Matt Hardy Discusses Similarities & Differences Between Vince McMahon & Tony Khan

In a recent interview with Essentially Sports, Matt Hardy discussed Tony Khan’s backstage approach in AEW, the differences between Khan and Vince McMahon, and much more. Here are some of the highlights (via Wrestling Inc.):

Matt Hardy on Tony Khan’s backstage approach in AEW and the differences between Khan and Vince McMahon: “I think AEW is very special because the mentality AEW uses, starting from Tony Khan all the way down, is really just ‘come in, do your job, work hard, be part of the team and let’s make this product as good as possible.’ They don’t really try and force people into a hierarchy, they don’t try and reign by fear. And everyone is allowed to feel comfortable. If you have an issue, you can talk to anyone. Tony Khan is so accessible. If you need to address Tony Khan, then you can speak to him, where at WWE it’s quite the opposite with Vince. Vince is very hard to be able to speak with. And Tony, I just feel like Tony has the current mindset of the wrestling fan in 2021. So he can kind of make that come alive through his wrestlers and the way he puts together and books shows. It’s just such a comfortable family environment where everyone feels like if you need to speak out, if you need to address something, you can. Everyone is comfortable in AEW, and it really does feel like a really big family.”

On the similarities between the two and Khan’s pro wrestling fandom helping him in his role: “They’re both ridiculously hard workers. There’s no doubt about that. Vince works his ass off. No one can ever take that away from him. Tony does as well. And on top of also running AEW, Tony has so many other responsibilities. He has stuff to do with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, he has Fulham, the football team over in the UK. He has a lot of stuff going on. But he is so passionate about pro wrestling, and you can tell. At his core he’s a pro wrestling fan. I think that translates helping him be more passionate as a boss or as a booker. And I feel that it allows him to do an even better job. I feel like he’s very thorough. And he also really respects the AEW wrestling fans, and he does everything he can to not insult their intelligence. If they’re going to invest their time in watching weeks of a story, he’s going to make sure to reward them by giving them a big pay off to the story as well.”