Tony Khan's biggest mistake yet - stop it before it's too late!

Tony Khan and AEW have been in the news since its inception in 2019. The wrestling promotion has had a chequered history, with some of Khan's decisions seemingly backfiring, resulting in bad press for the company.

Most wrestling fans still remember when Khan went berserk on his social media handle ahead of the Tuesday Night War when AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday was pitted against WWE's NXT in 2023. Tony Khan lost the ratings war, but his disparaging tweets against Shawn Michaels and other WWE personnel will remain for posterity.

In retrospect, many feel that those tweets were a bad decision and it looks like Tony Khan is getting ready to commit another grave mistake - which could have legal and financial consequences for him, the company, and everyone involved.

CM Punk returned to pro wrestling in 2021 on the second episode of AEW Rampage. This was a huge deal for the company as Punk would go on to bring a new audience to All Elite Wrestling and break multiple records. However, things started to go downhill when Punk went on a rant against The Elite during the All Out media scrum leading to a backstage brawl, which resulted in him getting suspended for the first time.

And as if it was fated, Punk and Jack Perry were involved in a scuffle at All In pay-per-view that led to both wrestlers being suspended and later Tony firing the Chicago native in September 2023. During a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, CM Punk revealed some of the details of his altercation with Perry and what he said to Tony Khan before getting fired.

Punk's recent MMA Hour interview reportedly didn't sit well with Tony Khan and AEW recently announced that they would air footage of the incident on an episode of AEW Dynamite.

The decision has stunned several with many speculating about the different things that could happen as a consequence. Here's looking at why this could be Khan's next big disastrous move.

The legal repercussions could be tremendous for Tony Khan and AEW

Over the years, we have heard about several backstage fights that took place in AEW.

As mentioned, back in 2022, following a long, elaborate timeline that every passionate wrestling fan knows by now, Punk was involved in a backstage brawl with The Elite and Ace Steel, and attorneys were said to be involved on both sides.

The wrestlers involved in the brawl reportedly signed an NDA. The same could be in the case of the Punk's altercation with Perry. Until recently, all parties involved in the fight at All In 2023 have been quiet about the incident, which begs the question of whether there are any legal reasons why no one has commented on the it. With AEW announcing that they would air footage, many believe that Khan could face a lawsuit for it.

It's evident that the relationship between Khan and Punk has soured to the point of no return, and there's little that either would achieve with the footage being aired.

The footage runs the risk of becoming a wrestling promo

Real-life violence is a serious issue and has no place in an environment where scripted violence runs rampant. Many believe that the footage could be used as a wrestling promo that could set up a returning star.

The business is notorious for using real-life aspects for storyline feuds. With Jack Perry being the other person involved and affected by the scuffle, the footage could be something that AEW uses for his return.

Khan could also use the footage to boost ratings - which are going down anyway. The wrestling fraternity has also made a comparison between AEW to WCW.

During the Monday Night Wars in the 90s, both WWE and WCW went on a ratings war. Towards the end, World Championship Wrestling's ratings were falling weekly and to avoid this the company tried to leak information from Titanland programming to their audience.

It turned out to be an instant karma moment as when WCW announcers revealed that Mike Foley was winning the WWE Championship on WWE in 1999, many viewers switched from Nitro to RAW to watch the historical moment.

The footage could be a PR nightmare

The fact that others are confirming that the footage will be aired shows what a loose ship Tony Khan commandeers.

At this point, many veterans in the wrestling industry have pointed out that Tony Khan has no idea how to handle this, with news already leaked that the footage will be aired. Now, Khan is in a Catch-22 situation. If he does air the footage, he could face legal consequences; if he doesn't, he could face public ridicule. It remains to be seen what he is most comfortable handling.

Tony Khan has had enough and more interactions with media and PR, with him being regularly trolled for his social media comments that try to put a shine on AEW, and even by others in the wrestling world.

But in the end, it's Tony Khan's decision whether the footage goes or not.