Konnan Says It's 'A Head Scratcher' That Tony Khan Hasn't Learned To Elevate Talent

AEW's roster contains a wealth of talent. However, the perspective that Tony Khan isn't making the most of it certainly has been gaining followers in certain corners of wrestling. On a recent episode of his "K100" podcast, Konnan expressed that he's one of them, unable to piece together why Khan's been struggling with elevating wrestlers in his company. Notably, Ricky Starks' name came up, but Konnan doesn't see him as the only one who the ball has been dropped with. "... we've said this millions of times, probably other 10 guys that are in Ricky Starks' position where they mishandled them."

"The thing is, everything's hard if you don't know how to do it. Like, I know how to elevate characters, right?" Konnan added. "But it's weird to me that Tony, who is a mega, mega fan ... that he didn't learn how to elevate people, you know? And so, that's kind of a head-scratcher for me."

With Starks, his spot in the company was on the rise. From promo sparring with MJF and getting a shot at the AEW World Championship in recent months to defeating Chris Jericho at Revolution, the opportunities were multiplying for him. But he's fallen back down the card recently, and Konnan views his situation as one of many examples that paint a suboptimal picture of Khan's overall ability to elevate talent.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "K100" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.