Time out for Tony Khan – He is the emperor with no clothes

Before they turned it around and where good, the New York Yankees were one of the worst franchises in baseball. They earned the nickname “The Bronx Zoo” the roster was full of characters who kept fumbling on the field, managers kept getting fired and hire and fired, and the fans wanted the owner gone.

Wouldn’t you know it, once Hank Steinbrenner was suspended due to his involvement in a blackmail scheme, the Yankees settled down and ended up becoming the best team in baseball for over a decade.

Go forward to WWE and how once Vince McMahon left creative and was being forced out, WWE turned around and became a force. Wrestling hardcore fans and casuals even agreed that the product was better.

So with all of that I humbly suggest… that its time for Tony Khan to go away.

Before all the AEW Sickos and Tony Khan fanboys start getting hot and lathered, I am not suggesting he close shop or sell AEW. Nor am I asking him to even merge with WWE and take on the Eric Bischoff role as GM.

Nope, just go way for a year and turn the keys over to the people you hired because at this point, Tony is the toxic one.

AEW has gone through different superstars, different promotions to partner with, ran through Japan and Mexico, started new factions and then tried a “reset”. Despite all of that ticket sales are sagging, tv ratings are crashing and Rampage got cancelled.

AEW has lost over half its audience in a two year span and no matter what they have been unable to not grow but even retain people. The one common denominator is Tony Khan and at this point his reputation and actions drive too many people away.

He has Vince Russo heat and the only way to cure that is disappear for a bit and don’t come back.

If you think what I am saying is mean or trolling just google Tony Khan and you can see the huge overwhelming disdain for him. And its not just from “anti AEW fans” but from Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC fans who have grown wear of him.

Three different sports groups of people do not like him for a multitude of reasons.

For those who defend him by saying “he is a good guy” or “He is a passionate fan”, it doesn’t matter. He is just not viewed well and its affected the company in how fans are just not tuning into the product.

AEW has tried everything under the sun to turn things around and despite having what supporters claim a great product, nothing is working. They sign the hottest free agents on the market, they do more “dream matches” they profile more bigger name ex-WWE guys and nothing has worked.

The one lone constant is Tony Khan and at this point he just needs to go away and let AEW in other hands.

Multiple columns have written how he keeps putting his foot in his mouth, making bad decisions, says silly things and doesn’t really get people. Columns have been written about how AEW can be improved or who should take over. Its been written to death and yet nothing is changing momentum wise for AEW.

Tony should just go away for bit and do some other things so that fans can just not see or hear from him.

Fans don’t care about his love for Time Cop nor do they want to see him do Stunners in the ring when the cameras are rolling. Fans don’t want to see him at post-fight pressers looking goofy and unprofessional. To regular people and most wrestling fans, Tony Khan is a big reason why they don’t like AEW.

Its the same thing with Vince Russo; he has people who will defend him to the hilt and there are mass amount of people who want nothing to do with any wrestling company he is involved in.

Tony should take a page similar to San Francisco 49ers Team President Jed York (another billionaire’s son) and disappear for a while.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Tony needs to test that theory and just hand over everything to temporary leaders and take a vacation.

It would allow people to give AEW a second chance who won’t right now because of their distaste for Tony. For whatever reason people have lost faith in him as the head of the company and don’t think anything will change.

It will allow him to take a long break from a company that he allegedly has his hands in everything from creative to merchandise to even promotion. This industry can be grueling and it has probably takes a drain on him physically and mentally.

He can go and do more NFL duties and make ask other owners what the secret to their success is. He is a member of that club so call up Steve Bisciotti, Sheila Ford Hamp or Josh Harris and ask for advice. They are three owners who are generally viewed positively by fans so maybe they can share some wisdom with him.

He can go to England and do more work with Fulham FC which according to many is the true jewel of the family sports franchise groups. The team is currently ranked 9th which is the highest its been since they finished 8th in the 2010-2011 season.

Before the Khan’s bought the team but I digress.

Hell go out and minge as your what many guys sometimes dream about; single, healthy and rich. Go jet setting around the world and meet and hob knob with celebrities and Hollywood elites. Travel to all the hotspots and just have fun without worrying about wrestling or anything else.

Ever hear those stories of high school kids backpacking across Europe to “find themselves” or just bum around? Tony can do that in style and just live life up; Call up Jake Paul and just have him as your wingman just so that you have a bodyguard/bar hopping pal.

His family has more money than they know what to do with so just go out and have fun.

It would also allow him to see what happens to AEW under the leadership of his handpicked team. Don’t care if its a combination of Jeff Jarrett/Jim Ross/Jake Roberts or any other veteran who understands the industry. They can run it for a while, calm things down and he can watch from afar while he allows fans to miss him.

It would also allow him to either see that a different approach is needed and learn from it or just re charge the batteries. He could have other people be the “bad guys” and doing hard things while he can just say it wasn’t his call but he had to trust his leadership team.

It would allow even the Jim Cornette, Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo and other critics to move away from him. It has to grate on him that he has tried in the past to get them to praise him and it isn’t working. He would hire Jim Cornette as a broadcaster if it meant he got to hang out with a guy he respects.

But either way, its simply time for Tony Khan to go away because at this point he is just too toxic for AEW.

He is the emperor with no clothes on who doesn’t seem to grasp that people are tired of his antics.

I can already hear the AEW sickos let by TWL leading the charge going “Blah, you ate AEW and want it to die” or “Blah, your just a WWE Fed loser” or “Bleh, you just are obsessed with Tony Khan”.

To all of those guys I simply ask what else can this company do to fix the decline they have been on for the last two years. You don’t want to be like WWE and you enjoy the product but nothing else has worked.

AEW went out and spent big money for Mercedes Mone, Okada, Hurt Syndicate and Adam Cope it didn’t help

They tried bringing in internet celebrities, the Costco Bros, and even put them on a PPV card and that didn’t work.

You have gone from MJF to Bryan Danielson to Jon Moxley as champion.

Turned MJF face and then heel with the Devil angle.

Pushed younger tag teams and now older tag teams.

Made Swerve Strickland the company’s first African American champion.

AEW has featured more women’s wrestling and even had the Timeless Toni Storm-Mariah May feud.

AEW has even done hardcore matches to “real wrestling” matches and cross promotional match cards.

But at the end of the day each year has seem significant decrease in attendance in TV ratings. The saving grace was that WBD was desperate for content and lost out on the ESPN/FOX/WBD sports channel that they signed AEW to a three-year extension.

You have suggested everything under the son and none of it seems to work is being taken to heart. At some point you can howl at the moon all you want but the reality is staring you in the face.

Tony Khan is the one constant in AEW and to many he is to blame for everything that is going wrong for AEW. From the CM Punk fiasco, the “Harvey Weinstein of pro wrestling comments, ratings collapse and everything else.

You may love Tony and the Sicko wrestling way which is your right. However, a large group of people just don’t like him and are willing to walk away from watching the product.

Let Tony take a break, have a stewardship that runs it in his absence and just have him call in with big picture decisions. Let people think he is turning things over and not having his hands in everything.

At this point you have nothing else to lose because you have tried everything else and people still aren’t coming back.

It worked for the New York Yankees so it is possible and proven.

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