Tony Khan Discusses Prioritizing Diversity In AEW, How Sonjay Dutt Has Helped Jade Cargill

As noted, there has been a lot of talk regarding diversity in AEW following Big Swole’s exit from the company last December. Following AEW Revolution, Tony Khan discussed prioritizing diversity in AEW and Sonjay Dutt’s impact on Jade Cargill’s progression as a talent. Here are some highlights (via Fightful):

Tony Khan on prioritizing diversity in AEW: “That was always my goal and that was the point I have been eager to make. I always care about that representation. As you’ve seen, in recent months, there are contracts starting to expire and I can’t renew everybody and in the time that’s passed since then, people have seen that I’m serious, I’m going to start signing more people. Keith Lee, AQA, Swerve Strickland, and many other debuts in that time that have been great. In addition to people coming in, there will be people coming out and I try to do it based on merit. That was the point I was trying to make at the time, I’m going to evaluate people based on how good I think their wrestling is, in addition to a variety of other factors. I am always prioritizing diversity and we’ve made huge leaps since then.”

On how Sonjay Dutt has helped Jade Cargill in AEW: “That was going into Jade’s championship match and dominant run. She is a great wrestler and she has worked with, speaking of representation, Sonjay Dutt, who has done a great job with her. Sonjay represents great representation. Growing up, there was nobody who looked like me that was on TV that was pushed and had any gimmick that wasn’t offensive or who could really go. Sonjay Dutt, I didn’t really look up to because we are the same age and when I was in college when I first found him, I was like, ‘this is a guy who looks like me who can go.’ It’s great having him here and he’s been great for Jade. He’s a great person. [Jade] is already the rookie of the year and can take it to another level in year two. I thought her match was excellent with Tay Conti, speaking of which, also great representation and had a tremendous match and has a lot to be proud of. Even though she hasn’t won the title at the last two pay-per-views, she’s been excellent and very typical of her.”