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Much of the credit for AEW's competitiveness goes to Tony Khan, who takes his rivalry with WWE seriously. Since its inception in 2019, AEW has continually strove to present itself as a worthy competitor to WWE.
While AEW talents are well-known for taking shots on WWE’s roster, Tony Khan also doesn't back down from trash-talking with superstars from the Stamford promotion. Once an avid WWE fan himself, The Jacksonville Jaguars' CEO has taken several WWE legends on as a target in the past.
From Hulk Hogan to John Cena, many iconic wrestling personalities have been at the receiving end of Khan’s verbal assault. In this article, let's look at five times the AEW CEO boldly took shots at WWE legends.
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#5. Tony Khan bans Hulk Hogan and his wife from all AEW shows
In June 2020, Linda Hogan, the wife of WWE legend Hulk Hogan, found herself in hot water for her controversial allegations about the African-American community living in the United States.
Her statements drew massive criticism from the mainstream media, as she was condemned for adding fire to the ongoing racial tensions. One of the personalities to react to Linda's remarks was Tony Khan, who publicly banned Hulk Hogan and his wife from all future AEW shows.
In an interview with The Wrestling Observer, Khan revealed that The Immortal One's banishment from All Elite Wrestling stems from his infamous 2015 audio tape, where Hogan was heard using several racist remarks.
#4. Takes on Triple H and Shawn Michaels
Triple H and Shawn Michaels are currently spearheading WWE’s creative department. While The Game is responsible for creating engaging content for RAW and SmackDown, The Showstopper is in charge of NXT's creative direction
On the AEW side, Tony Khan holds the reins of the company’s creative department. The top leadership of both promotions never backed down from taking a jibe at each other. The rivalry started in 2019 when Triple H berated the Jacksonville promotion during the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony.
In October 2023, The AEW CEO had a strong response to a report from Haus of Wrestling, which talked about the message sent to AEW by the recent creative success of the DX members.
Check out the tweet here.
In a promotional tweet for AEW Dynamite, Khan posted an image that "read bald a*****e," referring to Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
#3. Tony Khan calls out Randy Orton
In 2019, Tony Khan found himself butting heads with Randy Orton on X/Twitter. The online feud kicked off when The Legend Killer brought up the corruption allegations against Shahid Khan, Tony Khan’s father.
The Viper's tweet was in response to Khan’s statement on the discomfort faced by WWE Superstars during their recent trips to Saudi Arabia. The AEW CEO fired back at Orton, calling him out on using the Jacksonville promotion as leverage to earn a better contract from WWE.
Khan also denied the corruption allegations against his father, which invited the "Jacksonville Dixie" remark from The Apex Predator. Orton also dismissed the rumors of his interest in AEW, stating he would have talked to Shahid Khan instead if he wanted a future deal with the promotion.
#2. Tony Khan takes a jibe at Eric Bischoff
Tony Khan’s rivalry with Eric Bischoff is well-documented. Despite working with the promotion in the past, the former WCW head has been critical of AEW's creative direction.
Earlier this year, Jon Alba took to X/Twitter to announce the end of the Strictly Business with Eric Bischoff podcast, owing to Eric's other endeavors.
Reacting to the development on X/Twitter, Tony Khan expressed his pleasure at the closure of Bischoff's "fraud podcast" before AEW signed its next media deal. It was a massive shot by Khan at the former RAW GM, who often criticized AEW's business strategies through his podcast.
An infuriated Eric Bischoff responded to Khan’s tweet by calling him a "Talentless Money Mark." The former WCW Vice President also brought up AEW's low ticket sales, mocking Khan for his recent shortcomings.
#1. Tony Khan mocks The Undertaker and John Cena
After their loss in the Wednesday Night Wars of 2020-21, NXT finally settled its scores with AEW in October 2023, when the latter aired a one-off Tuesday Night episode in the first week of October.
With a head-to-head battle on the horizon, both promotions loaded their shows with star power for the special Tuesday Night War.
While AEW relied on their high-quality matches, WWE decided to bring in icons like John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and even The Undertaker to help NXT demolish AEW. The Stamford-based promotion succeeded in their plans as NXT garnered 921,000 viewers to defeat its competitor by a margin of 312,000 viewers.
Tony Khan was gutted at AEW's loss in their battle against NXT and decided to take out his frustrations on two iconic WWE Superstars. Taking to X/Twitter, the Jaguars' CEO took a dig at the appearance of John Cena and The Undertaker on NXT.
With NXT not hitting the one million mark, the two WWE legends' streak of being on WWE shows with at least a million viewers was broken, which was brought up in his post by a desperate Tony Khan.
He seemed to take pride in AEW ending the long-running streaks of The Phenom and The Cenation Leader, even though the promotion suffered a massive defeat in its battle against NXT.
