Wrestling veteran criticizes Tony Khan over lack of action that led to AEW lawsuit, drops huge WWE reference (Exclusive)

AEW and the company's world champion, Jon Moxley, currently find themselves in the middle of a lawsuit. The case was filed by a former member of the promotion's production crew, Chris Dispensa, on May 30, 2025. Moxley is seen pushing Dispensa during a match with Kenny Omega on a 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite, which was an unplanned event according to the crew member.

Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently criticized Tony Khan, the founder and president of AEW, over his lack of action regarding the incident. While speaking on The Wrestling Outlaws podcast on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, the ex-writer stated that Tony Khan 'should've been on top' of the incident when it took place.

Russo even dropped a huge reference to a WWE moment involving Stone Cold Steve Austin that occured during the latest WrestleMania, praising president Nick Khan for his instantaneous reaction to the incident. The veteran even expressed that the AEW World Champion never intended to hurt Dispensa and that it happened in the heat of the moment.

"I saw the replay. There's an adrenaline involved for these guys. You know what I'm saying? And you could kind of tell Moxley's caught up in the moment. Moxley's not intending to hurt this guy or anything like that. But bro, here's what I think the problem is, bro, remember when Stone Cold Steve Austin almost killed somebody at WrestleMania with his little go-kart? Remember how quick Nick Khan was there? Remember you blinked and Nick Khan was there, bro. This is a situation where Tony Khan's got to get on top of that. You know what I'm saying? I mean, when he realizes the guy is hurt, you've got to take care of that immediately or else this is what's going to happen," Russo said. [From 8:11 onwards]

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WWE could've found itself in hot water like AEW

The incident Vince Russo referred to during The Wrestling Outlaws podcast took place during WrestleMania 41.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was on his way to the ring on his ATV, like he's done in the past, but inadvertently rammed it into the ringside barricade, nearly hitting a fan in the process.

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However, just moments later, WWE president Nick Khan walked over to the fan and checked on her. Steve Austin also checked on the fan, both before and after his segment. The Texas Rattlesnake had come out to announce the attendance numbers of the event when the incident occured.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Brandon Nell