Swerve Strickland is pushing back against the growing criticism surrounding Tony Khan’s online behavior — and according to him, Khan’s so-called “pettiness” has not actually damaged AEW at all.
Khan got a lot of backlash over the years for everything from his January 2024 tweet defending AEW’s booking to his infamous “bald a**hole” tweet directed at Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Many have argued those moments made the AEW boss look thin-skinned, but Swerve sees the situation very differently.
While speaking to Bootleg Kev, Swerve was asked whether Tony Khan’s “pettiness” has hurt him. Swerve said he does not think Khan’s behavior has had any meaningful negative impact and pointed out that wrestling history includes far more controversial comments than anything Khan has posted.
“Has it hurt him? I don’t think so, because there were things being said on TV years ago that were way worse. Way more.”
Swerve acknowledged that some fans and critics may continue to remember those moments, but he made it clear he does not see them as something that has hurt Khan in any meaningful way.
“But also, there are things that people don’t forget. But to say the pettiness has hurt him—I don’t believe so.”
From there, Swerve explained why he believes Tony Khan remains untouchable in many ways. According to him, there will always be room in the wrestling business for someone with Khan’s resources and influence.
“I don’t believe so because there’s always going to be a need for someone like Tony Khan in this position. There’s always going to be a need for that.”
Swerve then pointed to something fans rarely see: Khan’s relationships behind the scenes. He suggested those connections are far more powerful than anything discussed on social media.
“We don’t know the deep people behind—like—the relationships Tony has. You don’t know how deep these relationships really go.”
According to Swerve, Khan’s business network stretches far beyond Twitter arguments, media appearances, or public headlines. He noted that Khan always has something valuable to offer, which makes it easy for people to move past any prior issues and continue doing business with him.
“Like, that goes beyond Twitter discussion. That goes beyond a newspaper ad. That goes beyond even talking on CNN, right? You don’t know how deep these relationships can go back, because there’s always something that Tony can offer. Something that can just make someone go, ‘You know what? Whatever issues or pettiness we’ve had before—we can move past that. That doesn’t matter. We can continue business with this.’”
So, Swerve doesn’t see Tony Khan’s social media behavior as a liability. Instead, he sees a businessman with enough influence and connections to keep AEW moving forward regardless of any online controversy. For now, Swerve Strickland is clearly in Tony Khan’s corner and believes the AEW President’s occasional pettiness hasn’t hurt the company where it counts.
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