“I don't care how much money Tony Khan has” - Wrestling veteran slams AEW President’s booking

A wrestling veteran has criticized AEW President Tony Khan's handling of a major wrestling promotion. The individual in question is Cary Silkin, a former owner of Ring of Honor.

ROH is widely regarded as one of the most iconic promotions in history. It is responsible for launching stars and future icons like Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, and more. Unfortunately, the company was mired in financial difficulties toward the end of the 2010s, leading to ROH's hiatus in 2021.

However, in 2022, it was revealed that AEW CEO and President Tony Khan had purchased Ring of Honor. The latter announced on the March 2, 2022, episode of AEW Dynamite. Since then, ROH has served as a sister promotion to All Elite Wrestling, sharing several members of each other's rosters. Arguably, however, the brand has been lacking an independent identity and style of its own, which has elicited criticisms from fans and industry experts.

Cary Silkin, who owned ROH from 2002 to 2011 and has been closely associated with the company, recently shared his own critiques of Tony Khan's booking of Ring of Honor.

Speaking on the Mat Memories from Madison Square Garden podcast, he recalled the product ROH used to present in the past and unfavorably contrasted it with the promotion's management under the AEW Creative Head.

"Ring of Honor of that era tried to show some respect to professional wrestling. Sure we had some wacky stuff. Sure we had the the flippy dippy do was coming into fashion. The flippy dippy do was going on with Édouard Carpentier too... Ring of Honor, there was some good pro wrestling going on in that segment of it. Right now, Ring of Honor it's like no one cares at all. I don't care how much money Tony Khan has. It's not being treated very well." [H/T WrestlingNews]

Tony Khan thinks 2024 will be AEW's best year yet

2024 has been a memorable year for All Elite Wrestling. While the Jacksonville-based promotion has had periodic struggles concerning ratings and live attendance figures, it has succeeded in putting on several acclaimed television shows and pay-per-views and signing several blockbuster free agents, including Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone.

AEW is poised to return to London, England, for the 2024 edition of All In. Furthermore, the promotion is negotiating a media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. Days ahead of the 250th episode of Dynamite, Tony Khan took to X/Twitter and expressed his excitement regarding the promotion's programming heading into the second half of 2024.

It remains to be seen what TK has in store for his company and All Elite Wrestling fans in the near future.