Tony Kahn took questions from the wrestling media on a conference call on September 1 to promote AEW ALL Out this weekend and the topic of whether or not he’d consider working with the WWE came up.
Tony had seemed open to the idea shortly after Triple H took over WWE Creative and Stephanie McMahon and Nick Kahn became co-CEOs in the wake of Vince McMahon stepping aside, but that feeling appears to have changed.
Tony Kahn’s Not Optimistic about WWE Partnership “Given How They’ve Treated Me”
After years of taking shot after shot at the WWE and Cody Rhodes destroying a mock up of Triple H’s throne, Tony’s mood appears to have soured over the way the WWE has treated him professionally.
His comment is curtesy of Thesportster:
“I was pretty optimistic when they first made the change, but I’m less optimistic now, given how they’ve treated me.”
The transgression
Tony didn’t expand on his comments and what soured him on the idea of working together, but the most likely reason could be the alleged contract tampering Chris Jericho mentioned on Twitter and Tony discussed with the roster prior to the August 24 Dynamite.
While they are rumors and it’s not known who from the WWE reached out or if they actually did attempt contract tampering, it could be enough to turn Tony off of working with them.
He’s shown to be defensive when pressed about his booking and other aspects, but we wouldn’t say he overreacts.
Still, with Jericho doubling down on how thankful he is to AEW for rekindling his passion for the business does give it a feel that there may be more to this than anyone’s letting on.
To our knowledge, the WWE hasn’t responded to the reports of AEW sending them a cease and desist letter, which isn’t surprising.
Hmmm…well Some higher ups want that to happen sooner than later! #tampering https://t.co/PD8kMGgyJq
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) August 24, 2022
And give AEW’s past with going hard at the WWE to make inroads with their fans and to get notice, could Tony be playing the honorable underdog role? Maybe.
But more likely there was a conversation and it grew from there.
Given that Malakai Black reportedly requested his release for mental health reasons and concern over his booking and it was reportedly denied seems to say there are talent that want to go back to the WWE.
They trust Triple H and he knows how to book them, and this could be Tony and AEW’s way of trying to show they’re the bereaved party instead of the place talent wants to leave.
Honestly, all we can do is speculate about what’s going on, and we’re willing to bet there’s going to be plenty more of that as more comes out from either company.
What do you think about how WWE treated Tony? Does he have a legitimate reason? Let us know in the comments below.
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