Tony Khan: I’ve Hyped Things For AEW But Never False-Advertised, And It’s Built A Lot Of Goodwill With Fans

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Tony Khan: I’ve Hyped Things For AEW But Never False-Advertised, And It’s Built A Lot Of Goodwill With Fans

tony khan

Tony Khan says AEW has built up a lot of trust because they’ve continued to deliver on promises and never intentionally mislead their fans.

Khan spoke with Kenny Herzog for Entrepreneur about All Elite Wrestling’s progress and presenting a show that the fans will enjoy. Khan was asked about the approach to the cross-promotional campaigns on Dynamite and how they are received. He explained that if the fans didn’t like what they saw, he’d make changes based on feedback because that’s who they are working for, but there hasn’t been much pushback so far.

“There are things that we do for cross-promotion. Godzilla vs. Kong was something we were able to integrate into the show and help one of our partners, and we’ve done other integrations, like a “Cracker Barrel Clash” and things of that nature. You don’t want to do too many sponsorship partnerships like that where it feels like you’re a sellout or something, but I’m always open. For the wrestlers, the biggest focus is always the show itself. I’ve never felt like we had to promote a product where it was cumbersome to the show,” Khan said, “and we haven’t really had a lot of pushback. Our audience is very vocal, and I listen to them and try to make changes based on what the audience wants to see, because that’s who we serve. And so we’ve never gotten pushback on that, and if we had, I think we would be listening for it.

Herzog noted WWE gets some criticism for being deceitful when claiming they listen to the audience, and asked Tony Khan how he can convince AEW fans that he’s being genuine. Khan said there’s a lot of differences between companies, but pointed to the fact that he’s built a lot of trust with their fans because he’s never outright done a bait and switch on their show and they continue to keep things fresh each week.

“There’s a lot of differences. I don’t do really cheap DQ [disqualification] finishes to prolong something. There are other wrestling programs where you might see multiple DQs and countouts in a week. I believe in giving the fans a finish to the match. I believe in not false-advertising programs and people. I might hype something I really believe in, but there’s a big difference between hyping something and false-advertising outright, and I’ve never done the latter,” Khan stated. “I think that’s why we have a lot of goodwill with the audience. Following through on the things you say you’re going to do and trying to deliver a show that’s in the spirit of what the fans want to see week in, week out and offering fresh matches and fresh programs is a big part of it. You know, not doing the same matches 17 weeks in a row over and over again.”

Khan also addressed some of AEW’s miscues, some of which were out of their control last year. He pointed out that since he’s taken more of a hands-on approach with booking, things have been more focused and they have seen a much better response to their shows. Khan also addressed how the company had been affected by the pandemic, explaining that they found a way to keep stories alive and honor their TV contract, and called it an “entrepreneurial object lesson” where AEW used the resources they had and made the most out of the situation, and have bounced back from it.

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