Tony Khan Explains Why He Sees Wrestling Media As a Net Positive

Tony Khan sees wrestling media as a net positive for the business, and he explained why in a recent interview. The “dirt sheets” are always a hot topic in wrestling, and Khan has been more open in being willing to engage in wrestling media than other wrestling executives.

The AEW president appeared on the Marking Out Podcast with MVP and Dwayne Swayze, and was asked about wrestling reporting and media. He noted that he believes it’s a net positive in how it can expose readers to names and wrestling styles they haven’t seen before. You can see the highlights below:

On Wrestling Media Being a Net Positive:

“Yeah, I think overall there is more help than hurt. I think there can be, at times, misinformation or even disinformation where people put incorrect things out into the world in wrestling uh for their own benefit. And I find that there’s sometimes a lot of truth, and sometimes there’s not in some of these stories. And when you know them firsthand, it can definitely be interesting.”

On the Positives of Wrestling Media:

“I think where there is a net benefit and a lot of good things, there’s so much wrestling in the world. And for me, this is where I learned a lot about the international wrestling. We’re talking about Japanese wrestling. It’s where I first read about and learned about a lot of the wrestling happening in Japan and in Mexico, which I’m a big fan of the Lucha Libre and I learned a lot of from wrestling newsletters about that.

“And then you mentioned contributing. I mean, the extent of my contributions would be sending in results from shows that I went to. But a good example of that is, I wrote that I really enjoyed when I saw on Super Bowl Sunday… there’s maybe 1,500 people in the building, and MVP and Chris Benoit beat the hell out of each other and had this fantastic match. And I said, ‘This was another level from anything else on the show. This is a very good match, these guys wrestled really hard and set an excellent standard.’ And you know, when you’re a young wrestler coming out, I think that it can help build your reputation hearing about these things.”

On Seeing Several NJPW Talent Wrestle For the First Time:

“When I heard that the Super Jr. [Tournament] was going to be on streaming, and it was like 15, 16 years ago. First time I’ve seen Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Prince Divot and saw some familiar faces in this like Taka Michinoku and Tiger Mask, and people that I had seen wrestle. So I absolutely think that there are benefits. You can read about wrestlers, and then you go out and you want to watch them. They could be very influential on you. And there definitely are positives and negatives, but I definitely think the positives would far outweigh the negatives when it comes to wrestling newsletters and wrestling media.”

On Rumor Mongering In Wrestling Media:

“There’s different ethics in journalism, and I do think that to your point [MVP], the sourcing, verifying of rumors — there’s a much higher standard for reporting things in football than there is in wrestling. The kind of sourcing you need to report what is just a rumor — like these locker room rumors, you don’t see real football writers writing these kinds of things. In wrestling, the journalistic standard is far lower.

“But there are the benefits from the coverage that you get, just like with I think in any other sport where you want to have the top writers talking about what they see, giving their opinions. I don’t always agree with the football writers, I don’t always agree with the wrestling writers. But I respect that people follow something year-round, especially wrestling which really truly is year-round. But if you follow the sport, and just like in football or wrestling, I think it’s the similar thing where there are some writers that set a higher standard for their writing and for their ethics.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Marking Out with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.