'My relationship with him was very shocking' - AEW star recalls first interactions with Tony Khan

AEW star Lio Rush has recently recalled what his initial relationship with Tony Khan was like when he first appeared at the company in May 2021.

Rush appeared as "The Joker" in the casino battle royale match at the "Double or Nothing" pay-per-view event in May 2021. After a brief injury battle, Rush was signed to a full-time contract with AEW in late 2021.

In an interview with Denise Salcedo for "Instinct Culture," Rush recalls being pleasantly surprised with how Khan was as a person and called their relationship "shocking." Here's what he had to say:

"My relationship with Tony, off the jump, was very shocking, just because I’ve never dealt with someone like him before. He’s so passionate and so open about how he feels about wrestling and being able to have those conversations with him is just kind of mind-blowing to me. Although I did have my conversations with Vince and everything, being able to just literally have a conversation with Tony and laugh about certain things or put my input in and get feedback. I’m still getting used to it."

Many other wrestlers have also commended the AEW president for having an open mind and real passion for the wrestling business.

---

Tony Khan and Lio Rush appeared to have some friction recently

Khan did land himself in some hot water at the beginning of 2022 with Rush and a number of other people within the wrestling business.

This was in the wake of the release of Big Swole from her AEW contract, who criticized Tony Khan for having a lack of diversity within the company. Khan issued a response on his Twitter page that provoked a negative response from Lio Rush.

The dust has seemingly settled on the situation and Lio Rush and Khan appear to be on good terms since the initial fall out.

Fans will see Lio Rush cornering Dante Martin on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

If you use the quotes above please credit Instinct Culture and give an H/T to SportsKeeda.