According to former AEW talent Jake Hager, company president Tony Khan would at times ignore messages from Chris Jericho for up to two weeks. Speaking on UnSKripted, Hager claimed that Jericho confided in him about the lack of communication. He stated the internal dynamic shifted significantly after Cody Rhodes departed the company.
Hager suggested this was part of a larger change where the company became what he described as a “free-for-all.” He recounted Jericho’s frustration with the situation, adding, “It became a point to where, like, either AEW is important, or it’s not.”
These comments on UnSKripted follow a pattern of recent public criticism from Hager regarding Khan’s leadership. Just days earlier, on August 25, he described the AEW President as unprofessional and unable to accept criticism during an interview on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast.
During that appearance, Hager recounted a talent-only meeting following the “Brawl Out” incident, which he alleged was interrupted by an angry Tony Khan. According to Hager, Khan was upset that members of FTR had refused to appear on television due to a storyline disagreement and yelled at the assembled talent, making them feel like his “little playthings.”
However, key figures in Hager’s account of that meeting have since disputed his recollection of events. On August 26, FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler publicly refuted the claim that Khan interrupted the meeting or that they had ever refused to come to work.
Harwood stated they were present and that Hager’s version was inaccurate. Wheeler further supported this by sharing a screenshot of a text message in which Hager appeared to concede he was not certain it was FTR that Khan was upset with. While FTR contested the specific details involving them, they did not comment on Hager’s broader characterization of Khan’s conduct.