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Bill Apter has credited Tony Khan for getting one major aspect of the ongoing storyline involving The Elite in AEW. In recent weeks, the re-formed heel faction has been running roughshod in the promotion.
The CEO and President of AEW faced an unexpected ambush at the hands of Jack Perry after re-instating the latter on Dynamite last month. Perry's new allies, The Young Bucks, despite feigning an interest in protecting Khan, went on to deliver a TK Driver on the latter.
The Creative Head of AEW also serves as the Chief Football Strategy Officer for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Khan was spotted at the 2024 NFL Draft sporting a neck brace to sell potential injuries he may have picked up as a result of the assault from The Elite.
Speaking on The Wrestling Time Machine podcast, Apter praised Khan for maintaining the credibility of The Elite's attack on his person by wearing the neck brace and selling The Bucks' finisher. He invoked Andy Kaufman donning a neck brace for several weeks after being allegedly injured by Jerry Lawler during their iconic feud.
"[But] what he did, went back to old school, and everybody's knocking him on this, and I will not knock him because I love this. When he got hurt, it was storyline, and he wore that neck brace, and he wore it for both days of the NFL Draft. Good for you! Andy Kaufman wore that neck brace for weeks after he allegedly got hurt by Jerry Lawler. Tony Khan did the right thing by selling that injury no matter what any man of the NFL or pro-wrestling or whatever said, 'He did not do the right thing,' and I think a lot of people just said he was nuts doing that. No." - said Apter. [0:53 - 1:40]
Bill Apter disapproved of AEW CEO Tony Khan's controversial remarks about WWE
During the same interview, Bill Apter criticized Tony Khan's recent controversial comments about WWE. The head honcho of the Jacksonville-based promotion made headlines by comparing the sports entertainment juggernaut to disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Khan's remarks have not been received warmly by many, especially considering the gravity of the comparison. Apter echoed similar sentiments and stated:
"Not the WWE thing where he called them Harvey Weinstein. It was wrong, it was bad taste, he should not have done that." [0:40 - 0:50]
Tony Khan has continued to highlight the differences between AEW and WWE in terms of programming and production style as the promotion builds to Double or Nothing 2024.
Thoughts on Tony Khan's recent AEW booking? Sound off below!
Please credit The Wrestling Time Machine podcast and embed the YouTube video if using quotations from the article.
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