Tony Khan still believes AEW is the safest place to work in pro wrestling and can’t speak to any unsourced internet rumors about Chris Jericho.
Earlier this week, Chris Jericho and Stephen P. New, the attorney for CM Punk and Ace Steel in the All Out brawl aftermath, had it out on social media in regards to non-disclosure agreements. Jericho alleged he never signed one for that incident. Nick Hausman of Haus of Wrestling made a comment on Twitter about Jericho making others sign NDAs in the past.
Hausman followed up by mentioning “behind the scenes issues” with Jericho on his Rumor and Innuendo podcast. Hausman claimed a lot of people were hurt by Jericho’s actions and he felt uncomfortable seeing Jericho praised as much as he is. He then noted how Harvey Weinstein found success in Hollywood, but now he is in jail for his actions. Hausman said he wasn’t saying that was happening to Jericho too, but was simply highlighting how “the narrative can quickly turn if you’re hiding a lot of skeletons in your closet.”
Tony Khan was asked about those rumors by USA Today’s Phil Strum at the AEW Worlds End post-show media scrum. Specifically, Strum asked Khan if Chris Jericho currently is or was “at any time, under any internal investigation for sexual misconduct or any other type of misconduct” during his AEW tenure.
“I can’t speak to internet and unsourced rumors,” Khan said. “I spoke earlier to [Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Kevin McElvaney] and mentioned the policy we have in place, the disciplinary process. We’ve always followed that and I believe AEW is the safest wrestling company in the world. And we have the best track record for safety. I would hold it up to anybody. And anytime anybody has any kind of complaint, they have an open door to say it to me or anyone in the office, and we would look into it anytime. So again, Kevin asked about that policy. I believe I gave a pretty robust answer on that, and it would apply here too.”
Khan on how AEW deals with safety and harassment
Earlier in the scrum, Khan was asked about the recent discourse about safety and harassment involving women’s wrestlers. Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Kevin McElvaney asked Khan about the recent concern. He alluded to, but did not directly mention a specific incident. He asked Khan what AEW has done to combat and prevent sexual harassment in the locker room. Khan said AEW does everything it can to prevent those issues. He then touted AEW’s safety record.
“I think it applies to everyone in the company, women and men. And it’s something that we’re very serious about. We’ve had a policy in place and it’s certainly — anytime there’s anything like that, we’ve made sure we do everything we can to prevent it. AEW has the best safety record, I believe, of any pro wrestling company in the world,” Khan explained. “I believe we have the most safe environment. We have the best safety record of any pro wrestling company and I would hold the record of AEW on safety against any wrestling company in the world.
“I think AEW is the safest place for pro wrestling. If any of our wrestlers ever have a concern, they always have an open line to talk to me,” he added. “I believe anybody would sit here and tell you that they can talk to me any time they are concerned about anything.”
Khan also responded to a follow-up question about the topic, adding:
“If anything came to light, to me, I would take it to the disciplinary committee,” Khan said. “And that’s how we’ve been doing it and I think our disciplinary committee has been doing a great job. Everybody knows they have an open line to me or anybody on that committee.”
