Tony Khan Talks Bret Hart Possibly Appearing For AEW

Tony Khan doesn't see Bret Hart returning to AEW anytime soon.

AEW President and CEO, Tony Khan recently spoke with TSN and delved into Bret Hart potentially returning to AEW programming, something that Khan would certainly be open to but doesn't see happening anytime soon.

"Not right now. I think Bret himself said that" Khan said of Hart again appearing in AEW. "First of all, we have great respect for Bret Hart as a company and as individuals. A lot of the wrestlers here and myself respect Bret Hart as a great person and a great wrestler. He would always be somebody we would treasure whenever he's around. He was involved in the first Double or Nothing [in 2019]. He said he's happy at home right now. It's a great thing he's got going and we've just got so much respect for Bret Hart."

Hart unveiled the AEW World Championship at the company's first Double Or Nothing pay-per-view back in 2019 but hasn't appeared for the company since. While not in his own or AEW's plans, the WWE Hall of Famer has seen his fingerprints all over many of the company's talent, including CM Punk, FTR and Adam Cole, something Tony Khan thinks can help honor Hart, despite him not returning to the company.

"It's an honor to pay respect to Bret Hart and, of course, and it's something that Dax and Cash and CM Punk, in particular, have bonded over and had great matches with each other and with other people along the way – Dustin Rhodes had a great match with CM Punk, also, that I think reminded some people of the matches he had himself with Bret in the past," Khan said. "Now there are opportunities ahead for big matches with all of those people."

Earlier last month, Hart reportedly signed a new deal with WWE, seemingly putting the rumors of Hart returning to AEW to bed. However, Hart confirmed that his new contract was strictly a merchandising deal and wouldn't prevent him from making appearances with any other company.