Chris Jericho Explains Tony Khan's Sporadic On-Air Appearances In AEW

On Wednesday night's edition of "AEW Dynamite," Tony Khan had an "important" announcement. Sort of. Khan appeared backstage but quickly turned the floor over to Adam Cole so that the former WWE star could announce the new "AEW: All Access" reality series that premieres next month as the lead-out for "Dynamite" on TBS (Cole himself will return to the ring on the episode of "Dynamite" that airs that night). Chris Jericho appeared on "Busted Open Radio" on Thursday and co-host Bully Ray asked his former WWE colleague why the announcement was handled the way it was, particularly with regards to it being a pre-recorded segment in the back instead of in front of the crowd.

"I think, probably, Tony's very careful on how he presents himself on camera, so I think that's probably it," he said. "I think he likes to kind of put the spotlight on the wrestlers, which is [why] he had Adam Cole do [the announcement]. And I think he's probably more comfortable doing things that way in the back where you can have a couple takes. Now, every show, Tony comes out before the show and riles up the crowd and gets them pumped up and excited, but when it comes to corporate general manager-owner type stuff, he wants to put the focus onto his players the same way that he does with the Jacksonville Jaguars or with the Fulham Football Club in London. I think he just feels more comfortable that way as an executive."

Khan has rarely appeared on AEW programming, only showing up on TV for major announcements like his acquisition of Ring of Honor and the AEW World Title and Trios Titles being vacated in the aftermath of the backstage brawl involving CM Punk and The Elite at All Out 2022.