWE partner's internal reactions to Tony Khan's controversial comments - Reports
WWE was unsurprisingly the subject of Tony Khan's latest viral comments. This time, the AEW President caused an uproar among fans and wrestlers on social media, and some new details on key reactions have leaked.
Khan appeared on the NFL Network today to promote the National Football League's 2024 Draft, which World Wrestling Entertainment timed its Draft to coincide with. Khan is the Chief Football Strategy Officer for the Jackonville Jaguars, the team his father owns. The ROH owner appeared on various football programming today with a neck brace to sell the attack from The Elite on AEW Dynamite. He appeared on the NFL Draft Kickoff show and awkwardly threw in TNT and TBS plugs while informing the hosts that he took the Tony Khan Driver from The Young Bucks, not the Meltzer Driver as it was re-named by his EVPs.
The lifelong wrestling fan also took shots at WWE by labeling them the "evil juggernaut" AEW is fighting against. Khan then made a puzzling comparison by saying AEW is the Pepsi of pro wrestling and WWE is the Harvey Weinstein of the business, referring to the disgraced movie executive and till recently, convicted rapist. There was some speculation on potential fallout over how Khan made these comments while appearing for one of the competiton's official partners - the NFL.
WWE signed its first-ever licensing deal with the NFL several months back, and it was confirmed that this is a multi-year agreement. Regarding Khan's appearance on the NFL-owned program today, Fightful Select reported that all indications point to network officials being happy with the interview, despite the controversial line aimed at World Wrestling Entertainment.
A source at the network revealed that higher-ups wanted Khan on the show as they knew it would get attention after he went viral for showing up at the Draft with the neck brace on.
The online reactions to Khan's latest jabs were swift. The 41-year-old usually receives significant heat for his anti-WWE remarks, but the backlash for today's interview seemed to be more intense, and numerous AEW supporters were calling him out for this latest debacle.
WWE Hall of Famer rips Tony Khan following NFL interview
The issues between Tony Khan and Eric Bischoff are no secret, and well-documented. The Hall of Famer and the AEW owner worked together for Bischoff's four appearances on Dynamite in 2020 and 2021, but since then, they have taken shots at each other in the media and on social media.
Khan is currently a trending topic due to his controversial comments against World Wrestling Entertainment during a NFL Network interview earlier today. He confusingly referred to AEW as the Pepsi of pro wrestling, and his Stamford-based competitor as the industry's Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul.
Bischoff took to X today to respond to the ROH owner. The former nWo star took another jab at the son of a billionaire.
"No @TonyKhan, You're more like a urine sample than you are Pepsi. #NFLdraft," Eric Bischoff wrote.
Khan has not publicly responded to Bischoff as of this writing. Furthermore, no WWE officials have publicly acknowledged Khan's NFL Network comments yet.