There's no doubt that Tony Khan has changed the wrestling world drastically in the last few years. Before AEW, there was no real competition for WWE for almost two decades. Now both wrestlers and fans have a major alternative to WWE and this competition has once again made wrestling interesting.
RELATED: 10 Backstage Stories About Tony Khan We Can’t Believe
Khan is a billionaire, but before AEW started, most wrestling fans didn't know much about him. Even now, there's plenty that (even some of the hardcore ones) don't know about Tony and his life outside of AEW. And that's probably because Khan likes to live privately.
9 Khan Told Ric Flair That He Would Never Offer Him A Contract
Some fans may not know, but in real-life, Ric Flair and Tony Khan are great friends. Last year, the Nature Boy revealed a conversation he had with Khan. The AEW president told Flair that he would never ask him to work with AEW because of his loyalty towards WWE. The same would apply to her daughter, Charlotte Flair.
In the past few months, however, several things have happened. Flair's son-in-law, Andrade, has signed with AEW, Charlotte is having issues in WWE and Ric is no longer part of the company. While Khan has said he would never ask Flair (and Charlotte) to ever work in AEW, it doesn't mean that this can't happen ever. If Ric or Charlotte wished to work with AEW, Khan could easily offer them a deal. However, it may take some time for Ric's reputation to heal after the "Plane Ride From Hell" episode from Vice's Dark Side of the Ring.
8 Khan Never Expected To Sign Sting
So far, AEW has handled Sting's character perfectly. The Stinger also seems to be enjoying his time more here. But Sting wasn't one of the people Tony Khan expected to work with.
Khan said that he never imagined the WCW Icon would ever be interested in AEW or be available this soon.
7 Tony Has A Sister
Fans know that Tony Khan is the son of Jacksonville Jaguars' owner, Shahid Khan. But most people probably don't know that Khan also has a sister named, Shanna Khan.
She is the owner of the United Marketing Company (based in Chicago). Shanna is married to Justin McCabe.
6 Tony's Dating Life
Tony Khan keeps his life private from the world. Aside from a few people who are close to him, not many people know much about Tony, especially about his dating life.
The most fans know about his private life is that he has a girlfriend. Nobody really knows who she is.
5 Tony Dissed Nick Khan To Create More Buzz For AEW & NJPW
There were rumors that WWE was trying to form an exclusive partnership with NJPW in the United States. Then one day, AEW released Tony Khan's promo where he took shots at Nick Khan. This promo was absolutely hilarious, and while a lot of WWE fans were offended, most people enjoyed it.
RELATED: 5 Moments Of Tony Khan Being A Great Boss (& 5 Vince McMahon Moments)
Later, Tony Khan revealed that he did this promo to create more buzz for AEW and NJPW. Also, when he presented this idea to New Japan, they found it hilarious.
4 Tony Khan Wanted To Sign Goldberg
Tony Khan knows the value of wrestling legends and the star power they bring. AEW has signed several popular wrestlers over the years including Chris Jericho, Sting, CM Punk, Mark Henry, Big Show, and a lot more. Some of these don't contribute too much on television on a regular basis, but they still add a ton of star power to the company.
RELATED: 5 Wrestlers Vince McMahon & Tony Khan Disagree On (& 5 They Agree On)
At one point, Goldberg was the biggest superstar in WCW. He had a ton of star power, and people liked him. Tony Khan is also Goldberg's fan and, according to Jim Cornette, "Goldberg was huge on Tony Khan's want list." Cornette also said that Khan wanted to do the streak angle again.
3 CM Punk Was His First Pick For AEW
When AEW first launched, Chris Jericho was its biggest signing. Jericho brought a ton of star power to the company and it helped them stand out. But a lot of fans don't know that Jericho wasn't Khan's first pick. It was CM Punk who Tony Khan wanted to sign in AEW first.
However, The Cult of Personality wanted to wait until AEW proved itself before signing with them.
2 He Hasn't Given Creative Control To Anyone
One of the things that people get wrong about Tony Khan is that he gives a ton of creative control to wrestlers in AEW. That's probably because wrestlers, who left WWE due to creative frustrations, are a lot happier in AEW and enjoy doing what they do.
RELATED: AEW: 5 Wrestlers Tony Khan Loves (& 5 He Has Heat With)
But Khan has never given any creative control to a wrestler in AEW. He believes that a show can't be run like this. But this doesn't mean Khan doesn't listen to his wrestlers.
1 He Is The Most Beloved Billionaire
Recently, Metro UK revealed their Beloved Billionaires list. And Tony Khan was revealed as the most beloved billionaire according to their study.
According to their report, 38% of all mentions of Khan were positive which was more than any other billionaire on the list. For those who are wondering, Vince McMahon was 7th on this list.
