Tony Khan And Former WWE Star Exchange Praise For One Another

AEW is often subject to intense criticism from fans and some in the wrestling industry alike, with founder Tony Khan often bearing the weight of most of it. But one former WWE star is sticking up for Khan, and offered high praise to the company.

Former WWE Hardcore Champion and inaugural Tough Enough winner Maven has exploded on YouTube in the last year or so, and has weighed in on the wrestling industry with unique insight. His success earned him an appearance on Ariel Helwani's show on Monday, where he discussed a recent backstage appearance at an AEW event.

Maven noted that while Khan has a lot of critics, he witnessed a positive environment firsthand.

"AEW seemed like a good place to work, great vibes, and Tony Kahn seemed like the best boss to work for. He gets a lot of critics talking about him online...

I sat and I watched Tony for 30 minutes and every wrestler that came out of that ring, he got up from his producing… pic.twitter.com/IwP6pq5dMT
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 8, 2025

“When I was backstage at AEW, that environment seemed like a good place to work. Great vibes. And Tony Khan seemed like the best boss to work for. I know he gets a lot of critics talking about him online," he said.

"I sat and I watched Tony for 30 minutes, and every wrestler that came out of that ring, he got up from his producing chair, took his headphones off, made sure every one of them was healthy, happy with the match that they had just had. And you can tell when someone cares as opposed to when someone’s going through the motions. He cares."

Maven referenced the interaction he had with Khan in his video, where the two shared amicable words and praise for one another.

"I left and I told him to his face, ‘you have changed my perception on what I thought you were.’ And everybody that I talked to there seemed happy to be there and seemed happy with the product that they were putting out in front of the fans,” he said.

Tony Khan Responds

One of the aforementioned critics of Khan has been Helwani, as the two once engaged in a bitter back and forth on social media with one another after Khan called Helwani a "fraud."

However, despite this, Khan was appreciative of both Maven's words and Helwani for fairly posting the quote. He would respond to the clip on social media Monday night.

I appreciate the kind words! Thank you very much, Maven!

Fair play to you for posting this, Ariel.
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) September 9, 2025

"I appreciate the kind words! Thank you very much, Maven," Khan said. "Fair play to you for posting this, Ariel."

Maven is not currently actively working in wrestling, and the backstage video he produced about the AEW event was the first time he had attended one.

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