"Jim called me out in front of the entire room" - Tony Khan disagreed with Jim Ross over long-term AEW Superstar

Jim Ross and Tony Khan didn't initially agree when it came to Orange Cassidy.

AEW President Tony Khan was a guest this morning on Busted Open Radio with Dave LeGreca and Tommy Dreamer to talk about a variety of subjects.

While discussing Orange Cassidy exceeding his expectations in All Elite Wrestling, Khan told the story about him disagreeing with Jim Ross about Cassidy's value early on.

"I don’t think I’ve ever told this story before," Tony Khan began. "We were in the production meeting the first year, and JR, not under his breath, said something about how stupid the whole thing was in the first year, Jim called me out in front of the entire room.''

The AEW President then detailed his response to Ross's opinion.

''So I said back to him. I was like, ‘Jim, this is getting over, and it’s doing ratings every time, and we barely scratched the surface of what the guy can do. And he’s actually a really good wrestler, and I think you should give them a chance and talk to him because he actually is a very intelligent wrestling person once you get to know him. (...) Trust me,’ and a lot of people might not like it, but frankly, he has become one of our big stars."

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Tony Khan admits he didn't understand Orange Cassidy at first

While Khan understands that some people don't like Orange Cassidy, he considers him a net positive for the company. Admitting that he didn't even truly get Cassidy's character at first either.

"I get that some people don’t like it, but the thing is, it’s a net positive, right? It’s like making a profit,” Tony Khan said. “Sometimes you spend money, but you got to bring in more than you spend. He is a big-net positive. There might be people that don’t like him, but more people turn the TV on, more people click on his videos because of him. With every wrestler, there’s pros and cons. People like them, people don’t like them, but it’s about what they do on the net for the company. And this guy is a huge net asset. He brings in a lot of people. I was the same as you; I didn’t get it."

What do you make of Khan's comments? Do you think Orange Cassidy has exceeded expectations for AEW? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

Thanks to WrestleZone for the transcription of this interview.