AEW's Tony Khan Explains Why He Calls The Idea Of Getting Death Threats 'Great'

Crazed wrestling fans often go too far in their criticisms of the scripted sport, and even AEW boss Tony Khan has borne the brunt of their questionable behavior. On "The Dan LeBatard Show," Khan was asked if he ever expected to be "drowning in death threats" for the decisions he's made since starting AEW, or whether he realized early that the negativity was unavoidable. 

To Khan's credit, he brushed off the online hate as a case of passionate fans acting out. "I think it's great," Khan said of the death threats. Khan — the Vice-Chairman of Fulham F.C. — has similarly faced the wrath of the English soccer club's fans for some of his front-office decisions. "To be honest, the rancor of sports fans is across all sports, and it's something I've seen in football, in the NFL, you see it in football in the [English] Premier League. For us, it's a great thing that we have passionate fans that really care about AEW, that really get excited about the shows. I love it. And our fans are really supportive."

While LeBatard's question did not directly reference Khan's decision to fire CM Punk, it's worth highlighting that Khan was subjected to death threats from fanatic fans after he made the call to fire "The Second City Savior" last month. Khan was also booed heavily at the United Center, where he made the firing announcement to the crowd in-person. The same night, Khan confessed that he felt like his "life was in danger" while being confronted by Punk at All In, where the latter infamously brawled with Jack Perry and reportedly "lunged" at Khan in the backstage area.