Tony Khan Comments On Lio Rush’s Surge in Popularity & His Past ‘Misguided Attempts’ at Mentorship

AEW President Tony Khan opened up about the evolution of Lio Rush as a pro wrestler and his previous “misguided attempts’ at mentorship.

Lio is currently going through a renaissance in his career, with fans taking a liking to his darker persona. He recently captured the ROH World Television Championship, and despite not being booked to compete at Forbidden Door 2026, he left an impression as he helped Team Mark Briscoe in the Steel Cage Match.

At the Post-Forbidden Door Media Scrum, Tony Khan commented on the evolution of Lio Rush over the past few years.

Here’s what Tony said:

“You have to give him a lot of credit; he’s getting great engagement and responses in multiple places, multiple ways, and numerous promotions. He’s having a big mouth. He’s becoming the ROH World TV Champion, and tonight, he got involved in the Death Door cage match. It was a great reaction from fans. He’s a great wrestler, and I’ve been a fan for a long time.

“Five years ago, I took Lio under my wing, and I clearly misread what Lio’s interests were because I tried to teach him about finances and the business side of pro wrestling, and he’s not interested in that. Clearly, he’s got a completely different mindset. It’s not about stocks or leveraged buyouts or the financial world. Clearly, it was a misguided attempt at mentorship on my part because he’s embraced something far more lucrative and tapped into something that the crowd wants to see because people love what Lio is doing, and it gets a response everywhere we go.”

Listen to his comments below:

Please credit AEW’s YouTube channel and give an H/T to 411Mania for the transcription if you take quotes from this copy.