“They Don’t All Need To Be Friends” – Tony Khan Addresses Backstage Drama In AEW Ahead of All Out

AEW President Tony Khan doesn’t appear to be too bothered by professional wrestlers not getting along.

One thing that has been a major topic of discussion as of late is the backstage turmoil in All Elite Wrestling. CM Punk called out Hangman Page to make him look like a coward in front of his hometown crowd in West Virginia. Eddie Kingston and Sammy Guevara had a backstage altercation that led to The Mad King getting suspended for two weeks. Sammy Guevara also released a statement on the matter and the two wrestlers have claimed that the issue is behind them.

AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa announced that she cannot compete at All Out and reportedly has a fair amount of heat backstage within the women’s division. Miro and Andrade El Idolo have liked posts on social media that suggest they would be better off in WWE, etc.

Despite it all, Tony is remaining positive heading into All Out and doesn’t think that wrestlers not getting along is a bad thing. Speaking with NBC Sports Chicago ahead of All Out at the NOW Arena, Tony was excited about his roster finally getting healthy and addressed the backstage drama within the company at the moment.

“I’m actually pretty excited about it. I think our roster is going to be stronger than it’s been in a long time. There is a lot of competition for spots. As long as everybody is being professional, it’s professional wrestling, the first word is professional. The second word is wrestling.

This is not a doll factory or a normal place of business. Our product here is professional wrestling matches. People not liking each other, not getting along, can actually be positive, as opposed to most workplaces where people not getting along is detrimental.

Not everybody needs to get along in the pro wrestling business, they don’t all need to be friends to do this. I’ll be honest, a lot of pro wrestlers don’t like each other, that’s fine with me. I don’t think people watch wrestling to watch people be friends.”

AEW Dynamite has seen its ratings increase the past two weeks heading into All Out. Time will tell if it lasts but for now, the discontent backstage is paying off for the company. You can check out the entire interview in the video below.