Tony Khan Discusses Current Relationship Between AEW And WWE

The separation of professional and personal relationships is proving tricky for Tony Khan, who admitted that his friendships with the WWE hierarchy have mostly vanished.

In an interview on "The Ariel Helwani Show," the AEW boss stated it was "a long time ago" when he last spoke with WWE co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and that his last direct communications with her husband, Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque were not recent. Khan claimed surprise at the lack of contact between him and the WWE leaders.

"I thought we were friends," Khan said. "Actually, I think we used to be friends."

Khan offered assurance that he still thought highly of the couple.

"I haven't seen them in a long time, and I wish them the best," he added.

Khan recalled that he was on closer terms with them in his pre-AEW days when they were all residing in Florida.

"It's a small world and they were really nice to me once upon a time as a football owner. It was a totally different time. But, yeah, it's been a long time."

In comparison to the silence between himself and McMahon and Levesque, Khan offered praise to UFC President Dana White as a close friend who has "been really, really nice to me." Khan added that based on his friendship he agrees not to stage AEW events against UFC events, even though the two companies are not direct competitors. Khan pointed out how AEW, UFC, and WWE were all operating out of Florida during the pandemic and kept their respective shows going at a time when most of the country was in lockdown.

When asked if McMahon and Levesque were the right leadership for today's WWE, Khan demurred.

"I don't know. Time will tell. Time will tell – it's a really interesting time in the wrestling business, though. Lots happened in a few years."

Khan declined to confirm or deny the story that he allegedly told WWE co-CEO Nick Khan that there was "only room for one Khan" in the wrestling industry. Khan recently told Wrestling Inc.'s Nick Hausman that WWE has been increasingly chilly to him.

"I've had a number of interactions with them," Khan said. "I've said a lot of nice stuff, and I don't regret saying nice stuff because I'm super honest about pro wrestling. And when I saw good stuff happening there, I'll be the first to say it. But, yeah, I'm just not feeling the same love. I don't wanna get into it but, you know, I just haven't felt the same reciprocation that I have for them."

Khan highlighted his AEW work by defining it as a "really unique space we've carved out for ourselves." He was also asked if he could see a time when AEW's shows are positioned directly against WWE's.

"You know, that's not really my choice," Khan explained. "Like, I don't decide when the show is on."

Khan also pointed out that his original concept for AEW was to broadcast shows on either Tuesday or Wednesday, with the addition of a Friday show coming later because "I thought that made a lot of sense for the second show for the time slot that we launched after we'd already launched a successful standalone show."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.