Tony Khan Recalls Trying To Mentor Lio Rush Five Years Ago, ‘He’s Tapped Into Something Far More Lucrative’
Tony Khan speaks on the new character of Lio Rush.
When Lio Rush debuted in AEW in 2021, he was looking to increase his stock in the wrestling and financial world. In 2026, Lio has embraced a darker side, who is just fine. Though he wasn’t scheduled to wrestle at Forbidden Door, he still made an appearance, helping Mark Briscoe’s team in the Death’s Door cage match.
Speaking at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door media scrum, AEW President Tony Khan spoke about the fans embracing Lio.
“You have to give him a lot of credit; he’s getting great engagement and responses in multiple places, multiple ways, and numerous promotions. He’s having a big month. He’s become the ROH World TV Champion and tonight he got involved n the Death Door cage match. It was a great reaction from the fans. He’s a great wrestler and I’ve been a fan for a long time. Five years ago, I took Lio under my wing and I clearly misread what Lio’s interests were because I tried to teach him about finances and the business side of pro wrestling and he is not interested in that, clearly, he’s got a completely different mindset. It’s not about stocks or leveraged buyouts or the financial world. Clearly, it was a misguided attempt at mentorship on my part because he’s embraced something far more lucrative and tapped into something that the crowd wants to see because people love what Lio is doing, and it gets a response everywhere we go,” he said.
Fans can find Fightful’s coverage of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review by clicking here.
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