During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, former WWE star Maven opened up about his time backstage at an AEW event, where he had the chance to observe AEW President Tony Khan in action.
Reflecting on the experience, Maven praised both the locker room culture and Khan’s leadership, “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.
I sat and 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 and happy with the match they just had. You can tell when someone truly cares as opposed to just going through the motions — he cares.
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 happy with the product they were putting out in front of the fans.”
Maven’s comments didn’t go unnoticed, as Tony Khan took to Twitter/X to acknowledge the praise, writing, “I appreciate the kind words! Thank you very much, Maven! Fair play to you for posting this, Ariel.”
I appreciate the kind words! Thank you very much, Maven!
Fair play to you for posting this, Ariel.
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) September 9, 2025
