Tony Khan Pushes Back On Comparison To Vince McMahon

So far, through the first four years of AEW's existence, owner Tony Khan has been far more of an offscreen presence than he's been an onscreen one, appearing sparingly on AEW TV. Even still, Khan has occasionally had his name pulled into the AEW storyline, perhaps most notably by AEW World Champion MJF, who famously referred to Khan several times in a now infamous promo cut this past June.

To some, MJF's promo created a dynamic between the top star and Khan that was similar to that of Vince McMahon and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin during the days of the Attitude Era. But in an interview with 98Rock 97.9 Baltimore from last week, Khan believes that comparison isn't entirely accurate.

"It's a very different thing," Khan said. "I consider myself almost as much of a device on the show as anything. I believe it's important to have a person that makes the matches, and everyone knows that I own AEW and run the promotion. 

"I think it makes a lot of sense to have someone on the show that is pushing against authority, but in this case is somebody who is widely hated and not fighting in the best interest of the promotion, because I always try to do everything that's in the best interest of the wrestling fan and AEW, because that's what I put first." Khan believes that the antagonists should be wrestlers first and foremost, like AEW World Champion MJF. 

"He's an antagonist," Khan explained, "he's antagonized 'The American Dragon' Bryan Danielson."

That antagonization has seen the "American Dragon" battle a myriad of stars in an attempt to earn a world title match against MJF at Revolution this March. The quest will continue this week when Danielson faces Timothy Thatcher on "AEW Dynamite."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 98Rock 97.9 Baltimore and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription