AEW President Tony Khan is passionate about the business and that can be felt in the current AEW product, but he’s always been criticized, most recently for his decision to air All In footage. Even so, Ricky Starks has now come to the defense of his boss.
AEW has recently faced declining television ratings and sluggish ticket sales. The impressive performance sparked criticism of the company online. Tony Khan has been at the center of the situation as the promotion’s president and has received some harsh comments as a result.
In a recent interview with SportsKeeda, Ricky Starks was asked to describe Tony Khan as a boss. Starks Khan called him a “great guy.” The former FTW Champion went on to say that Khan is not who you think he is.
“He’s a great guy. He really is. I’ve never met a guy as nice as him. People always assume that someone in that position, in that tax bracket is going to behave a certain way, but He’s not like that. I think people need to realize that we’re just trying to figure this out.”
During the interview, the conversation also touched on the continued criticism Tony Khan faces from fans. Ricky Starks mentioned that responding to trolls can be difficult because they are not interested in changing their minds. He added that these critics will never know the real Tony Khan, the person he interacts with every time he comes back after a match.
“Well, I think you can’t say anything to trolls because even if you give them facts and evidence, they still believe what they want to believe. So I think it’s best to keep the energy to yourself, right?
Because that’s the way it is. They will never experience what we experience, the beauty and joy that guys like Tony feel when they come back to the field after a game. It’s a different feeling going through it with your boss. It might be a hug; it might be a fist bump. It can be anything. “
Ricky Starks also suffered an injury scare last month but made it clear he’s fine. Still, Starks clearly has a lot of respect for the AEW president, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Do you think Tony Khan has been getting a lot of unwarranted hate lately? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!